Here’s what some of the riders had to say following round 4 of the AMCA British Motocross Championship at Long Lane on Sunday.
Words and Images by Mike Wood
James Mackrel (MDMX Apico Factory Racing Yamaha) 2nd in MX1
“Had a struggling start to the day because of not having done much in over a year since an injury. But I got off to a good start in race one and pushed the whole race to try get the lead, had to settle for second.
“Race two had an awful start and on lap three my shoulder dislocated in and out and I only could manage 4th in that race. Race 3 was shaping up to be good with a really strong start and leading all of the race until one lap to go only for my shoulder to do the same thing again after near crashing, I had to settle for 3rd.
“I would like to say a massive thanks to all at MDMX Off-Road for having me over this weekend as without them I wouldn’t have been there”.
Ashley Greedy (FUS Marsh MX Husqvarna) 5th in MX1
“It was a stressful day. In qualifying I went P3 only for the clutch to go in moto one so struggled in the second half of the race but still managed to hold a P5. Just about made moto two after fixing the bike and finished P5 again. In moto three had a better start and finished that one with P4. Overall not a bad day and managed to reduce the points gap on Josh Waterman who was 2nd in the title race.”
Jordan Eccles (FUS Marsh MX Husqvarna) 4th in MX2
“So Long Lane for the 4th round started shocking for me. Never rode so bad in qualifying finished p6. First race went down on lap 1 and landed in the biggest mud-hole on the track so wasn’t too happy about that! Gloves messed up, but stuck to it and just kept going to finish P7.
“Moto two I knew I had to sort my shit out. Had a good start, got into the lead on lap 2 and was ready to push but unfortunately it was red flagged due to Ray Rowson crashing, get well soon Ray!!. In the restart had a good one again and got myself back into the lead pretty quick , riding a solid smooth race for my first AMCA Championship win, about time too!!
“Final race mediocre start went for a different line to pass some riders and just seen the biggest rock right in the rut, I knew I was going down!!. Managed to get back on but was outside the top 15 and rode an absolute mega race making passes, riding strong to end in p4. Big thank you to the team and looking forward to Brookthorpe this weekend.”
Clinton Barrs (DK Off-Road Kawasaki) 5th in 125cc
“We had an ok qualifying with the track being really wet and sloppy just putting a decent lap together and settled for that. Race one we had a mid-pack start but managed to fight my way up to 6th which was hard work as the track was quite one lined and I was also having a few issues with the bike.
“Moto two I tried a different gate off the start which didn’t work so was way down but fought my way through again up to 6th. I was again struggling with the bike so we made some more changes on it for the last race.
“Straight away in the last race the bike was misfiring, coughing and spluttering from the off so I tried my best to just salvage as many points as I could but only managed 11th. 5th overall on the day though so was happy with that, just a shame to drop points in the last race as the championship is so tight from 5th to 10th.”
Jordan Wright (Rikki Priest Yamaha) 7th in 125cc
“Qualifying I was p11 and didn’t get a clean lap in, was off the leaders pace by a far bit. Moto one I struggled with 9th, it was like I was half asleep just riding round. Moto two was near identical with a 8th then the last race I got a good start, came out 3rd and stayed there for a while but dropped back a few places in the end to finish 8th , definitely not riding myself at the moment!”
Rich Tudor (JT Tudor/Progreen MX KTM) 7TH in Vets
“I arrived at the Long Lane circuit near Telford on Saturday lunchtime to be greeted by a fairly wet well prepped circuit. Further heavy rain throughout the evening made me doubt if I should even ride!
“With 15 minutes to go before qualifying on Sunday morning I changed my mind and raced to get ready,I decided to only complete a couple of laps in qualifying so I just registered a time and finished 13th. Race one I knew I needed to get a good start due to the conditions and that I did until a second turn pile up got me. I then worked hard to come back up the pack, finishing 8th.
“Race 2 I again made a good start this time not getting caught in any carnage and running in 4th place. I pushed on as much as I could and eventually finished 6th. Race 3 was not such a good start this time but the track had dried up massively but was still very hard going. I paced myself not wanting to ruin a good day and came home 8th. I ended the day 7th overall and I’ve moved up to 9th in the Championship which I’m well chuffed with. Credit to the Wrekin MX club for sticking to their guns and producing a top meeting!!!”
