We had all sorts of weather at Dean Moor for rounds five and six of the 2023 West Cumbria MX club championship as Saturday kicked off with fog followed by sunshine and Sunday sun which soon turned to rain meaning the riders were challenged with all types of track conditions.
Report by Arran Murphy – Images courtesy of Peter Bell Photography
The Auto pilots were first up as usual and championship leader Archie Armstrong extended his slim 14 point lead by taking all three race victories followed by Olly McLean who managed to sneak runner up by a couple of points from Alfie Blacklock.
In the Junior 65 class Jenson Branney built on his already impressive season by claiming maximum points from round five ahead of nearest challenger Shai Rome who had to settle for a brace of second place finishes while Mason Clarke rounded out the top three in third.
In the Small Wheel 85 category Robbie Scott was the man to beat as he took home a hat trick of race wins on his way to the overall honours ahead of runner up Connor Thompson who made up decent ground on the points leader after his round four issues. Ashton Crossley made his first trip to Dean Moor this year and claimed third for his efforts.
It was Frankie Jupp who took the Big Wheel 85 honours with three masterful wins as he closes in on the leaders of the series after missing round two. Finley Easton took home the runner up spot while Kian Harkness finished the day third overall.
Next up were the Youth Open class and it was battle royale at the front. Liam Johnston and Charlie Henderson continued their season long scrap with Johnston claiming the overall by a mere point reducing the slight deficit in the championship to Charlie Henderson who had to settle for runner up overall this time around. Thomas Carruthers had a solid day taking third.
In the Adult C Under 30 class Nathan Spiers carried on his perfect season by taking the overall win with two wins and a second ahead of last race winner Daniel Logan. Jordan Khamouli was consistent all day to give himself third place overall.
In the Over 30 class Tony Whitelaw claimed two wins and a runner up for the overall victory ahead of Yamaha man Ben Southward who took the final moto win on his way to runner up overall. John Branney rounded out the top three in third.
Jack Murray was another rider to carry on his 100% overall win record as he took another Adult B overall win with 1-1-2 results pipping last race winner Mark Parker by 3 points. Samuel Carruthers took home third overall.
Frazer Hansen recovered from a race one crash to take the Adult A win by just a point from first race winner Max Griffin. Rookie to the class Robbie Park stood on the lower step of the rostrum in third.
An early start on Sunday proved to work well as the torrential rain came after racing had finished and a solid 3 blocks of racing were completed.
The Autos were first up on the freshly groomed circuit and Olly McLean improved on his runner up from day one and took the overall win with three race victories ahead of Alfie Blacklock who managed to pull back a couple of points on series leader Archie Armstrong who rounded out the top three in third.
Jenson Branney made it six for six race wins by claiming his second maximum points haul of the weekend in the Junior 65 class. Daniel Morris took runner up overall on the tie break with Shai Rome due to the final race result.
In the Small Wheel 85 class Robbie Scott was the second rider of the weekend to take six wins from six starts as he dominated the Small Wheel 85 category for the second day in succession. Connor Thompson chipped away at the points deficit even more by taking runner up overall while series leader Declan Cook had a much improved day for third overall.
With a 1-1-4 scorecard Frankie Jupp was the overall winner in the Big Wheel 85 class claiming the honours by three points over last race winner Finley Easton. The lower step of the podium went to new points leader Harry Cartmel.
It was business as usual in the Youth Open class as Charlie Henderson and Liam Johnston went toe to toe once again. This time it was Henderson who took the overall with 2-1-1 results taking back another three points in the championship over Johnston meaning a gap of 8 separates the pair going into the final 2 rounds. Thomas Carruthers had to be content with third overall once again.
Two wins and a third was enough for Nathan Spiers to claim the overall victory in the Adult C Under 30 class ahead of the always consistent Dan Logan. George Leach took his 500 Honda to third overall on the day.
It was Ben Southward who took maximum points in the Over 30 category after some hard fought battles with John Branney who had to settle for three runner up places this time around. Stephen Humphries consolidated his championship tally with third on the box.
In the Adult B category Jack Murray has one hand on the title as another maximum points haul and overall win gives him a solid cushion going into the final two rounds. Mark Parker took runner up with a brace of second places finishes and Samuel Carruthers finished the weekend with third overall.
In the Adult A class it was good to see British championship regular Brad Todd back up at Dean Moor and he took 3 race victories to go with his efforts aboard his BT Racing Honda. Saturday winner Frazer Hansen took home runner up this time around and Max Griffin rounded out the top three in third.
Results
Saturday
Auto: 1 Archie Armstrong, 2 Olly McLean, 3 Alfie Blacklock, 4 Ashton Bain, 5 Harper Irwin, 6 Luca Stewart.
Junior 65: 1 Jenson Branney, 2 Shai Rome, 3 Mason Clarke, 4 Daniel Morris, 5 Taylor Dodd, 6 Gater Scott.
Small Wheel 85: 1 Robbie Scott, 2 Connor Thompson, 3 Ashton Crossley, 4 Declan Cook, 5 Jimmy Wilson, 6 Sam Morris.
Big Wheel 85: 1 Frankie Jupp, 2 Finley Easton, 3 Kian Harkness, 4 Harry Cartmel, 5 Mayson Dockeray, 6 Max Wilson.
Youth Open: 1 Liam Johnston, 2 Charlie Henderson, 3 Thomas Carruthers, 4 Jordan Acton, 5 Ebony Brown, 6 Levi Hillary.
Adult C Under 30: 1 Nathan Spiers, 2 Dan Logan, 3 Jordan Khamouli, 4 George Leech, 5 Callum Riley, 6 Ethan Brierley.
Over 30: 1 Tony Whitelaw, 2 Ben Southward, 3 John Branney, 4 Lee Hucul, 5 Stephen Humphries, 6 Shawn Williamson.
Adult B: 1 Jack Murray, 2 Mark Parker, 3 Samuel Carruthers, 4 Jake Major, 5 Dean Sewell, 6 Mark Blacklock.
Adult A: 1 Frazer Hansen, 2 Max Griffin, 3 Robbie Park, 4 Arran Murphy, 5 Jonny Bagnall, 6 Kieran Marr.
Sunday
Auto: 1 Olly McLean, 2 Alfie Blacklock, 3 Archie Armstrong, 4 Kyle Trimble, 5 Blake Hull, 6 Luca Stewart.
Junior 65: 1 Jenson Branney, 2 Daniel Morris, 3 Shai Rome, 4 Taylor Dodd, 5 Mason Clarke, 6 Jake Airey.
Small Wheel 85: 1 Robbie Scott, 2 Connor Thompson, 3 Declan Cook, 4 Sam Morris, 5 Ashton Crossley, 6 Jimmy Wilson.
Big Wheel 85: 1 Frankie Jupp, 2 Finley Easton, 3 Harry Cartmel, 4 Kian Harkness, 5 Max Wilson, 6 Mayson Dockeray.
Youth Open: 1 Charlie Henderson, 2 Liam Johnston, 3 Thomas Carruthers, 4 Jordan Acton, 5 Ebony Brown, 6 Aaron Dodd.
Adult C Under 30: 1 Nathan Spiers, 2 Dan Logan, 3 George Leech, 4 Jack Park, 5 Aaron Wakefield, 6 Ryan Witfield.
Over 30: 1 Ben Southward, 2 John Branney, 3 Stephen Humphries, 4 Mike Johnston, 5 Shawn Williamson, 6 Ady Lakey.
Adult B: 1 Jack Murray, 2 Mark Parker, 3 Samuel Carruthers, 4 Jake Major, 5 Matthew Hunt, 6 Dean Sewell.
Adult A: 1 Brad Todd, 2 Frazer Hansen, 3 Max Griffin, 4 Arran Murphy, 5 Liam Piggford.
