Round 6 of the British MX Champs at Hawkstone
Tuesday 31 July: Hawkestone Park, Shropshire was the venue featuring MX1, MX2, Veterans and MXY85. Highlights were Mel Pocock regaining the MX2 red plate and in MX1 Kevin Strijbos extends his lead.
In a drama packed day, Mel Pocock (Monster Energy Bike It Yamaha)
regained the red plate as Series Leader after his main rival Elliot
Banks Browne(HM Plant KTM UK) suffered a rare mechanical failure after
taking the lead in the opening moto within sight of the two lap board
earlier today. He fought back in the second moto to claw back two points
from Pocock, but it was Nicolas Aubin (Buildbase Honda) who took his
second moto win of the season.
In the MX1 class it was business as usual for sand specialist Kevin
Strijbos on the larger version of the HM Plant KTM machine who took
three straight moto wins, including the final mixed capacity race after
chasing down the early leader Max Anstie (Honda) who was making a
wildcard appearance. With Matiss Karro still sidelined by injury, it was
left to Shaun Simpson (Monster Energy Bike It Yamaha) to take the
challenge to Strijbos, but a couple of small crashes and a complaint of a
lack of power in the final 30 minute moto left him 49 points - almost
two motos - behind Strijbos with two rounds remaining. With Strijbos
scoring three straight wins and Simpson going 2-3-3, Anstie's 3-2-2
results was enough to put him on the second spot on the podium and
hoisted him to 17th in the series standings.
Meanwhile back in the MX2 class, Pocock was the highest point scorer in
the final mixed race with a seventh place, closely followed by EBB to
keep his championship hopes alive. He now trails Pocock by sixteen
points. Class leader going into the final race, Aubin pulled out of the
moto before half distance, but the points he scored in the first two
races was enough to net him second overall on the day with 3-1-dnf
finishes. Neville Bradshaw (Evotech Stevens Honda) also suffered in the
final moto after a first lap crash, but remounted and came through the
competitive field to finish an important seventeenth which was enough to
put him on the lower step of the podium.
Second moto updates
After his first race DNF it looked as if Elliot Banks- Browne (HM
Plant KTM UK) was immediately going to pull some big points back on new
Championship leader, Mel Pocock (Monster Energy Bike It Yamaha) when he
was leading the second MX2 moto at half distance, with Pocock down in
fifth after a poor start which left him down in twelfth position on the
opening lap.
However, at mid race distance, EBB had a small "off” and relinquished
his lead to Nicolas Aubin (Buildbase Honda) and Neville Bradshaw
(Evotech Stevens Honda) whilst Pocock was coning through to fourth. Banks Browne tried to mount a challenge, but backed off in the closing
stages which meant he only clawed back two points on his main title
contender. Controlling the race from the front, Kevin Strijbos (HM Plant KTM UK)
won the second MX1 race after fighting off an early challenge from
Wildcard rider, Max Anstie (Honda) in the early stages. Shaun Simpson
(Monster Energy Bike It Yamaha) was up with the leading pair until half
distance when he suffered a small crash in front of the work area which
left him having to defend a challenge from Martin Barr (Tyco Suzuki by
TAS) in the last two laps.
There are now two support races before the final "mixed race” at the end
of the day which could have a massive impact on the final MX1 and MX2
Championship positions.
Also in MX2 Dirt Bike-Gym Eastwood Honda's Kiwi rider
Hamish Harwood, ran 23-16-0 for 21st overall and now sits 20th in the Championship.
The series now has a four week break until the battle resumes at Langrish on August Bank Holiday Monday.
