It was a very warm and sunny Farleigh Castle that welcomed the Acerbis Amateur National series for the penultimate round of the 2022 season where the track crew did an incredible job of keeping the track in line which went on to produce some fantastic racing in all classes.
Report by Arran Murphy – Images courtesy of Matthew Rudd Photography
The Moto Connection 125 2 stroke class was out first this time around, where the championship got blown wide open. Rob Holyoake had a handy 61 point lead at the top of the standings, but a big crash on one of the downhill jumps and a DNF in the final moto will have definitely put a dent into his lead. Closest challenger Damon Strydom made the most of his misfortune and took the overall win to go with it meaning the gap going into the finale will be around the 20 point mark. Fast-starting Chris Povey took maximum points in the final race of the weekend to boost him up to second overall while young up and coming star Ben Mustoe had his first trip to the Acerbis Nationals after the BYN was cancelled and rounded off the top three for his efforts.
In the California MX Dreams Open 2 stroke category series leader Corey Hockey took three out of the four moto wins on his way to another overall victory giving himself a comfortable lead going into the final round at Fatcats. Cumbrian James Dent had flying starts all weekend and even added another win to his 2022 tally taking the race three victory on his way to runner up overall while Jaydon Murphy rounded out the top three in third after a consistent weekend. Reigning champ Adam Harris had a mixed weekend with a 7-4-3-4 bag of results to put himself inside the top five overall and Rory Jones finished the weekend fifth.
Harry Linton brought the championship deficit down to within a race as he claimed maximum points in the Craigs Motorcycles sponsored MX2 class as it looks like its going to go down to the wire at the final round. It will, however be tough to bring it down in 5 motos as the ever consistent Dylan Spencer still holds a solid lead. Spencer was always inside the top three at Farleigh claiming runner up overall and will only have to do the same at Fatcats to take home his first MX2 title. Dom Newbry is always there or there abouts and took home another podium while 2021 Junior Open champion Alfie Calvert showed great speed to take fourth overall.
In the Paradise MX Holidays MX1 class Ultimate Wheels Honda rider James Dodd came out for another wildcard appearance and topped the class by taking four wins from four starts claiming the honours from series leader Jack Beniston, who put up a strong fight against his fellow Honda man but had to settle for runner up on the weekend. Crucially Beniston increased his already hefty points advantage at the top after closest challenger Luke Meredith failed to finish inside the top five. Andy Wilson had a solid weekend, still coming back from injury earlier in the year bagging third overall and even led a few laps along the way while Ed Briscoe took home a solid fourth and Daniel Parry took a well earned fifth.
In the Motoverde Ladies category, Kathryn Booth clawed back some vital points in the standings as she took maximum points from Farleigh and moved herself back into runner up in the standings and took 14 points out of leader Grace Richards lead. Richards had a steady weekend gaining solid points with a 4-3-2-2 results sheet meaning a consistent outing at Fatcats will seal the deal for the title while Amie Goodlad was also super consistent and kept herself in the hunt with third overall this time around. Rebecca Newham had a solid first race with a second spot to Booth but a pair of fourths and a fifth gave her fourth overall while Grace Packman rounded out the top five.
Wildcard rider Joseph Davies took control of matters in the Manchester Xtreme Junior Open category as a pair of runner up spots on day one backed up by a pair of wins on Sunday gave him the overall honours ahead of the rest of the championship regulars. Luke Price did his campaign no harm at all by being consistently inside the top three all weekend and was rewarded with runner up for his efforts. Liam Somerville has one hand on the Junior Open title as he extended his 134 point lead over his nearest competitors with just 200 left to fight for. Farleigh didn’t quite go as well as the Yamaha man would have liked however as a couple of crash riddled races meant third overall was what he had to settle for this time around. Aidee Smith finished the weekend with fourth and Harry Wieczorek took home fifth.
Ryan Voase continued to dominate the LS2 Helmets Vets Over 40 class as he took his Steve Clitheroe built 500 Honda to four masterful victories meaning even though he’s out of the title fight after missing 2 rounds, every race he’s started in 2022 he’s won. Lee Martin extended his 49 point lead at the top of the standings by claiming the runner up overall and even led a few laps in the process meaning solid top five finishes at Fatcats should easily get the job done for the KTM man. Simon Bonsor stood on the lower step of the rostrum after some frantic racing between himself, Danny Tollett and Barry Gray. Tollett missed out on the top three by a slender two points and Gray finished a further couple behind Tollett.
In the Roberts Plant Engineers Vets Over 50 class as always it was Brian Wheeler who took home the biggest prize pot and stood on his usual step of the podium above everyone else as another four wins went into the bank and the 100% win record carries over to Fatcats. Chris Brown was back onto his usual step just to the right of his rival as he claimed a bag full of runner up spots and runner up on the day while Andy Watkins had a good weekends racing to finish third overall. Steve Elford was consistently inside the top five and was rewarded with fourth overall for his efforts while a third place in the third moto of the weekend helped Ewan Johnston to take fifth overall.
The series now heads to the final round of the year at Fatcat Moto Park on the first weekend of September.
Results
MX1
Pos | Competitor | Points | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
1 | JAMES DODD | 160 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
2 | JACK BENISTON | 150 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 36 |
3 | ANDY WILSON | 146 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 38 |
4 | ED BRISCOE | 129 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 27 |
5 | DANIEL PARRY | 124 | 32 | 30 | 30 | 32 |
6 | BRADLEY FLAGG | 108 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 29 |
7 | PATRICK GILLIGAN | 107 | 22 | 23 | 28 | 34 |
8 | SIMON BOOTH | 107 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 24 |
9 | TRAVIS REYNOLD | 102 | 27 | 29 | 18 | 28 |
10 | TYE BARRS | 99 | 18 | 26 | 25 | 30 |
11 | ADAM THIRWELL | 95 | 23 | 25 | 24 | 23 |
12 | MARK YOUNG | 94 | 30 | 32 | 32 | – |
13 | BRADLEY BARFOOT | 93 | 21 | 21 | 26 | 25 |
14 | PETE HAMLETT | 92 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 22 |
15 | JAY LEWIS | 92 | 28 | 20 | 23 | 21 |
16 | LUKE MERADITH | 91 | 29 | 16 | 20 | 26 |
17 | BRAD THORNHILL | 78 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 20 |
18 | KAI THIRWELL | 73 | 17 | 22 | 16 | 18 |
19 | LIAM GOODING | 68 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 17 |
20 | THOMAS O’CONNOR | 63 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 16 |
21 | LEWIS BARFOOT | 59 | 19 | – | 21 | 19 |
MX2
Pos | Competitor | Points | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
1 | HARRY LINTON | 160 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
2 | DYLAN SPENCER | 148 | 36 | 38 | 36 | 38 |
3 | DOM NEWBRY | 140 | 38 | 30 | 38 | 34 |
4 | ALFIE CALVERT | 130 | 30 | 32 | 32 | 36 |
5 | BEN ZEALE | 130 | 34 | 34 | 30 | 32 |
6 | SCOTT MERADITH | 115 | 29 | 27 | 29 | 30 |
7 | KEELAN HOPE | 109 | 21 | 25 | 34 | 29 |
8 | MITCHELL MEADOWS | 103 | 26 | 29 | 22 | 26 |
9 | KIERAN GREGORY | 103 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 25 |
10 | JAKE WINNARD | 98 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 27 |
11 | JOE RUSSELL | 97 | 28 | 28 | 20 | 21 |
12 | OLLY JONES | 96 | 32 | 36 | 28 | – |
13 | BEN WHITE | 87 | 22 | 22 | 15 | 28 |
14 | JORDAN HEARN | 84 | 20 | 23 | 23 | 18 |
15 | OLIVER BARNES | 82 | 24 | 13 | 25 | 20 |
16 | ADAM NEVITT | 76 | 27 | 18 | 8 | 23 |
17 | RYAN MANLEY | 74 | 12 | 19 | 21 | 22 |
18 | AARON COLLINS | 71 | – | 21 | 26 | 24 |
19 | JUDE HARDTWELL | 69 | 16 | 20 | 14 | 19 |
20 | ETHAN STEPHENS | 69 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 14 |
21 | LUKE TUNRER | 61 | 18 | 16 | 10 | 17 |
22 | DANIEL NEVITT | 61 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 15 |
23 | SAM BISHOP | 58 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 12 |
24 | ARRAN MURPHY | 52 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 11 |
25 | SONNY SHIPMAN | 45 | 14 | 15 | – | 16 |
26 | MACKENZIE CROCKATT | 41 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 10 |
27 | ALEX CHALMERS | 38 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 9 |
28 | LEIGHTON STAMP | 37 | 11 | – | 13 | 13 |
29 | KEIRON DAVIES | 17 | 9 | 8 | – | – |
30 | FINLEY GOLDING | 9 | – | – | 9 | – |
2 Stroke Open
Pos | Competitor | Points | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
1 | COREY HOCKEY | 158 | 40 | 40 | 38 | 40 |
2 | JAMES DENT | 152 | 38 | 38 | 40 | 36 |
3 | JAYDON MURPHY | 136 | 36 | 36 | 32 | 32 |
4 | ADAM HARRIS | 133 | 29 | 34 | 36 | 34 |
5 | RORY JONES | 130 | 28 | 30 | 34 | 38 |
6 | ARCHIE HICKS | 120 | 30 | 32 | 29 | 29 |
7 | MATT HOCKENHALL | 112 | 24 | 28 | 30 | 30 |
8 | JORDAN BARRS | 105 | 22 | 27 | 28 | 28 |
9 | DREW ROE | 103 | 26 | 23 | 27 | 27 |
10 | RYAN MATTHEWS | 100 | 25 | 26 | 24 | 25 |
11 | RYAN DEACON | 97 | 32 | 20 | 23 | 22 |
12 | REECE WAIN | 93 | 21 | 24 | 25 | 23 |
13 | JAMES HANSCOMB | 92 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 26 |
14 | SEAN VENESS | 91 | 20 | 25 | 22 | 24 |
15 | JAMIE SMITH | 89 | 34 | 29 | 26 | – |
16 | ALEX NEEDHAM | 75 | 19 | 18 | 20 | 18 |
17 | AJ SIMPSON | 72 | 17 | 16 | 19 | 20 |
18 | REECE WILKINSON | 69 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 19 |
19 | MATT LOMAS | 40 | – | 19 | – | 21 |
20 | BRAD WHEELER | 36 | 15 | 21 | – | – |
21 | TOM SIMPSON | 36 | 18 | – | 18 | – |
22 | JAMIE ELVIN | 33 | – | – | 16 | 17 |
23 | GLEN PHILLIPS | 27 | 27 | – | – | – |
24 | NIGEL MILLER | 14 | 14 | – | – | – |
125’s
Pos | Competitor | Points | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
1 | DAMON STRYDOM | 152 | 36 | 40 | 38 | 38 |
2 | CHRIS POVEY | 141 | 29 | 38 | 34 | 40 |
3 | BEN MUSTOE | 137 | 27 | 36 | 40 | 34 |
4 | MATT RIDGWAY | 130 | 34 | 34 | 30 | 32 |
5 | JOHN MAY | 126 | 30 | 28 | 32 | 36 |
6 | ASH HARLAND | 121 | 40 | 30 | 21 | 30 |
7 | ALAN PEARCE | 104 | 28 | 23 | 27 | 26 |
8 | ROB HOLYOAKE | 101 | 38 | 27 | 36 | – |
9 | STU OWEN | 92 | 25 | 19 | 19 | 29 |
10 | LIAM GALE | 89 | 32 | 29 | 28 | – |
11 | LEWIS PETFIELD | 86 | 18 | 14 | 26 | 28 |
12 | ADAM DYER | 78 | 22 | 25 | 4 | 27 |
13 | TIM GARDHAM | 78 | 20 | 20 | 25 | 13 |
14 | GEORGE POOL | 75 | 15 | 21 | 17 | 22 |
15 | CAMREN JACKSON | 72 | – | 22 | 29 | 21 |
16 | HARRISON FORDE | 71 | 8 | 18 | 20 | 25 |
17 | BRADLEY TRANTER | 71 | 23 | 26 | 22 | – |
18 | BEN HUNTER | 68 | 16 | 11 | 23 | 18 |
19 | HAYDEN STEVENS | 63 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 23 |
20 | JORDAN RIDGWAY | 59 | 11 | 24 | 24 | – |
21 | JORDAN WRIGHT | 58 | 26 | 32 | – | – |
22 | TROY JONES | 58 | 24 | 17 | – | 17 |
23 | STEVE GARDHAM | 57 | 17 | 15 | 1 | 24 |
24 | JOSH JAMES | 52 | 19 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
25 | JOSH NOON | 47 | 6 | 6 | 15 | 20 |
26 | JACK DANDO | 47 | 12 | – | 16 | 19 |
27 | ARCHIE TAYLOR | 47 | 21 | – | 18 | 8 |
28 | CRAIG REYNOLDS | 42 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 15 |
29 | REGGIE GESNER | 38 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 16 |
30 | SUNNY NOBLE | 33 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
31 | JACK TOTTLE | 31 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 14 |
32 | CALLUM NATE | 29 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 7 |
33 | JOE JORDEN | 25 | 13 | 12 | – | – |
34 | JOSH PENNY | 23 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 9 |
35 | JACK PARTINGTON | 23 | 10 | 7 | 6 | – |
36 | HAYDEN BROWN | 16 | – | 3 | 13 | – |
37 | ALEX MORRIS | 14 | 1 | – | 2 | 11 |
38 | OLIVER ELMES | 5 | – | 2 | 3 | – |
Junior Open
Pos | Competitor | Points | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
1 | JOSEPH DAVIES | 156 | 38 | 38 | 40 | 40 |
2 | LUKE PRICE | 148 | 36 | 36 | 38 | 38 |
3 | LIAM SOMERVILLE | 128 | 40 | 26 | 36 | 26 |
4 | ADIEE SMITH | 121 | 30 | 32 | 32 | 27 |
5 | HARRY WIECZOREK | 117 | 25 | 29 | 34 | 29 |
6 | RICHARD EVANS | 116 | 24 | 34 | 26 | 32 |
7 | JAMES NEWBY | 112 | 21 | 27 | 30 | 34 |
8 | JAKE BASHFORD | 107 | 28 | 30 | 25 | 24 |
9 | JAMES MILNE | 105 | 32 | 21 | 24 | 28 |
10 | DAN TIMBRELL | 101 | 15 | 40 | 10 | 36 |
11 | BILLY WIECZOREK | 93 | 34 | 25 | 28 | 6 |
12 | TAYLOR MISSELBROOK | 84 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 17 |
13 | STEFAN ROBSON | 82 | 23 | 13 | 27 | 19 |
14 | MARK RIDGWAY | 80 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 25 |
15 | JACK GATLAND | 80 | 17 | 24 | 16 | 23 |
16 | SAM HAMER | 80 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 21 |
17 | JOSH BARRS | 79 | 27 | 23 | 29 | – |
18 | JACK GOTTS | 70 | 26 | 12 | 12 | 20 |
19 | DALE LYONS | 66 | 29 | 15 | – | 22 |
20 | SHEA RYAN | 64 | 14 | 28 | 22 | – |
21 | RILEY VOASE | 63 | 12 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
22 | ADRAIN WHITCOMBE | 57 | 19 | 17 | 21 | – |
23 | SEB BASHFORD | 50 | 16 | 14 | 20 | – |
24 | FINNLY ABOTT | 49 | 11 | 18 | 6 | 14 |
25 | KURT RICHARDS | 44 | 7 | 8 | 14 | 15 |
26 | LOUIS SMITH | 37 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 13 |
27 | ADAM BARFOOT | 36 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 16 |
28 | DAN EVANS | 36 | 13 | – | 11 | 12 |
29 | RYAN WOODS | 35 | – | – | 5 | 30 |
30 | MATT BENNETT | 35 | 10 | 10 | 15 | – |
31 | TOM BERRY | 28 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 11 |
32 | RYAN LOWES | 22 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 8 |
33 | LOUIS BRUCE | 17 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
34 | RYAN NEALE | 16 | 5 | 4 | – | 7 |
35 | TOM MATTHEWS | 16 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
36 | AIDEN MURPHY | 15 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
37 | TOM EVANS | 13 | – | – | 13 | – |
38 | DAN EVANS | 11 | – | 11 | – | – |
39 | KIERAN WOODS | 5 | – | – | – | 5 |
40 | JASON BRICE | 3 | – | – | – | 3 |
Vets Over 40’s
Pos | Competitor | Points | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
1 | RYAN VOASE | 160 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
2 | KATHRYN BOOTH | 160 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
3 | GRACE RICHARDS | 146 | 34 | 36 | 38 | 38 |
4 | AMIE GOODLAD | 144 | 36 | 38 | 36 | 34 |
5 | LEE MARTIN | 144 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 30 |
6 | SIMON BONSAR | 138 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 36 |
7 | REBECCA NEWHAM | 138 | 38 | 34 | 34 | 32 |
8 | DANNY TOLLET | 136 | 36 | 32 | 36 | 32 |
9 | BARRY GRAY | 134 | 32 | 36 | 32 | 34 |
10 | GRACE PACKMAN | 132 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 36 |
11 | PAUL JOHNSTON | 128 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 38 |
12 | EMILY NOON | 118 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 |
13 | LILLY MORELAND | 117 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 28 |
14 | CRAIG CHAMBERLAINE | 111 | 27 | 26 | 29 | 29 |
15 | CARL STANNARD | 111 | 29 | 29 | 26 | 27 |
16 | ANDREA TAYLFORTH | 110 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 29 |
17 | CHRIS RUDD | 104 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 23 |
18 | PAUL WIECZOREK | 103 | 25 | 28 | 24 | 26 |
19 | MARTIN CUDDY | 99 | 23 | 24 | 27 | 25 |
20 | NIGEL SMORFITT | 96 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 24 |
21 | MARK SUTHERLAND | 87 | 20 | 23 | 22 | 22 |
22 | AALIYAH HULBERT | 84 | 28 | 28 | 28 | – |
23 | JOHN HOLMES | 84 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 20 |
24 | STEVE GESNIER | 81 | 28 | – | 25 | 28 |
25 | GAVIN LOWES | 78 | 18 | 21 | 20 | 19 |
26 | DEAN TUCKER | 74 | 19 | 20 | 17 | 18 |
27 | ADRIAN JENNING | 41 | 22 | 19 | – | – |
28 | ROB MILLS | 36 | 17 | – | 19 | – |
29 | DAVE PARKIN | 21 | – | – | – | 21 |
30 | DAVE ELLIOTT | 18 | – | – | 18 | – |
Vets Over 50’s
Pos | Competitor | Points | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
1 | BRIAN WHEELER | 160 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
2 | CHRIS BROWN | 152 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 38 |
3 | ANDY WATKINS | 142 | 36 | 36 | 34 | 36 |
4 | STEVE ELFORD | 132 | 32 | 34 | 32 | 34 |
5 | EWAN JOHNSTON | 130 | 34 | 30 | 36 | 30 |
6 | DAVID HOPKINS | 124 | 30 | 32 | 30 | 32 |
7 | ADRIAN LEWIS | 115 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 |
8 | RICHARD DOORS | 105 | 24 | 28 | 26 | 27 |
9 | BRIAN FRASER | 101 | 28 | 26 | 24 | 23 |
10 | IVOR GILFORD | 100 | 27 | 22 | 25 | 26 |
11 | MARK DUDLEY | 97 | 26 | 27 | 20 | 24 |
12 | PAUL CURTIS | 86 | 20 | 24 | 27 | 15 |
13 | STEVE HUMPHRIES | 84 | 13 | 23 | 23 | 25 |
14 | CRIAG POTTER | 82 | 25 | – | 28 | 29 |
15 | STEVE MATTHEWS | 82 | 17 | 25 | 19 | 21 |
16 | LEE DAVIES | 80 | 22 | 19 | 21 | 18 |
17 | COLLIN BERRY | 76 | 23 | 21 | 10 | 22 |
18 | MIKE JOHNSTON | 75 | 21 | 16 | 22 | 16 |
19 | DARREN MUMFORD | 71 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 19 |
20 | STAN MORFITT | 66 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 14 |
21 | ANDREW PROSSER | 64 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
22 | DARREN NEAL | 62 | 4 | 20 | 18 | 20 |
23 | NEIL SMITH | 49 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 13 |
24 | NEIL PRINGLE | 46 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 9 |
25 | BRYAN MUNDY | 45 | 12 | 14 | 7 | 12 |
26 | VINCE CRAWLEY | 42 | 8 | 9 | 14 | 11 |
27 | PHIL ROBERTS | 33 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 10 |
28 | ANDY STEPHEN | 32 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 8 |
29 | PAUL BUNN | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | – |
30 | ROBIN BAYMAN | 23 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 5 |
31 | CHRIS GOLDING | 20 | – | – | 13 | 7 |
32 | ROB WARINWRIGHT | 20 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
33 | ROB WHITING | 15 | 15 | – | – | – |
34 | NICK VINE | 6 | 1 | 5 | – | – |
35 | ED BRISCOE | 6 | – | – | 3 | 3 |
36 | BRUCE GARSIDE | 5 | 5 | – | – | – |
37 | DAVE ELLIOTT | 4 | – | – | – | 4 |
38 | SHANE HULBERT | 2 | 2 | – | – | – |