It’s time to travel to the mountain and confront the monster for riders contesting the 2024 AMCA British Motocross Championship supported by Holab Concepts and Joov Sports Products. This weekend’s event at the Welsh venue near Merthyr Tydfil, CF48 4AE, was initially meant to have been the final and deciding round of the series but as now become the penultimate clash instead!! That means riders have eight more motos in total, which still remain to decide their eventual finishing positions for 2024!
Words and Images by Mike Wood
Just one point separates Ray Rowson and Will Hughes at the top of the Open class title chase. It’s looking very likely that the crown will now go to one of these two lads as they hold a big 111-point advantage over third-placed Harvey Tillotson, with Adam Wells in 4th despite not picking up a single point during both rounds three and four. Both Harvey and Adam were on the podium last time out at Hawkstone so will certainly be continuing to insert pressure on the leading duo ahead of them right until the final chequered flag of the season.
Like that battle for top spot in the Open class, a couple of riders are also breaking away in the race for MX2 glory. Leading the way is McKenzie Marshall, 35 points better off than his season-long rival, Liam Gale. McKenzie has outscored Liam during four out of five completed rounds to earn his advantage, but he knows that there’s still plenty of hard work still to be done in the title chase! In this one, the consistent Adam Nevitt currently holds 3rd from Samuel Bishop, Tim Burrows and Jordan Wright.
Having been on the podium at all five rounds so far, Jimmy Margetson tops the 125cc Championship, his advantage being 52 points. Holding 2nd, Luke Newman has been equally as consistent as Jimmy, regularly finishing in the runners-up spot during each moto. Holab Concepts Fantic rider Charlie Palmer is a further 24 points behind Newman, whilst next up comes Wyatt McGregor, Scott Corfield and Kye Marshall. Over in the AMCA 125cc Youth series, Ollie Jewitt is back on top of the standings but with just a one-point advantage over Tom Goodfellow. Last time out at Hawkstone, Ollie was 6th overall, two places better off than Tom. In the Championship, Linc Hasted holds 3rd spot 62 points behind Tom with Callen Jai Griffiths 4th.
Although the very fast Wildcard Lucy Barker took overall victory at Hawkstone, BWMA Women’s Championship leader Grace Richards was on the podium in 2nd to thus extend her series advantage. Super Grace has indeed been on the box at all five rounds and so now sits 64 points clear of main title contender Libby Chatburn. This weekend’s round at Monster Mountain is in Leah Rees-Evans’ home country of Wales, so she will certainly be hoping to put on a good show to please her local supporters and consolidate her current 3rd place in the table. At present, Leah is 55 points better off than Ebony Brown, with Grace Bates and Hannah Jones completing the top six.
Having led the BW85cc series since round one, Ryan Jackson was a non-starter at Hawkstone, so Sean Simout is now in control. Sean was 4th overall at Hawkstone, and that strong performance meant that he has built a 17-point advantage in the Championship table with Ryan still in 2nd. Next up in the BW85cc standings are Oakley Skinner, Jack Bullock, Jacob Ince and Daniel Sheppard. There’s also been another change at the top of the SW85cc table as it sees Alfie Pincher back in control. After losing his series lead during round four, Alfie took 3rd overall at Hawkstone, with closest rivals Mason Brown and Jimmy Whiston 6th and 4th, respectively. In the standings, it’s now Pincher on 335 points, Brown 319 and Whiston 295, with Leo Whittle in 4th. Although she’s currently the only BWMA Girls 85cc rider, Lexi Emery continues to impress in every moto.
Although Mark Swift bagged his maiden AMCA Championship moto win at Hawkstone, James Lane took the Vets Over 40’s overall top slot to thus extend his advantage in the race for the 2024 title. James has been in simply sparkling form this season and sits 74 points clear of Adam Wilkinson, with Swift in 3rd and Rich Meakin 4th. Finishing level on 67 points with Wildcard Sean Smith at the head of the Hawkstone Vets Over 50’s overall standings, Simon Lane has also slightly extended his lead in the title race. Simon’s advantage, though, is still only 6 points better off than the defending Champion in this class, Matt Ryder, with Brian Staples holding 3rd.
This weekend’s action at the Mountain also includes the latest round in the Honda Cup competition. With another two motos planned, Matt Wright is currently leading the race to earn a brand new 2025 Honda CRF250R. Matt holds a 44-point advantage over Ricky Ryder, followed by Mark Allen and Caitlin Newman.
