Jones roars to victory at Bromsberrow! 2023 AMCA British Motocross Championship Round 7 – Race Report, Results & Interviews

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With quite a major contrast in weather conditions over the two days of the latest AMCA British Motocross Championship action held at Bromsberrow, it was to prove to be a stern test of a rider’s fitness levels and desire to succeed. On day one the entry was faced by a blue-sky scene with the mercury rapidly rising and creating energy sapping temperatures whilst day two although being cooler was then hit by a period of thundery rain which changed the dynamics of the track. Despite that inconsistent weather though, the racing throughout was red -hot with the organising Uley MXC doing a superb job in preparing a revamped circuit, so well done to them!

Race Report, Images and Interviews by Mike Wood

The weekend at Bromsberrow was the penultimate event of the 2023 series thus also testing the temperament of those riders in Championship contention, could they remain cool and composed under pressure, well let’s find out! First out on track was the combined Youth 125cc/BWMA Women’s Championship and in that one both of the series leaders, Shane Jones (Apex GasGas UK) and Marni Saunders (Kawasaki) safely came through with flying colours and overall victories. In the first of the 125cc Youth moto’s, Wyatt McGregor was fastest away before dropping down to 5th. At the front, series leader Jones was now in control and that’s where he remained chased home by Will Turner, Cailen Jai Griffiths, McGregor, Jack Evans and Logan Jay Powell.

Wyatt McGregor runner up in the 125cc Youth class

Having scored 17 consecutive moto wins, Jones was then to suffer a rare defeat in the second 125cc Youth clash when the fast McGregor got the better of him. In Sunday’s two battles Jones returned to winning ways passing Tom Goodfellow early in moto three before scorching to another gate to flag success in the last one. That meant that he took top step on the podium. Joining him on the box were McGregor and Turner with Evans just missing out by a mere 2 points.

Grace Bates 3rd overall in the BWMA Womens class

Over in the BWMA Woman’s contest, Marni Saunders increased her Championship lead by being the first Lady home in all four moto’s. Hannah Jones was also having a very consistent weekend going onto not only earn 2nd overall but in the process leapfrog Caitlin Newman in the series standings. Completing the BWMA podium was Grace Bates as Hollie Roberts, Amber McGregor and Newman were next up. Despite the changing conditions, the Ladies proved that they certainly had the fitness and desire to mix it with Marni inside the top ten placings during both of Saturday’s hot moto’s. Hannah’s best finish was a great 11th in a moto two which Grace also recorded a fine 13th.

Jack Evans flying to 4th overall in the 125cc Youth class

Next to put their title credentials on the line was the FUS Marsh Geartec Husqvarna boys James Dodd and Shane Carless in a combined Open/MX2 class. The decision to merge certainly added plenty of extra spice to the contest thus producing plenty of red-hot super racing! In the first moto it was to be a FUS one-two and victory for the MX2 series leader Carless as he came through from third to get the better of his fellow team member Dodd with Josh Waterman, Henry Williams, Rory Jones and Josh Taylor next up. Moto two and Open class leader Dodd led from gate to flag ahead of Championship title rival Williams.

Jake Preston(957) and Logan Wilcox in MX2 aerial combat

Although the second day of racing produced different conditions, the result was the same in the opener as Doddy was right on it to bag another vital win as MX2 ace Jones produced a stormer to get home in a close 2nd place. Making it a weekend hat-trick, Dodd was then first past the flag in the last one ahead of Williams, Jones, Taylor, Will Hughes and Waterman. Those results meant that Dodd was the Open class overall winner from Williams and Wildcard rider Taylor, also increasing his Championship advantage by a further 12 points in the process. Over in MX2 it was to be a richly deserved maiden AMCA top step for Rory Jones (IDS Transport/J.L Cox Cranes Ltd GasGas), joined by Waterman and Carless who suffering from sore hands had been riding conservatively to ensure that he maintained his title chasing lead.

After suffering a very frustrating season due to arm and hand cramps caused by blood circulation issues, it was great to see Waterman back on the podium. Swapping his 450F Honda for a lighter 250F KTM, he was certainly immediately on it, ultra-competitive and right on the pace throughout the weekend! Also, massive well done to MX2 winner Jones who’s been really banging on the door and threatening that podium top step all season long! Rory has also reduced the gap on Shane to 34 points at the top so it’s still certainly all to play for at Brookthorpe in two weeks’ time!

Going into this penultimate round with a nice 82-point advantage at the top of the 125cc class, Luke Dean (Meredith MX Fantic) was on it right from the off at Bromsberrow, taking the moto one win from Corey Hockey, Damon Strydom, Jack Cox, Charlie Palmer and Harry Linton. Having made the switch earlier in the season from MX2 over to 125cc, Midwest Racing Husqvarna pilot Hockey then bagged his maiden AMCA 125cc Championship moto win with a glorious ride in the second clash. Corey led from gate to flag as Cox passed Dean for the runners-up spot.

After that win in the heat of Saturday, Hockey found himself down in 5th early on in Sunday’s wet opener as the super Dean passed fast Cox and Palmer before marching onto victory. At the flag, Hockey had climbed back up to 2nd with Cox 3rd, Strydom 4th and Palmer 5th. In the last frantic 125cc moto of the weekend, Hockey and Cox set the pace at the front before Dean charged through for another win as all of the above names plus the always fast Yarin Evans was in the mix. So, it was a Dean, Hockey, Cox podium and in the title race Dean has moved ever closer to the title, just reward after going so close back in 2022! He now holds a 97-point advantage over Cox with Strydom leapfrogging Linton and going into 3rd.

Just 2 points separated Oakley Kettle and George Clark at the top of the Youth 85cc Championship but that gap is now increased to 43 points with Oliver Bebb becoming the closest challenger. Whilst Kettle was superb at Bromsberrow on his AD Modular/Beer Trading Company KTM taking the overall win with a 1/3/1/1 scorecard, Clark only completed the opening day of action going 5/4. Kettle’s best win of the weekend probably came in a wet moto three when he passed Bebb and Bobby Watson before gliding past the fast Mason Care with just two laps remaining. Kettle’s only defeat came in a hot moto two when he had to settle for 3rd whilst at the front Bebb passed Care on the final lap for the win. In this class, Ryan Jackson took a fine 5th overall to thus also extend his SW85cc Championship lead to a three-figure total.

The BWMA Girls 85cc class also compete with the lads and once again they produced some star performances. Leah Rees-Evans and Checoby Rainey scored a fantastic 6th and 7TH overall respectively with Erin Howes and BWMA series leader Holly Williams also inside the top ten. Rees-Evans also bagged yet another BWMA class overall verdict at Bromsberrow whilst scoring a hat-trick of superb 5th placings in the moto’s contested. Checoby’s highest finish was 6th in the opener and her weekend results was also to prove crucial in the race for the BWMA 85cc title. Going into the event she was just a single point behind Holly but it’s now a 10-point advantage so this particular contest is surely going right down to the wire and potentially a nerve jangling, title deciding, final moto of the campaign!

Whilst it now looks very likely that it will be one of the Gloucester based Lane brothers lifting the 2023 AMCA Vets title, former Champion Matt Ryder is also still mathematically in the race. At Bromsberrow, James Lane went 1/4/1/1 for the overall ahead of Simon Lane and Ryder. Crucially at the top, James only reduced Simon’s lead by just 2 points so the elder of the brothers still has a nice 45-point advantage going into the decider at Brookthorpe.

The battle for Vets glory as eventual winner James Lane(781) chases his brother Simon Lane

After having had a few years out from the series, Matt Ryder is looking strong on his big red Honda whilst taking 4th overall at the weekend was another 2023 AMCA Championship returnee Richard Meakin. In the Bromsberrow standings, Brian Staples, Matthew Chaplin and Richard Tudor were next up whilst in the separately scored Vets 050 class it’s still Ryder topping the table from Staples and Stuart Kilmarten.

Completing the action and on Sunday only was a class for Juniors Support. Contesting two moto’s, Lewis Watkins took both wins chased home by Daniel Hurst whilst Grant Reed did enough to earn 3rd overall.

Oakley Kettle(33) the Youth 85cc winner passing Jimmy Whiston

Results

Open

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4
1	James Dodd	200	50	50	50	50
2	Henry Williams	188	47	47	47	47
3	Josh Taylor	180	45	45	45	45
4	Mark Roberts	168	41	43	43	41
5	Will Hughes	166	43	39	41	43
6	Aaron Collins	156	39	41	39	37
7	Ben Walker	74	37	37	–	–
8	Robbie Parker	39	–	–	–	39

MX2

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4
1	Rory Jones	195	45	50	50	50
2	Josh Waterman	186	47	45	47	47
3	Shane Carless	185	50	47	45	43
4	Lee Truman	166	41	39	41	45
5	Liam Gale	166	43	41	43	39
6	Jake Preston	162	39	43	39	41
7	Logan Wilcox	144	37	37	37	33
8	Alfie Calvert	136	31	33	35	37
9	Martin Jones	136	35	35	31	35
10	Troy Jones	119	29	29	30	31
11	Jordan Meredith	117	30	31	28	28
12	Jack Griffiths	115	28	28	29	30
13	Oliver Davis	109	26	27	27	29
14	Joe Jordan	96	33	30	33	–
15	Joshua Fletcher-Williams	27	27	–	–	–

125’s

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4
1	Luke Dean	195	50	45	50	50
2	Corey Hockey	191	47	50	47	47
3	Jack Cox	180	43	47	45	45
4	Damon Strydom	174	45	43	43	43
5	Harry Linton	158	39	41	37	41
6	Charlie Palmer	158	41	37	41	39
7	Yarin Evans	142	35	31	39	37
8	Olly Hathaway	136	33	33	35	35
9	Lewis Proud	122	29	30	30	33
10	Macauley Davies	117	30	29	28	30
11	Scott Corfield	106	25	26	26	29
12	Stuart Owen	105	37	39	29	–
13	Mitch Evans	102	26	24	24	28
14	Sean Veness	93	31	35	27	–
15	Harry Bebb	90	–	28	31	31
16	Mitchell Hartill	74	24	25	25	–
17	Patrick Gilligan	61	28	–	33	–
18	Finlay James	54	27	27	–	–

Vets Over 40

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4
1	James Lane	193	50	43	50	50
2	Simon Lane	191	47	50	47	47
3	Richard Meakin	174	45	45	43	41
4	Matthew Chaplin	154	39	35	41	39
5	Richard Tudor	144	35	37	37	35
6	Russell Grove	130	33	33	33	31
7	Aidan Wright	126	31	31	31	33
8	David Wilcox	113	37	41	35	–
9	Russell Hartill	90	30	30	30	–

Vets Over 50

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4
1	Matt Ryder	200	50	50	50	50
2	Brian Staples	186	47	47	47	45
3	Stuart Kilmarten	176	45	45	43	43
4	Andrew Bowles	92	–	–	45	47

BWMA Womens

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4
1	Marni Saunders	200	50	50	50	50
2	Hannah Jones	182	47	47	41	47
3	Grace Bates	176	45	45	43	43
4	Hollie Roberts	174	41	41	47	45
5	Amber McGregor	172	43	43	45	41
6	Caitlin Newman	154	39	37	39	39
7	Autumn Jenkinson	148	35	39	37	37
8	Daisy Blackwell	142	37	35	35	35
9	India Hodgkinson	130	33	33	33	31
10	Izzi Wright	126	31	31	31	33

Youth 125

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4
1	Shane Jones	197	50	47	50	50
2	Wyatt McGregor	185	43	50	47	45
3	Will Turner	174	47	41	43	43
4	Jack Evans	172	41	45	39	47
5	Cailen Jai Griffiths	164	45	43	41	35
6	Tom Goodfellow	158	37	39	45	37
7	Travis James	146	33	37	35	41
8	Logan Jay Powell	146	39	35	33	39
9	Phillip Tchorek	134	35	29	37	33
10	George Bromley	120	31	33	28	28
11	Max Brick	119	29	30	30	30
12	Jack Hoare	119	30	31	29	29
13	Tyler Lane	108	27	27	27	27
14	Leo Rixon	108	28	28	26	26
15	Harley Pritchett	62	–	–	31	31

BWMA Girls

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4
1	Leah Rees-Evans	193	43	50	50	50
2	Checoby Rainey	189	50	45	47	47
3	Erin Howes	180	47	43	45	45
4	Holly Williams	178	45	47	43	43
5	Poppy Banning	162	41	41	41	39
6	Sophie Jones	154	37	37	39	41
7	Cameron Mansbridge	115	39	39	37	–

Big Wheel 85

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4
1	Oakley Kettle	195	50	45	50	50
2	Oliver Bebb	189	47	50	47	45
3	Mason Care	184	45	47	45	47
4	Bobby Watson	168	43	39	43	43
5	Oakley Skinner	138	33	33	39	33
6	Jack Bullock	110	20	25	28	37
7	Charlie Walker	103	31	29	20	23
8	Lewis Day	100	25	24	24	27
9	George Clark	84	41	43	–	–
10	Harry Caudle	58	27	31	–	–

Small Wheel 85

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4
1	Ryan Jackson	200	50	50	50	50
2	Terry Challinor	174	39	45	43	47
3	Alfie Pincher	174	45	47	41	41
4	Aston Whitehead	172	47	43	47	35
5	Jimmy Whiston	168	43	35	45	45
6	Jacob Ince	164	41	41	39	43
7	Max Beard	152	37	39	37	39
8	Olly Hadwell	144	35	37	35	37

BWMA Girls

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4
1	Leah Rees-Evans	193	43	50	50	50
2	Checoby Rainey	189	50	45	47	47
3	Erin Howes	180	47	43	45	45
4	Holly Williams	178	45	47	43	43
5	Poppy Banning	162	41	41	41	39
6	Sophie Jones	154	37	37	39	41
7	Cameron Mansbridge	115	39	39	37	–

Junior Support

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2
1	Lewis Watkins	100	50	50
2	Daniel Hurst	94	47	47
3	Grant Reed	88	45	43
4	Joe Willoughby	82	37	45
5	Ricky Peacock	82	43	39
6	Ricky Ryder	80	39	41
7	Ryan Neale	76	41	35
8	Freddie Rainey	68	35	33
9	Patrick Belcher	66	29	37
10	Joseph Stephens	62	31	31
11	Samuel Trinder	33	33	–
12	Nigel Reed	30	30	–