This past weekend, the SJP Moto team headed to Schoolhouse near Newcastle for the penultimate round of the Dirt Store ACU British Motocross Championship. As the championship draws to a close, everyone is looking to gain as many points as possible.
Saturday was a dry day, and the practice and qualifying sessions started. Leo Wilson was 2nd fastest in the Small Wheel 85cc, with teammate Jimmy Boxall 15th. In the Big Wheel 85cc class, Harvey Collins was 7th fastest, while in the 125cc class, Josh Vail was 2nd fastest.
In the Small Wheel 85cc class, Leo and Jimmy contested three races on Saturday. In the opening moto, Leo made a good start in second and held the position to the flag, while Jimmy had a bad start but recovered well to finish in 13th. The second race saw Leo take another strong result with third place, and Jimmy came home in 16th place. The final race of the day saw Leo take second place, with Jimmy in 14th.
The final race on Sunday saw the track conditions change due to the track watering and the light rain showers. When the gate dropped Leo started in 2nd but slipped to 4th at the finish for 3rd overall, while Jimmy took his best result of the weekend in 9th for 12th overall.
In the Big Wheel 85cc class, Harvey suffered a bad start and was around 16th. He had to work hard and pulled through to 8th. From then on, the starts were much better, with a strong 4th in race 2 and another good start in race 3 for 7th place. Sunday was a bit of a mud race, and a good start again saw him battling with 5th. He went for a pass and got in the soft side of the track and finished 7th for 7th overall, joint points with 6th.
Coming into this weekend, Josh Vail was only 3 points behind in the championship battle and hoping to take the lead. In the opening race on Saturday, Josh suffered a bad start but quickly recovered to finish in second. In the second race on Saturday, Josh took another second-place finish.
On Sunday the track was more technical with the muddy conditions, after making a good start Josh rode well and was challenging for the lead until on the last lap his chain came off, but Josh was able to get it back on and finish in 2nd place. In the weekend’s final race, Josh made a good start and took the lead early on before slipping to 2nd at the finish and 2nd overall on the weekend. Josh now heads to the final round 15 points behind in the standings and is looking to challenge for the title.
Speaking after the weekend, Team Manager Leighton Haigh commented, “It has been a good weekend for the team; Josh rode strong all weekend and challenged for race wins in all four races and will be looking to push for the championship at the last round. Leo rode strong and took a solid podium, while Harvey and Jimmy both secured their best results of the season”.
Words by SJP Moto – Images by Imagerich Media
