The Monster Mountain circuit in Wales provided the challenge for riders attempting to climb to the summit of the 2024 AMCA British Motocross Championship last weekend. And for Lexi Emery (BWMA 85cc Girls), Grace Richards (BWMA Women), James Lane (Vets Over 40’s) and Matt Wright (Honda Cup) it was a story of peak reached and mission accomplished as they confirmed their respective titles. This two-day event should have been the finale of a series supported by Holab Concepts and Joov Sports Products, but it was now the penultimate round instead! So that meant that the action became even hotter, with potential glory tantalisingly in touch!
Race Report and Images by Mike Wood
First out on track was the combined 125cc/125cc Youth Championship, and, as per normal, what super racing they were to produce on the spectacular Welsh terrain. Right throughout the event, Wildcard rider Matt Ridgway was consistently quick off the gate before 125cc series pacesetter Jimmy Margetson came through to boss proceedings. In Moto One, Jimmy took just a lap to get in top spot as Luke Newman charged hard through from 7th to bag 2nd. Very fast and impressive, 125cc Youth series leader Tom Goodfellow took a strong 3rd in the opener ahead of Benjamin Sullivan, Ridgway and Wyatt McGregor.
For the rest of the weekend, Margetson was simply superb, turning on the style to earn another three big wins, although behind him, there was consistently plenty of great action. All of the above-mentioned lads were always in there fighting at the top end along with Charlie Palmer and Noel Brooks. Ridgway and Newman really went for it in moto three for the right to finish runner-up, whilst Newman then had to work overtime to see off McGregor in a super final moto scrap. It was Margetson, Newman and Ridgway on the main 125cc podium, whilst Goodfellow, Brooks and Linc Hasted filled the Youth 125cc box.
Wildcard riders James Dodd, Jaydon Murphy and spectacular young South African star Luke Grundy certainly added some extra spice to the combined Open/MX2 class at Monster Mountain. In a super opening moto four-way battle for supremacy, it was Doddy who grabbed the initial holeshot with Will Hughes, McKenzie Marshall and Ray Rowson giving chase. Two laps in and Hughes on a new KTM machine after spending the season Kawasaki mounted took control as Dodd, Marshall and Rowson continually swapped places. On the final lap, Rowson stormed up into the 2nd spot and chased his title rival Hughes home, with the hard-charging Grundy taking 5th from Murphy, Liam Gale and Adam Wells campaigning his Stark E-Bike. Moto two and it was another hot four-way tussle for top honours at the front as this time Doddy led all the way despite coming under serious pressure from the fast and very talented young MX2 ace Marshall. In this one, Grundy was right on the gas to bag 3rd with Rowson and Hughes for company.
With Dodd not competing on day two, there was to be drama in the opening clash as Hughes crashed in the early stages whilst leading. Dropping down to 10th, Will had it all to do as super Marshall blasted his KTM to a stylish win ahead of Grundy, Rowson, Gale, Murphy, Harvey Tillotson and Hughes getting back to 7th. Finishing his weekend in the best way possible, it was another victory for the MX2 boys in the last moto as that young star Marshall was first past the chequered flag with fellow MX2 ace Grundy in 2nd. So those results meant that Rowson was the Open class overall victor from Hughes and Wells, on the podium for the second consecutive round. Rowson has also increased his Championship lead from just a single point up to 12 over Hughes. In MX2, Marshall has likewise increased his title-chasing lead but to a nice 55 points, with Gale in 2nd. Both of those lads were on the Monster Mountain podium in 1st and 3rd, respectively, as Grundy took a well-deserved runners-up slot.
It’s many congratulations to Grace Richards, who wrapped up the 2024 BWMA Women’s title at Monster Mountain. Grace has been in fantastic form this season, leading the series just about all the way, and was on the podium during round six, but this time, she had to settle for the runners-up spot. Having her first BWMA outing of the campaign, it was Lauren Collingwood taking the win with a 1/1/3/2 scorecard. Whilst Lauren was very fast out of the gate to control the opening two moto’s from gate to flag, it did not go quite to plan for Grace! Suffering a couple of falls, she was 3rd on both occasions as Leah Rees-Evans got home in 2nd before the pattern changed in Sunday’s opening moto.
This time, it was Collingwood crashing and dropping down to 6th as at the front, Rees-Evans looked on course to record her maiden BWMA Women’s moto win as she led from Richards and the always consistent Ebony Brown. As the moto progressed, though, Richards gradually reeled Rees-Evans in before taking control on lap five and then racing onto the victory as Collingwood recovered well to earn 3rd ahead of Brown, Hannah Jones and Caitlin Newman. In the last moto, Collingwood was again the pacesetter, but the new Champion Richards was in a determined mood, taking control on lap two before racing onto another win as Rees-Evans confirmed her podium place, taking 3rd. With Grace having wrapped up the crown, Leah is now up into the silver medal position ahead of Libby Chatburn, who was a non-starter at Monster Mountain. As it stands, with one round remaining, it looks like Ebony Brown is the only rider who could mathematically break into the current BWMA Championship top three positions.
What a stunning race the opening BW85cc/SW85cc contest was to produce as the current BW series top two of Seam Smout and Ryan Jackson really went for it. Throughout the entire duration, there was little more than a couple of metres separating them, but it was Jackson grabbing the win from Smout, Regan Woods, Oakley Skinner, Daniel Sheppard and Jimmy Whiston who was the first SW85cc pilot home. It was then roles reversed in moto two as Smout led all the way from Jackson, with Whiston having another fantastic ride to bag 4th.
Keeping the super entertainment going, Jackson passed Skinner early on to win the first race on Sunday. With Smout eventually getting up to 2nd ahead of Skinner, it was Woods, Harry Hall and Mason Brown completing the top six. Early on in the final BW85cc/SW85cc contest, the fireworks looked set to ignite again as Skinner, Smout, and Jackson were frantically disputing the lead and on fire until Smout picked up a rear wheel puncture. Dropping down to 7th place it was Skinner on this occasion grabbing the win from Jackson with Woods, Hall and Brown again in the frame as Finn Fitzgerald was next up. So, Jackson, Smout and Skinner filled the BW podium with Whiston, Brown and Alfie Pincher on the SW box. Both these Championship classes are extremely tight and look very likely to go right down to the wire and the final chequered flag of the season!
After missing out on the AMCA Vets title in 2023 due to a rather freak mechanical issue, James Lane has bounced back in style this year, and he deservedly confirmed the 2024 Over 40’s crown at Monster Mountain. He started his title-winning weekend in the best way possible by passing his brother Simon to earn the moto one victory as Rich Meakin, Brian Staples, Mark Swift and Matt Ryder were next up. Unfortunately, that opening race was marred by a serious hip injury sustained by Adam Wilkinson, get well soon Adam! After winning that first moto of the weekend, James Lane then made a very uncharacteristic mistake whilst leading the second clash. Having to settle for a 3rd place finish, this time it was Simon Lane taking the win from Meakin.
In Sunday’s racing, James and Simon scored another win apiece, but throughout the meeting, there was plenty of highly competitive action with Meakin regularly involved. In moto three he came from a very distant last place and grab 6th before then pushing Simon Lane hard for the win in the last one. New Champ James Lane and Ryder also had a right old tussle in the final moto with Staples and Swift for close company. With James Lane sewing up the Vets Over 40’s series, his brother Simon tops the Over 50’s standings with one round remaining, 20 points clear of Ryder with Staples in 3rd.
In fantastic form in 2024, Matt Wright became the fourth confirmed AMCA Champion for the season when he claimed the Honda Cup title. At Monster Mountain, Matt bagged another two moto wins and has suffered just one defeat in the entire series. Joining him on the podium at the weekend were Ricky Ryder and Caitlin Newman.
Completing the monster weekend was a Clubman Support Under 40’s class, which saw overall victory go to GasGas-mounted Nicky Jones. In the four completed motos, Nicky was first past the post on three occasions, his only defeat being inflicted by Romeo Mead. In the overall standings, Mead was to take the runners-up position, with Ted Bullen in third.
Results
Open
| Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 |
| 1 | Ray Rowson | 94 | 22 | 22 | 25 | 25 |
| 2 | Will Hughes | 83 | 25 | 20 | 18 | 20 |
| 3 | Adam Wells | 70 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 22 |
| 4 | Harvey Tillotson | 66 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 16 |
| 5 | Ben Walker | 59 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 18 |
| 6 | Jaydon Murphy | 58 | 18 | 18 | 22 | – |
| 7 | James Dodd | 45 | 20 | 25 | – | – |
| 8 | Patrick Gilligan | 28 | 14 | 14 | – | – |
MX2
| Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 |
| 1 | McKenzie Marshall | 100 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| 2 | Luke Grundy | 88 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
| 3 | Liam Gale | 80 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| 4 | Adam Nevitt | 65 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 18 |
| 5 | Logan Jay Powell | 61 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| 6 | Tim Burrows | 60 | 15 | 18 | 14 | 13 |
| 7 | Samuel Bishop | 54 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 10 |
| 8 | Oliver Davis | 50 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 12 |
| 9 | daniel Nevitt | 41 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 |
| 10 | kye marshall | 35 | – | 12 | 9 | 14 |
| 11 | Matt Wright | 34 | 10 | – | 13 | 11 |
| 12 | Martin Jones | 32 | – | – | 16 | 16 |
| 13 | Will Turner | 19 | 9 | 10 | – | – |
| 14 | Aaron Collins | 12 | 12 | – | – | – |
125cc
| Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 |
| 1 | Jimmy Margetson | 100 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| 2 | Luke Newman | 86 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 20 |
| 3 | Matt Ridgway | 78 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 |
| 4 | Wyatt McGregor | 68 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 |
| 5 | Charlie Palmer | 66 | 14 | 20 | 16 | 16 |
| 6 | Benjamin Sullivan | 64 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 14 |
| 7 | Billy MCgillivray | 42 | 15 | 14 | – | 13 |
| 8 | Will Turner | 29 | – | – | 14 | 15 |
Womens
| Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 |
| 1 | Lauren Collingwood | 92 | 25 | 25 | 20 |
| 2 | Grace Richards | 90 | 20 | 20 | 25 |
| 3 | Leah Rees-Evans | 86 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
| 4 | Ebony Brown | 67 | 15 | 16 | 18 |
| 5 | Caitlin Newman | 63 | 18 | 15 | 15 |
| 6 | Hannah Jones | 61 | 16 | 13 | 16 |
| 7 | Holly Williams | 59 | 14 | 18 | 13 |
| 8 | Amber McGregor | 54 | 13 | 14 | 14 |
| 9 | Erin Howes | 46 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| 10 | Cyra-j Carysforth Smith | 43 | 10 | 10 | 11 |
| 11 | Lucy Fearn | 43 | 11 | 11 | 10 |
| 12 | Sasha Tollet | 34 | 7 | 9 | 9 |
| 13 | Izzi Wright | 31 | 8 | 7 | 8 |
| 14 | India Hodgkinson | 31 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
| 15 | Elizabeth Knifton | 24 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Vets Over 40
| Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 |
| 1 | James Lane | 94 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 22 |
| 2 | Richard Meakin | 92 | 22 | 25 | 20 | 25 |
| 3 | Mark Swift | 82 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 20 |
| 4 | Thurlow Bone | 70 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 18 |
| 5 | James kay | 63 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 15 |
Vets Over 50
| Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 |
| 1 | Simon Lane | 100 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| 2 | Matt Ryder | 86 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
| 3 | Brian Staples | 82 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
Honda Cup
| Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 |
| 1 | Matt Wright | 50 | 25 | 25 |
| 2 | Ricky Ryder | 42 | 20 | 22 |
| 3 | Caitlin Newman | 38 | 18 | 20 |
| 4 | Mark Allen | 34 | 16 | 18 |
| 5 | kye marshall | 22 | 22 | – |
125 Youth
| Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 |
| 1 | Tom Goodfellow | 97 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 25 |
| 2 | Noel Brooks | 85 | 22 | 25 | 22 | 16 |
| 3 | Linc Hasted | 80 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 22 |
| 4 | Oliver Bebb | 76 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 |
| 5 | Ollie Jewitt | 62 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 |
| 6 | Oakley Kettle | 62 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 |
| 7 | Max Monk | 58 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 |
| 8 | Lewis Roberts | 49 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 9 | Bobby Watson | 48 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 11 |
| 10 | ryan oboye | 45 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 10 |
| 11 | Tyler Lane | 37 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| 12 | Zach Lakin | 31 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| 13 | Oscar Bott | 27 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 14 | Thomas Knifton | 25 | 9 | 10 | 6 | – |
| 15 | Harry Caudle | 22 | – | – | 10 | 12 |
| 16 | Liam Bayliss | 14 | 7 | 7 | – | – |
Big Wheel 85
| Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 |
| 1 | Ryan Jackson | 94 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 22 |
| 2 | Sean Smout | 85 | 22 | 25 | 22 | 16 |
| 3 | Oakley skinner | 83 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 25 |
| 4 | Regan Woods | 74 | 20 | 16 | 18 | 20 |
| 5 | Arley Marshall | 63 | 15 | 18 | 16 | 14 |
| 6 | Daniel Sheppard | 53 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 15 |
| 7 | Jack Bullock | 52 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 10 |
| 8 | Charlie Roberts | 47 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 |
| 9 | Jacob Ince | 44 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 12 |
| 10 | Finn Fitzgerald | 42 | – | 15 | 9 | 18 |
| 11 | Ryan Tilley | 40 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 9 |
| 12 | Terry challinor | 27 | 13 | 14 | – | – |
Small Wheel 85
| Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 |
| 1 | Jimmy Whiston | 88 | 25 | 25 | 18 | 20 |
| 2 | Mason Brown | 84 | 22 | 18 | 22 | 22 |
| 3 | Alfie Pincher | 80 | 20 | 22 | 20 | 18 |
| 4 | Freddie smith | 70 | 18 | 20 | 16 | 16 |
| 5 | Harry Hall | 50 | – | – | 25 | 25 |
Clubman Under 40 Support
| Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 |
| 1 | Nicky Jones | 97 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 25 |
| 2 | Romeo Mead | 87 | 22 | 18 | 25 | 22 |
| 3 | Ted Bullen | 76 | 20 | 22 | 18 | 16 |
| 4 | George Bromley | 73 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 15 |
| 5 | Jed Reeson | 68 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 20 |
| 6 | Ricky Ryder | 61 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 18 |
| 7 | James Russell | 50 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 |
| 8 | Lewis Day | 44 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 |
| 9 | Rob Longworth | 40 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 |
| 10 | Chris Duckett | 30 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| 11 | Louis Tilley | 29 | 15 | 14 | – | – |
| 12 | Ryan Williams | 28 | – | – | 15 | 13 |
| 13 | Samuel Trinder | 26 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 3 |
| 14 | Joseph Watts | 25 | – | – | 11 | 14 |
| 15 | Jack Bromley | 25 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 5 |
| 16 | Ben Pritchard | 25 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 4 |
| 17 | Luke Williams | 24 | – | – | 13 | 11 |
| 18 | Jack Pocock | 16 | – | – | 8 | 8 |
| 19 | Mark Allen | 16 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| 20 | Philip Hurn | 12 | – | – | 5 | 7 |
