British motocross champion Conrad Mewse made a stunning return to racing with a dominant double win in his first motocross of the year, while his Crendon Tru7 Honda team-mate Taylor Hammal took a fantastic second overall on his 450 debut.
After getting injured while leading the UK Arenacross series in January, Mewse had not raced until the team decided to take advantage of a last-minute entry in the opening Bridgestone Masters series at the tough Oakhanger track on Sunday. The Briton had been testing in Belgium in the week running up to the event, and even rode on a deep sand track at Dunkirk in France the day before the race.
Despite lack of bike time and race preparation, Mewse went quicker than all his rivals in qualifying. In the opening moto he started fourth but took the lead on the first lap of the punishing track. He showed his class and talent by taking a clear win on the Honda CRF450R, winning with a 38-second margin from John Adamson and set a lap time more than two seconds quicker than anyone.
After a tough first lap where he came around in tenth place, Hammal put on a relentless charge to bring his Crendon Tru7 Honda CRF450R home third. But 250 specialist Hammal went even better in race two, overtaking leader Adamson on the third lap to head the field. But Mewse, who had made a poor start, was on the charge and soon caught up to his team-mate. The Crendon Tru7 Honda duo were in impressive form at the front, but Hammal had no answer for Mewse who moved into the lead on lap four.
Mewse set the fastest lap of the race as he eased away to the win, but Hammal stayed second – posting lap times 2.5 seconds faster than third place Adamson. So with his double win, Mewse took the overall from Hammal in the duo’s first race together in the Crendon Tru7 Honda team.
Mewse said: “It was so nice to get back into racing but I felt a bit rusty after a ten-week period off the bike, especially on such a super gnarly track. The injury to my ankle was complicated and took a long time to heal, but it gave me no problem at all. I’m totally pain-free. I never stopped training after the injury but now just need more time on the bike to get ready for the season ahead.
“In fact the only issues I had today was the start. My bike is set up for metal start grids and today was on deep sand which is very different. I wasn’t fully race ready but I feel I’m in a good place.”
Hammal said: “I really enjoyed being back at the races today. It was my first race on the 450 and really have a good feeling with it. The bike’s a beast and I haven’t really had a lot of bike time in recent weeks.
“In the first race I got a dreadful start due to a rookie mistake of not having the start device on, but I pulled up to third. I got a good start second race and got into the lead. I tried to hang on to the back of Conrad for a few laps but when he broke the gap, he was gone. Overall a good start to racing, I still have a lot of work to do but I’m happy with today’s result. Thanks to the whole team and my personal sponsors.”
The championship season starts for the Crendon Tru7 Honda team of Mewse, Hammal and Callum Green – all on Crendon Tru7 Honda CRF450Rs – at the fastest 40 championship round at Foxhill near Swindon, Wilts, on April 20. For the British championship, which starts on April 28 at Lyng, Hammal will race the Honda CRF250R alongside Jake Nicholls in the MX2 class with Mewse and Green on the CRF450R.
Words and Images by Honda MX Racing UK
