The 2024 Fastest 40 Motocross Championship stretches into its penultimate round this weekend at the awe-inspiring Hawkstone Park in Shropshire, with this one being a juggernaut in terms of British Motocross having joined forces with the Dirt Store ACU British Championship to what is, for want of a better term a “British Motocross Festival”.
Feature Image courtesy of Dave Rich
For this Preview, though, we are focussing on Round 5 of the Fastest 40 championship, which is powered by Motul.
Conrad Mewse onboard his Crendon Tru7 Honda has been sensational this year and has reeled off eight moto wins from eight in the Pro MX1 class and, in doing so, has racked up a 38-point lead over his teammate Taylor Hammal in second.
Hammal has been listed in the MX2 class of the Dirt Store ACU Championship, which will count him out of scoring any MX1 Fastest 40 points, so with Apico Honda’s Martin Barr, who is third 71 points down on Mewse, barring a disaster, the title will be going home with Mewse on Sunday. So with Hammal out of the running, the fight is on for second in the Championship between Barr and SC Sporthomes Husqvarna’s Tristan Purdon, who has been chalking up some superb results in recent months. On the fringes of the podium spots is Apico Honda’s Tom Grimshaw, but if he can put in a strong Hawkstone shift, he could have a say in the podium positions come the season finale at Sellindge.
When it comes to big names in our sport, they don’t get much bigger than Jeffrey Herlings. He will be scoring his first Fastest 40 points this weekend as he looks to avenge his defeat to Mewse last time out in the one-moto MXGB Shootout at Blaxhall. Herlings won’t have much bearing on the title fight, but it’s going to be awesome to see him in action.
A new addition to the MX1 class is Bike It Kawasaki’s Bobby Bruce. He made his MXGP debut on a 450 at Lommel at the weekend and has his sights set on an MXON place, so expect him to be out to impress this weekend.
Other riders who will be at the sharp end are Chris Mills, Jason Meara, Carlton Husband, Sam Nunn, Brad Todd, and Dan Thornhill.
It’s a Dirt Store Kawasaki 1-2 as it stands in the Pro MX2 category, with Tommy Searle holding a 36-point lead over his younger teammate Joel Rizzi. Searle has been in fantastic form in the Fastest 40 this year, and if he can eke out his lead by another 15 points, the title will be his this weekend with a round in hand, but you can be sure that Rizzi will have other ideas.
Josh Coleman is doing it for the 2 Strokers and holding onto third in the standings after nailing his first-ever Pro podium last time out at Brookthorpe. Josh, though, has a freight train of riders chomping at the bit to get onto the last spot of the podium, with the top two places looking out of reach. Leading the charge is Kiwi Dylan Walsh, who went 1-1 at Brookthorpe after some epic tussles with the Dirt Store Kawasaki duo and is only 6 down on Coleman.
Howard Wainwright has been in the mix throughout, and another solid performance could see him ratchet up the standings. In sixth and coming back strong from injury is the SC Sporthomes Husqvarna rider Charlie Heyman. After missing a round, he is still in podium contention, just nine down on Coleman. After some promising results in Scotland, Heyman could also be a contender for the round win alongside Walsh.
Other riders who have missed rounds but will be looking to make a push for a big result are Bike It Kawasaki’s Billy Askew, who was third at Round 2, and ASA United GasGas’s Ben Mustoe, who was second in the season opener.
Also likely to be in the mix are Ben Franklin, Ty Westcott, Jamie Wainwright, Ollie Colmer, Charlie Colmer and Glenn McCormick, Joe Brookes, and Alfie Jones… but here is where a huge spanner is thrown into the works, as with these races being combined with the Dirt Store ACU British Championship MX2 class, the list of riders already mentioned will be joined by Bike it Kawasaki MX2 GP racer Jack Chambers and the Gabriel SS24 KTM of Cas Valk, fresh from his EMX250 moto win at Lommel. With this in mind, we are set for an intriguing contest with calculators doing overtime to work out the championship permutations with this guy being thrown into the melting pot. Hammal, as mentioned above, will also be a podium contender in this class.
In the 125’s the Adult class has seen Matt Bayliss pull the pin and notch up a 38-point advantage over Nathan Bache, while in the Youth section, Josh Vail and Jamie Keith are set to go all at it once again as they have all year long with Vail at the moment 14 points up on his rival.
Racing on the Saturday are the Amatuer classes, and in Amatuer MX1, Scott Aldridge is in the driving seat, but he has Josh Greedy right up his exhaust pipe just 15 points behind, while in Amateur MX2, Harrison Greenough is the red plate holder, having racked up an impressive spread of results over the last four rounds to be 26 points up on Charlie Hamlet.
Harry Fletcher and Matt Dowes have been going at it Hammer and Tongs in the Clubman MX1 category, and this battle is set to be reignited at Hawkstone with just 10 points between them as it stands. In Clubman MX2, Richard Roberts is in the hot seat and has a chunky 46-point lead over Sean Frayne, who is just points up on Alex Hamer in third.
Just one point separates Howard Wainwright and Henry Williams in the Honda Cup, and with this possibly the last round, one of those could be heading home with a brand spanking new Honda dirtbike from Hawkstone, but not if Adam Chatfield has anything to do with it. Who sits still within striking distance in third.
Venue & Track
Spectator Tickets
After 12 noon on Friday, August 2nd, ticket prices will revert to full price
🎟️ Early bird online tickets – before 12 noon Friday, August 2nd
Adult – £20
Children – £5
Under 5 – Free
Camping – £10
🎟️ Tickets will also be available at the gate
Adult – £25
Children – £5
Under 5 – Free
Camping – £10
So why wait? Book your tickets NOW and save some pennies for an ice cream!
Tickets – https://buytickets.at/mxnationalsltd1/1330900
Schedule
