This weekend the Chambers Racing team headed to Cusses Gorse for round four of the Michelin MX Nationals as the Championship moved into the second half of the season.
Images courtesy of Architech Media
Coming into the event Tom Grimshaw was leading the Pro MX2 championship and looking to continue his good form and maintain his championship lead. The team were also joined by Ben Franklin as he begins his return from injury.
In the qualifying session Grimshaw posted the sixth fastest lap time in the Pro MX2 class with Alfie Jones going 12th fastest and Franklin 14th fastest. In the Pro MX1 class Glenn McCormick posted a great lap time that saw him finish sixth fastest. Also competing during the weekend was Harvey Cashmore who finished fourth fastest in the MXY2 class.
In the opening ‘Fastest 40’ moto McCormick made a great start and was inside the top 5 on the opening lap but a mistake early on saw him drop down the order. Grimshaw started outside the top 15 and quickly started to pick off the riders ahead of him and moved into 11th in the moto and 3rd in the MX2 class by the finish. After his early race error, McCormick recovered to finish in 9th. Both Jones and Franklin had solid moto’s to finish in 12th and 14th places respectively.
The second ‘Fastest 40’ race of the day saw McCormick make another great start as he rounded the first corner in third, with Grimshaw and Jones just outside the top 10. As the race went on Grimshaw moved forward into 10th in the race and 4th in the MX2 class, while McCormick would finish in 8th place. Jones rode another solid race to claim 10th place in the MX2 class, while Franklin improved on his opening moto result with a 13th place finish.
Grimshaw’s3-4 scorecard saw him finish 4th overall, tied on points for 3rd and maintain his 17-point lead in the Championship with two rounds remaining. McCormick’s 9-8 scorecard saw him take 8th overall and now sits 7th in the championship. Jones finished the weekend 10th overall with Franklin claiming 15th overall.
In the MXY2 Cashmore started the weekend off well with a good start in the opening race which saw him running in 4th before slipping back to 7th after a couple of mistakes. In the second race, it was over before it started with a crash on the start straight which left him with a damaged bike. On the Sunday Cashmore had a great first race after leading the moto but suffered arm pump late in the race and slipped back to 5th. In the final race of the weekend Cashmore came through from a bad start to finish 7th and claim 9th overall from 3 results.
Tom Grimshaw – It was a good day, I qualified in 6th place which was ok, but I wasn’t feeling great to start off with, but knew I would be better in the races. In the first race I got an average start and made some really good moves and got into third place and it was a comfortable position, and I was happy with my riding as I’d had to push hard to get there. Then in the second race I did not get the best of starts and lost a couple of position due to the track being watered and I was a bit reserved. I soon got into a rhythm and moved forward up 3rd and had Jamie Carpenter battling with me and he passed me late in the race, but I put a charge back on him but couldn’t make the move. Overall, I’m happy with the 4-3 and joint 3rd overall and keeping the championship lead.
Glenn McCormick – it has been a good weekend, it started well with 6th fastest in qualifying and that set me up well for the races. I got two starts in the races and in the first race I was second or third around the first corner and then crash with another rider early on. I came back to finish 9th which I was a bit disappointed about. In the second race I got another good start and was feeling more comfortable at the front and came away with 8th. I’m happy with the two results after my crash last week and I’m looking forward to FatCat in a couple of weeks.
Alfie Jones – It was not a bad weekend for me, I qualified in 12th and the times were very close. Then in the first race I got a decent start and finished 12th and then in the second race I got a better start and got into 10th and rode solid.
Ben Franklin – it was good to be back racing this weekend at the MX Nationals, I qualified in 14th which was ok and then followed it up with 14th in the first race. In the second race I was 13th, so there are plenty of things to work on and build upon, but it was good to finish two races as it has been a long time coming.
Harvey Cashmore – Qualifying was good with 4th quickest in the 250 class. In the 1st race I had a good start and was running 4th in the 250 before finishing 7th after making a few mistakes. In the second race I collided with another rider up the start straight and broke the bolts on my handlebars so had a DNF. In the 3rd race I had a good start and was leading the whole race and the 250 which was awesome, but I then got arm pump and finished 5th in the 250. The final race started with a bad start, and I had to pull through to 7th in the 250 for 9th overall so it was an up and down weekend for me.
