Maxxis British Motocross Championships Round 4
Cadders Hill, Lyng - 4th May 2008
Reigning MX1 champion Billy MacKenzie put on a motocross masterclass at the fourth round of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship at Lyng on Sunday. Arriving at the Norfolk venue the CAS Honda rider had a 100 % record over the opening three rounds taking six wins from six races, and he extended the winning streak with two more start to finish victories to consolidate his lead in the standings as the championship reaches its half way stage.
Swift Suzuki’s Brad Anderson, who was making his first appearance for three weeks after sustaining a shoulder injury, rode to a comfortable second in the opening MX1 race but had to settle for third in race two after being overhauled by James Noble on the 450cc KTM who fought his way through the field to grab his best result of the campaign. Noble’s points tally from the day, after a fifth place in race one, lifted him to second in the title fight with Anderson now slotting into third. Mark Jones and Tom Church, who started the event level on points for second in the series, had mixed fortunes. Jones headed Church over the line for third in the first encounter but neither rider made it to the chequered flag in race two.
In the MX2 class it was another Scotsman, Stephen Sword who proved to be the master of the demanding Cadders Hill track. From the moment the gate dropped for race one the Molson Kawasaki rider took command and was never headed for the 30 minutes plus two lap race distance. Main title rival Shaun Simpson powered his KTM into second place to stay in the hunt, while Suso Suzuki’s Jason Dougan took a comfortable third to move up the standings.
As the pack headed into the bombhole section of the track on the first lap of the second race it was Simpson who had the large trackside crowd on their feet as he stormed past Sword and into the lead. But with just three of the fifteen laps complete the Kawasaki rider, who is back to his best after two years sidelined by injury, forced his way past and by the finish had opened up a commanding 16 second victory margin. Mildenhall’s Carl Nunn had to come from dead last after a first lap crash in race one to claim twelfth position before keeping the local fans happy in race two with a fine third place, despite riding with a chest infection that had kept him in his sick bed all week. Another local rider, Elliot Banks-Browne, also overcame first race disappointment after retiring from fourth just three laps from home. The 18 year old from Bury St Edmunds followed Nunn over the line to maintain his fourth place in the championship.
Martin Barr on the Utag Yamaha took two top ten finishes to stay third after the four rounds, while defending champion Mike Brown had another day to forget. The American CAS Honda rider crashed heavily in his first race when challenging for third and suffered a shoulder ligament injury which kept him out of proceedings for the rest of the day, and virtually ended his hopes of retaining the number one plate this year.
Full results here
