For round two of the new prestigious Motul Fastest 40, Powered by Michelin, the hardworking team lead by father and son, Neil and Paul Irwin travelled to the North of England and the revamped Preston Docks circuit for another weekend of fast and furious motocross racing.
Also new for this year, and launched at round one, is the change of race programme with the Apico Pro MX1s, Leatt Pro MX2s and the ACU Apico 2-Stroke Festival British 125 Championships all racing on Saturday and all the other classes battling out for championship points on Sunday.
Most of the events around the country so far, the year have been wet and cold, but as the competitors arrived on the Friday before the event the sun shone, and the temperatures soared.
John Adamson led the pack at the start of the first Apico Pro MX1 race and was followed around the opening lap by Martin Barr (Apico Honda), Stuart Edmonds (Seca Honda), and the ever-improving Tristan Purdon (SC Sportshomes Husqvarna). Championship leader, Mewse was in fifth place and eating the roust from the riders in front of him.
It took Mewse four laps to work his way up and into the lead, and that was the last his fellow competitors saw of him, apart from when he lapped them.
Adamson, now in second place, was really on the pace, but his race stopped on lap eight when a bike problem dropped him out of the race and sent him back to the paddock.
Purdon had already found a way passed Barr, but with Adamson's DNF, he inherited second place as Edmonds dropped back into the pack.
But while all this was going on, Taylor Hammal (Crendon True7 Honda) was charging his way towards the leaders after a terrible start well down in fifteenth place. By lap five, he was already in fifth place, but two laps later, he moved up a spot as Adamson dropped out. A lap later, he found a way past Barr, but by then, Mewse and Purdon had stretched out too much of a lead for him even to get close to in the remaining time in the race.
Mewse crossed the finish line over half a minute clear of Purdon. Hammal did all he could but was twenty seconds behind Purdon, from Barr and a racy-looking Carlton Husband (Phoenix Evenstrokes Kawasaki).
Mewse wasn't messing about in race two as he got the holeshot and just cleared off into the distance for his second win of the day and, of course, the overall victory.
Edmonds followed Mewse around the first turn but slipped back into the pack as the race continued, ending his race in twelfth place.
Hammal had gated better and was behind his teammate Mewse by the end of the opening lap, but despite trying as hard as he could, he was unable to close the gap to the race winner.
Purdon and Adamson both had bad starts and were twelfth and fourteenth place around the first turn, but both managed to work their way up to better positions. Purdon snatched third place from Jamie Carpenter at the halfway stage, while Adamson was relegated. He dropped another position with two laps to get for fourth place. Barr was sixth, from Brad Todd and Tom Grimshaw (Apico Honda), who was the last rider on the lead lap.
Mewse was the overall winner from Hammal and Purdon, who both finished with equal points.
Joel Rizzi got the holeshot at the start of the first Leatt Pro MX2 and led the whole race from start to finish, while Joe Brooks (426 Motorsports KTM) crashed out of second and re-mounted in twentieth but recovered to end his race in seventh place.
Charlie Heyman (SC Sportshome Husqvarna) inherited Brooks's second place and held it till lap six when Billy Askew and Tommy Searle, in two flashes of green, shot past his on their way to second and third places.
Heyman hung on to fourth, while Glenn McCormick (Chambers Gas Gas), from a tenth-place start and a battle with Tyla Hooley (KTM), finished fifth.
Searle led the second Leatt Pro MX2 race from start to finish, but what was going on behind him decided the overall positions.
Calum Mitchell (LexaMX Racing) had gated second, but by the end of the first lap, Askew passed him and was into second. He was doing all he could to close down his teammate Searle, while Rizzi, after a not-too-good start, was fighting his way through the pack.
The Wainwrights had made reasonable starts, but whale Jamie dropped from fourth at the hands of Rizzi and McCormick and ended his race sixth. Howard crashed out of fifth, went to dead last, and finished his race in fourteenth position.
Heyman's race ended abruptly as he was in sixth when his bike packed up.
With three laps to go, the race looked to be settled, but as Askew looked to be fading, Rizzi put on a last-minute spurt to take second place in the race and secure his first adult championship overall win.
The ACU Apico 2-Stroke Festival British 125 championship races were all about Josh Vail (SJP Moto KTM) and Jamie Keith (MBR, PXM Yamaha), as the two riders were in a class of their own.
In the first race, Keith gated third but quickly passed the fast-starting Harry Lee (Dirt Store KTM) and Nathan Bache (KTM), with Vail following him through. Despite Vail's efforts and skills, he just couldn't find a way past Keith to snatch the win.
Travis Laughton (Gas Gas) led the pack into turn one at the start of race two, but once again, Keith and Vail took the lead as Laughton crashed to the back.
With four laps to go in a frantic race, Vail pounced and took the lead, then the win and the overall from Keith.
Matt Bayliss (S Briggs Gas) with a fourth place and a third, was third overall with James Margetson fourth.
Henry Williams, with two race wins and a second-place finish, won the new Honda Cup from Adam Chatfield, who finished second in all three races. Race three winner Howard Wainwright was third overall after a couple of crashes in his early races.
Scott Alldridge (Feehily MX KTM) won the Fly Racing amateur MX1s from Josh Greedy (Yamaha) and Edward Briscoe with three race wins from three starts. However, in the Bell amateur MX2s, Harrison Greenough (Simpson &Associates KTM) had two race wins, and a third took the overall from race two winner David Plank (916 racing KTM). James Lassu (25 Racing KTM) was third, just two points behind Plank.
Only seven points separated the top two in the Oakley clubman MX1s as with a race win and a couple of second places, Billy Stevens (KTM) took the overall from race two winner Harry Fletcher (Honda), with Matt Dowes (KTM) third.
Aaron Framingham (Fabrican Engineering KTM) finished in the top two in all three of his races and even won race two on his way to the RFX clubman MX2 overall. Alex Hamer won the opening race of the day but had to settle for the runner-up spot after a low-place finish in race two. Seam Frayne (RDS Racing Kawasaki) was third.
Reprt by Dick Law
Top ten overall
Apico Pro MX1:
1 Conrad Mewse (Crendon Tru7 Honda) 25 + 25 = 50
2 Taylor Hammal (Crendon Tru7 Honda) 20 + 22 = 42
3 Tristan Purdon (SC Sportshome Husqvarna) 22 + 20 = 42
4 Martin Barr (Apico Honda) 18 + 15 = 33
5 Jamie Carpenter (Dirt Store Kawasaki) 15 + 16 = 31
6 Carlton Husband (Phoenix Evenstrokes Kawasaki) 16 + 12 = 28
7 Tom Grimshaw (Apico Honda) 13 + 13 = 26
8 Brad Todd (DK Offroad, Bikesport Newcastle Honda) 11 + 14 = 25
9 Chris Mills (Yamaha) 14 + 10 = 24
10 Stuart Edmondson (Seca Racing Team Honda) 12 + 9 = 21
Leatt Pro MX2:
1 Joel Rizzi (Dirt Store Kawasaki) 25 + 22 = 47
2 Tommy Searle (Dirt Store Kawasaki) 20 + 25 = 45
3 Billy Askew (DRT Kawasaki) 22 + 20 = 42
4 Glenn McCormick (Chambers Gas Gas) 16 + 16 = 32
5 Ollie Colmer (K-Tech, Aristo Car Racing, KTM) 15 + 13 = 28
6 Tyla Hooley (KTM) 12 + 14 = 26
7 Jamie Wainwright (WHP, SBE, Pure Redline KTM) 8 + 15 = 23
8 Ben Franklin (Chambers Gas Gas) 11 + 12 = 23
9 Jak Taylor (Husqvarna) 13 + 10 = 23
10 Calum Mitchell (LexaMX Racing) 0 + 18 = 18
MX2, Under 21 championship:
1 Colmer 44, 2 Hooley 41, 3 Taylor 38, 4 Liam Bennett 30, 5 Lennox Dickinson 29, 6 Ty Westcott 28, 7 George Hopkins 27, 8 Charlie Heyman 25, 9 Mckenzie Marshall 22, 10 Syd Putnam 22.
ACU Apico 2-Stroke Festival British 125 Championship, Combined:
1 Josh Vail (SJP Moto KTM) 22 + 25 = 47
2 Jamie Keith (MBR, PXM Yamaha) 25 + 22 = 47
3 Matt Bayliss (S Briggs Gas Gas) 18 + 20 = 38
4 James Margetson (KTM) 20 + 18 = 38
5 Damon Strydom (Fus Racing) 16 + 14 + 30
6 Jake Walker (T’s Racing Kawasaki) 14 + 15 = 29
7 Charlie Richmond (KTM) 11 + 16 = 27
8 Will Haddock (Poppin Candy KTM) 15 + 12 = 27
9 Ollie Bubb (3Flow Blu Cru Yamaha) 13 + 13 = 26
10 Max Harris (KTM) 12 + 11 = 23
ACU Apico 2-Stroke Festival British 125 Championship, Adults:
1 Bayliss 47, 2 Margetson 47, 3 Strydom 40, 4 Daniel Brough 36, 5 Richard Roberts 31, 6 Nathan Bache 30, 7 Spencer Stanbridge 27, 8 Lucan Day 25, 9 Alex Hamer 15.
ACU Apico 2-Stroke Festival British 125 Championship, Youth:
1 Vail 47, 2 Keith 47, 3 Walker 36, 4 Haddock, 5 Richmond 34, 6 Bubb 32, 7 Harris 29, 8 Harry Lee 26, 9 Wesley McGavin 24, 10 Travis Laughton 20.
Sunday top ten overall
Honda Cup:
1 Henry Williams (Fus Racing Honda) 25 + 25 + 22 = 72
2 Adam Chatfield (S Briggs Honda) 20 + 20 + 20 = 60
3 Howard Wainwright (Honda) 18 + 15 + 25 = 58
4 Jake Rackham (Lings Honda) 22 + 18 + 18 = 58
5 Luke Mellows (Taunton Tyres Honda) 16 + 16 + 16 = 48
6 Cailum Meara (Stephen Russell MX Honda) 15 + 13 + 14 = 42
7 Ben White (Marsh MX Honda) 13 + 11 + 15 = 39
8 Dave Willet (Honda) 12 + 12 + 13 = 37
9 David Russell (Stephen Russell MX Honda) 14 + 14 + 5 = 33
10 Harry Smith (Doble MC Honda) 10 + 10 + 12 = 32
Fly Racing Amateur MX1:
1 Scott Alldridge (Feehily MX, KTM) 25 + 25 + 25 = 75
2 Josh Greedy (Yamaha) 20 + 22 + 22 = 64
3 Edward Briscoe (KTM) 18 + 20 + 20 = 58
4 Rossi Beard (KTM) 22 + 18 + 18 = 45
5 Sean Wainwright (Wainwright Plant KTM) 14 + 16 + 15 = 45
6 Brad Thornhill (LMC Plant KTM) 13 + 15 + 14 = 42
7 Keenlan Southwood (JK Jointing Honda) 11 + 14 + 16 = 41
8 Daniel Maule (Yamaha) 16 + 13 + 11 = 40
9 Shane Davies (Monarch Motors Yamaha) 12 + 12 + 12 = 36
10 Jude Gaylard (Xplor Campers Honda) 9 + 10 + 10 = 29
Bell Amateur MX2:
1 Harrison Greenough (Simpson & Associates KTM) 25 + 20 + 25 = 70
2 David Plank (916 Racing KTM) 20 + 25 + 15 = 60
3 James Lassu (25 Racing KTM) 18 + 22 + 18 = 58
4 Charles Hamlet (Feehily MX KTM) 15 + 18 + 22 = 55
5 Archie Hicks (CBR KTM) 16 + 11 + 20 = 47
6 Logan Wilcox (KTM) 13 + 16 + 16 = 45
7 Daniel Brough (Rutzz.co.uk Husqvarna) 11 + 13 + 14 = 38
8 Lewis Parkinson (KTM) 10 + 15 + 11 = 36
9 Jonathan Roderick-Evans (Concept CCF Yamaha) 22 + 14 + 0 = 36
10 Ryan Osborn (Blades Bikes Fantic) 12 + 12 + 9 = 37
Oakley Clubman MX1:
1 Billy Stevens (KTM) 22 + 22 + 25 = 69
2 Harry Fletcher (Honda) 15 + 25 + 22 = 62
3 Matt Dowes (KTM) 18 + 16 + 20 = 54
4 Luke Bull (Gas Gas) 25 + 10 + 15 = 50
5 Luke Richardson (KTM) 16 + 20 + 13 + 49
6 Harvey Pomphrett (Honda) 13 + 18 + 16 = 47
7 Charlie West (Tim Feeney Super MX KTM) 12 + 11 + 18 = 41
8 Alex Christopher (SDG Access KTM) 20 + 5 + 12 = 37
9 Daniel Chapman (Honda) 8 + 13 + 14 = 35
10 Darren Manning-Coe (The Bike Seat Pro KTM) 14 + 15 + 0 = 29
RFX Clubman MX2:
1 Aaron Framingham (Fabrican Engineering KTM) 22 + 25 + 22 = 69
2 Alex Hamer (KTM) 25 + 14 + 20 = 59
3 Sean Frayne (SDS Racing Kawasaki) 20 + 20 + 18 = 58
4 Richard Roberts (Rutzz Racing KTM) 11 + 22 + 14 = 47
5 Corey Collins (KTM) 3 + 18 + 25 = 46
6 Bradley Johnstone (Motoconnection KTM) 9 + 16 + 16 = 41
7 George Clarke (JS Clarke KTM) 16 + 8 + 15 = 39
8 Matthew Pocock (MGP Steel Fantic) 10 + 15 + 13 = 38
9 Sam Menzies (Greasetech Honda) 12 + 13 + 12 = 37
10 Toby Lightbown (RFX KTM) 15 + 12 + 10 = 37