Sunday 11th September saw the final round of the BWMA/AMCA LA Motor Company British Womens MX Championships, where all three Championships; Elite Ladies Pro-Class, National Ladies and 85cc Youth Girls, were still to be decided.
Race Report and Images by Howard Marriott
With the passing of our Queen the original venue at Norley was cancelled, the Stafford AMCA Club managed to accommodate the Championship back at Lower Drayton to ensure it could run its last round.
New Zealands Roma Edwards has been dominant all year only dropping two races, topped the Muscle Doctor Holeshot Championship and only had to finish race 1 to secure the title. Chasing hard throughout the season has been defending champion Chelsea Gowland, being Edward’s closest rival she did all she could on her 2019 47Racing Husqvarna to mount a challenge but struggled to match the pace of the NZ Honda of Edwards. Despite that Gowland was determined to have one last push. In qualifying, she set the fastest lap time for pole position with a blistering lap, Edwards was 2nd almost a second down and 3rd fastest, but not classified was Elaine McEarchen joining the Championship as a wildcard for the second time this season. 3rd in class behind Edwards was 15-year-old sensation Rheanna Morgan-Rogers running second in the Championship, she was followed by a brave Jaysi Austin who only two weeks earlier dropped two races after a fall in race one cut open her arm and left her with four fractures, but she raced again through the pain to secure her championship position with a great qualifier, Team GB IMBA star Izzy Neale looking to secure 3rd overall in the championship just 2/10ths behind her, Team GB’s top rider Amber McGregor was next only 1/10th behind that’s how close the girls at the top are. Team GB’s Caitlin Newman was next nursing an injury to her back; back after missing four rounds through injury Hannah Jones in 8th determined to get back to full speed. Rounding out the top 10 were Team Greens Beanie Reece and National Championship leader Autumn Jenkinson.
Race one, and it was Chelsea Gowland who shot out the gate to grab the Muscle Doctor holeshot with Edwards and McEarchen in hot pursuit. Gowland rounded the first lap with her lead intact, looking comfortable as Edwards and McEarchen pressured it would be lap 4 when Edwards finally made the pass for the lead up the long back straight, Gowland though, hung on as McEarchen pressured until a small mistake allowed McEarchen to pass for second finishing behind Edwards, Gowland taking second in class. Behind them Izzy Neale and Rheanna Morgan-Rogers resumed their battle with Neale getting the better in this race just 2 seconds separating them at the flag, Jaysi Austin was next riding through the pain of her fractured arm to take 5th, Amber McGregor was in a lonely 6th, Caitlin Newman who had some great races with McGregor just two weeks earlier struggling with her back could only finish in 9th behind Hannah Jones who almost grabbed the holeshot on her return but the lack of race time dropped her down to 7th place ahead of Beanie Reece, a super determined ride got Tailor Searle to the 10th place position. The win for Edwards was enough for her to now be uncatchable in the championship and was the new 2022 British Womens Motocross Champion.
In the National Championship Class there was still all to race for and there were some nervous riders who took the line not wanting to jeopardize their positions, young Autumn Jenkinson in particular as she was leading into this round determined not to make a mistake. Jenkinson went out determined to seal up the deal by not just taking the win but also 9th overall mixing it up with the Pro-Class girls. Gemma Holtham fought her way up to 2nd place ahead of Naomi Dolby and India Hodgkinson, probably hero of the day though was Terri Wallace who having registered for the championship gave birth to a baby girl at the beginning of the year and managed to race this round her first this year, not many boys can say that, Terri rode exceptionally well and finished ahead of Beth Emms who bravely rode again after injuring herself here two weeks ago.
Race 2
This time it was Roma Edwards that shot out the gate to take the Muscle Doctor Holeshot, but that was cancelled out as Izzy Neale crashed heavily over the back straight double causing a red flag and eliminating her from the restart, dropping her from 3rd to 4th in the Championship as a disappointing consequence. The restart and it was the fast recovering Hannah Jones that took the Muscle Doctor Holeshot on her 125cc KTM, closely followed by Elaine McEarchen and Chelsea Gowland, Roma Edwards took a fall putting her deep in the field with all to race for, McEarchen soon took the lead followed with Gowland hot on her tail, Jones was fighting with Morgan-Rogers and Jaysi Austin to maintain her 4th position. Morgan-Rogers eventually took Jones, and the battle for 5th was between Jones, Austin and Amber McGregor, who joined in, at the flag McGregor took a tiring Jones, who finished 7th. Back at the front and Edwards pulled back to chase Gowland, Gowland stalled allowing Edwards to get back on her tail and take second place to McEarchen, but the class lead, she then hit a back marker and stalled allowing Gowland back in and managed to hold the position to the flag taking the class win behind Elaine McEarchen.
In the National Championship, Autumn Jenkinson was still not clear for the title so she had to take it easy but a fall on lap one meant she had to push harder than she would want to but another superb race saw her climb all the way up to 10th place in the race and the class win clinching the National Championship title with one race to go. Naomi Dolby had a better race pushing Jenkinson all the way to the flag for second place ahead of Gemma Holtham who kept India Hodgkinson behind for 4th, Terri Wallace again rode a solid ride finishing fifth ahead of Beth Emms.
Race 3
Roma Edwards finally got a Muscle Doctor Holeshot closely followed by Elaine McEarchen but Gowland had a dreadful start rounding the first corner at the back of the pack, leaving Edwards and McEarchen to battle it out at the front, Gowland rode superbly to pull back to 3rd at the flag, 2nd in class and finish 3rd overall in the championship a great achievement after missing a round for Eskootr championships. At the front McEarchen pressured Edwards hard and eventually found a way past to take the win, what could have been if she hadn’t have been injured at the beginning of the season. Edwards came home comfortably in second. Further down Rheanna Morgan-Rogers grabbed another well earned 3rd in class showing consistency and maturity to secure her 2nd overall in the championship, A massive battle though was raging between the 125 trio of Austin, McGregor and Hannah Jones, missing from this was an injured Caitlin Newman who last round was in the mix but she was bravely securing points. It was Jaysi Austin in the end that just got better of Amber McGregor by a few seconds as a tiring Jones faded back to 6th ahead of Newman. Beanie Reece came home in 8th ahead of another brave ride from Izzy Neale racing through the pain of her fall in race 2 for 9th ahead of Tailor Searle in 10th.
In the National Championship Autumn Jenkinson having sealed the title only had to take it easy but again she fell, and the racer in her switched on as she charged to the front again, demonstrating her champion qualities. A better race for Gemma Holtham with a great 2nd place to finish the season on after a battle with India Hodgkinson in 3rd and securing 2nd in the championship just 2 seconds behind, Naomi Dolby was only another couple of seconds back in 4th after a great three-way battle, securing 3rd place in the championship, Terri Wallace finishing ahead of Beth Emms for the final places.
Pro-class Elite Ladies British Championship Race Results
1st Roma Edwards 147pts
2nd Chelsea Gowland 144pts
3rd Rheanna Morgan-Rogers 133pts
4th Jaysi Austin 127pts
5th Amber McGregor 133pts
6th Hannah Jones 115pts
7th Caitlin Newman 107pts
8th Beanie Reece 105pts
9th Tailor Searle 95pts
10th Izzy Neale 78pts
National Ladies Championship
1st Autumn Jenkinson 150pts
2nd Gemma Holtham 139pts
3rd Naomi Dolby 135pts
4th India Hodgkinson 131pts
5th Terri Wallace 123pts
6th Bethany Emms 117pts
In the Youth Girls 85cc class, Hollie Roberts and Leah Rees-Evans have been fighting for the lead all season, but it was Roberts that topped the table coming into the final round with only a 45pt lead, she couldn’t afford to dnf, so the pressure was on. Leah Rees-Evans, though was nursing a fractured wrist but was determined to race just in case Roberts had a problem and could take the title, there was everything to race for.
In qualifying, Roberts took pole position with a blistering lap 3 seconds over Holly Williams who has threatened all season, but just fell short, will today change that, Leah Rees-Evans finding that the wrist was holding up managed a great 3rd and building confidence for the races. Behind her in 4th was Northern Irelands Checoby Rainey, who has steadily climbed up to the front runner’s pace all season. Erin Howes was 5th fastest ahead of Sophie Jones, Poppy Banning, Molly Neale and back from injury Tallulah Oram.
Race 1 and Hollie Roberts took the Muscle Doctor Holeshot with Holly Williams one side and Leah Rees-Evans the other, the race was on, but Roberts didn’t need to get involved however she is a winner, and she lead like a champion, Williams stuck to her while Rees-Evans pressured her Rainey recovered from a poor start but was too far back to mix it with these three; eventually Rees-Evans found her way past Williams and then took Roberts for the win an incredible ride considering her wrist injury. Checoby Rainey finishing in 4th ahead of a brilliant ride by Sophie Jones getting the better of Erin Howes who made a mistake mid-race, Molly Neale secured 7th in front of Poppy Banning and Tallulah Oram
Race 2 and Hollie Roberts again took the Muscle Doctor Holeshot with Holly Williams just to her side and Erin Howes this time on the other side, Leah Rees-Evans was further down the field with lots to do, Hollie Roberts looked like she was on for a comfortable win, but a heavy fall following a very rare mistake dropped her down to 5th when she restarted. This left Holly Williams to lead her first race, and she looked comfortable as she headed Checoby Rainey, who could also see the chance of a first race win, Leah Rees-Evans was right on her tail, as the race came to the closing stages Williams made a mistake dropping her back behind Roberts in 4th, this left Rainey to lead her first race, and as she could see victory Rees-Evans stole it off her to take her second race win of the day, Hollie Roberts also snook past Rainey for second. One of the most exciting races of the season.
Race 3 and Hollie Roberts still hadn’t clinched the title so she was given advice from everyone to just see it through and that is exactly what she did. Taking the Muscle Doctor holeshot another mistake dropped her back but rather than going all out she rode steady for the finish taking 3rd and the Youth Girls 85cc Championship, Leah Rees-Evans fell and dropped right back leaving Holly Williams and Checoby Rainey to try again for the race win this time Checoby Rainey held on to the flag, and everyone cheered her well deserved race win, Rees-Evans pulled up to 2nd place with Roberts ahead of a disappointed Williams, Erin Howes took 5th place ahead of Sophie Jones, Poppy Banning 7th ahead of Molly Neale and Tallulah Oram.
Youth Girls 85cc Championship Race Results
1st Leah Rees-Evans 147pts
2nd Hollie Roberts 139pts
3rd Checoby Rainey 138pts
4th Holly Williams 131pts
5th Erin Howes 121pts
6th Sophie Jones 119pts
7th Molly Neale 109pts
8th Poppy Banning 107pts
9th Tallulah Oram 99pts
