A fantastic start to the championship season saw the Crendon Tru7 Honda duo of Conrad Mewse and Jamie Carpenter both on the podium at the Oxford Moto Park in the NPC Pro Motocross Championship opener. Mewse went fastest in qualifying then ran away with both motos in convincing style to take the red plate.
Report and Images by Crendon Tru7 Honda
And it was all the threes for Carpenter who was third quickest in qualifying then took two third places in the motos to clinch third in overall – his first ever MX1 podium in a major British championship series.
Right from the off, the Honda CRF450R duo were in stunning form, looking fast and smooth in qualifying on the track that’s technical and packed with huge jumps. Mewse set a stunning time, three seconds faster than next man Tristan Purdon with Carpenter just a fifth of a second behind him.
The opening moto saw the Crendon Tru7 team-mates start right next to each other on the gate and they rocketed their red machines into the lead out of the first corner. Mewse led with Carpenter on his heels and giving chase.
READ MORE: BRITISH MOTOCROSS NEWS
As four-time British champ Mewse began to pull away, Carpenter tried as hard as he could to keep up but ended up slipping off on the third lap. He remounted in fifth place then spend the moto battling towards the front. As the race was combined MX1 and MX2 classes but they are scored separately, Carpenter ended up battling with MX2 rider Tommy Searle. As the flag dropped, Mewse won by almost a minute from Purdon, with Carpenter behind Searle but third in the MX1 class.
Second time out Mewse once again pulled off a stunning start to take the lead from Purdon and immediately began to pull away as the track got rougher and more rutty. Carpenter didn’t get such a good start this time but picked off his rivals and soon settled into a solid third place spot. This time he gapped the riders giving chase. Once again Mewse won comfortably from South African Purdon with Carpenter third again to claim his place on the podium.
Mewse said: “A good day. First race for my championship season so it was great with first place in qualifying, two holeshots and two wins. Couldn’t ask for any more! My suspension man came over from Belgium and we did some testing which was great as the track was so gnarly. So we made some good steps forward. I’m happy how I’m riding and my fitness is good so I’m in a good place and looking forward to the season.”
Carpenter said: “A solid day with third places in qualifying and both races. And I’m so happy to be on the podium at the first round of this new championship.
“I had two completely different races today. In the first one I had a really good start and was second behind Conrad. He doesn’t even look like he’s trying but he goes at an incredible speed.
“I did a good couple of laps then let it slip away from me. I went off track and into a barrier. Got back on, with bent levers but soon got back up to third. In race two I didn’t get the best of starts but this time I could see where other riders were going and check their lines, So I got my head down and got through to third which was good going. I had a few good battles with Tommy Searle most of the day – it’s just good to get back racing.”
Team manager Ryan Thorpe said: “What a great way to start the season and both riders did a great job. Conrad was faultless all day, with two holeshots he led every lap and kept up his intensity really high right through to the end of the motos.
“And it was fantastic to see Jamie running in a comfortable second place in the opener until his little crash. But two third places first time out on the race bike is really promising. We’re all excited about the season ahead.
“And of course it’s a team effort so a big thanks to the mechanics, our technical partners and sponsors as to be so competitive right from the first round is a credit to everyone involved.”
The team races again on Sunday at Hawkstone Park in the first round of the ACU British championship where they will be joined by Jake Nicholls in the MX2 class on the Crendon Tru7 Honda CRF250R.
Results and championship points after round 1:
1 Conrad Mewse Crendon Tru7 Honda 50
2 Tristan Purdon 44
3 Jamie Carpenter Crendon Tru7 Honda 40
4 Brad Todd 36
5 Dan Thornhill 33
6 Charlie Putnam 30
7 Carlton Husband 30
8 Joel Rizzi 21
9 Jason Meara 20
