With excitement, the WORX Total Triumph Motocross Team arrived last weekend at the famous Hawkstone Park track in Shropshire for the opening round of the 2025 Motul British Motocross Championship. Both team riders, Calum Mitchell and George Hopkins, were eager and prepared to start the championship battle.
With the new organisation behind the series and an increasing number of riders eager to participate in this prestigious championship, both riders had to compete in a qualifying race. If a rider didn’t qualify, they had to enter the LCQ race, where the top four riders advanced to the championship races.
Calum was in the first qualifying group and finished seventh, just three seconds off the fastest rider’s pace, behind ex-GP rider Jake Nicholls.
George didn’t have the best luck when he participated in qualifying group two. He said, “The day didn’t start too well for me. I unfortunately had a big crash at the beginning of the session. It knocked me around a bit, and I struggled through the rest of the session and didn’t set a fast enough time to qualify. ” This meant he had to compete in the LCQ race.
George lined up an hour later for the LCQ, got the holeshot, and led for five of the seven laps. Tom Caneele took the lead and secured the race win from George with one lap remaining, but George had done enough to qualify for the main points-scoring races.
In Race 1, Bobby Bruce led the pack into the first corner, with Calum in sixteenth place and George, after his awful gate pick, in twenty-fourth. “Between qualifying and the first race, we decided to make some setup changes to the bike, “ said Calum, who then added, “They didn’t seem to work and I struggled to keep a good race pace.” He worked his way up to twelfth before Billy Askew and Jake Nicholls, who had both crashed together at the start, slipped past him toward the end of the race. He finished sixteenth.
George had a midfield start and passed several riders before two of his fellow competitors collided in front of him. He had nowhere to go and got tangled up in the mess. This left him nearly last, but he passed several riders again before the end of the race.
In race two, with Askew leading from start to finish, Calum gated fourteenth. He said, “We returned to the bike’s original setup before that race, and I felt much more comfortable. We also ran into some problems in the holding area, which led to me getting penalised to thirtieth gate pick. But I made the best of a bad situation and got on with my racing. “
From his fourteenth place on lap one, Calum worked his way forward to tenth but dropped a position to James Barker and finished tenth.
A brave and hurting George made his way to the start of race two, gated in twenty-third, and completed a couple of laps before he called it a day.
Team boss Dave Anthony commented on the team’s day, saying, “It was great to return to the British championship after a long offseason and to have the entire team together again. We have several very positive takeaways from the day that will carry into the future. “
“Calum acquitted himself well; however, placing twelfth overall is not where he believes he should be. For round two, he aims to achieve a much higher finish with two strong moto finishes.
“George suffered a big crash today, which forced him to participate in the LCQ race. I know George has a lot more in him, and he will be working hard in readiness for round two.
“As for the meeting itself, I think it’s been the best British Championship round I have seen in many years, and that’s great for the sport.”
The entire team is eager for round two of the series at the Sidcup Clubs at a modified Canada Heights on May 18th.
MX2 Results
1 Bobby Wayne Bruce (Bike it Kawasaki) 25 + 22 = 47
2 Tommy Searle (Dirtstore Triumph) 22 + 20 = 42
3 Billy Askew (Dirtstore Triumph) 15 + 25 = 40
4 Ben Mustoe (ASA United Gas Gas) 18 + 14 = 32
5 Ollie Colmer (Chambers KTM) 13 + 18 = 31
6 Charlie Hayman (SC Sporthomes Husqvarna) 16 + 15 = 31
7 Glenn McCormick (Chambers KTM) 14 + 13 = 27 = 27
8 Gayan Doensen (Gabriel SS24 KTM) 20 + 4 = 24
9 Jake Nicholls (Crendon TRU7 Honda) 7 + 16 = 23
10 James Barker (KTM) 11 + 12 = 23
11 Josh Vail (Phoenix Tools Fantic) 12 + 6 = 18
12 Calum Mitchell (Worx Total Triumph) 5 + 11 = 16
13 Gavin Stevenson (Honda) 9 + 7 = 16
14 Liam Garland (SRE Services KTM) 4 + 8 = 12
15 Bayliss Utting (Triumph) 0 + 10 = 10
Words and Images by Dick Law
