Wulfsport British Masters Motocross Championship

Take a top quality motocross series which caters for riders of all ages and abilities, offering the chance to compete on the famous Foxhills track, arguably a venue which should still be a regular fixture on the Grand Prix calendar, then what more could a motocross enthusiast ask for?.Well how about a weekend of awesome, high flying, spectacular action and numerous thrilling, close finishes as 300 competitors disputed valuable points on offer during round four of the Wulfsport British Masters.

     Although Stephen Sword, recently recovered from a blood viral infection, and Scott Elderfield were the top Pro class winners at Foxhills, their performances were more then matched by MXY2 youth rider Luke Norris and Kawasaki Masters rider Tom Watts.Having to display tremendous stamina in sweltering conditions on day one, the two lads proceeded to reel off four stunning moto wins and pick up maximum Masters points.

    With Brad Anderson celebrating his birthday and away on holiday,there was to be early drama in the Pro MX1 class as American youngster Ben LaMay crashed heavily in timed training.LaMay though was still thankfully fit to take his place on the start-grid for moto one although it was Stephen Sword who was fastest away.Indeed Swordy looked strong in the early stages as Martin Barr, LaMay, Nathan Parker, Jason Dougan, Alex Snow and Kristian Whatley gave chase.

Whilst Parker had made a flying start, his Proppa.com Honda teamate James Noble was last after falling on lap one with series leader Gordon Crockard also outside the top ten.On lap three, Barr stylishly passed Sword for the leadership followed through just two circuits later by LaMay and that’s the way it remained all the way to the chequered flag.After gating in 10^th, Elderfield got back to 5^th, Crockard was 8^th and Noble a strong 12^th.

     If the opening MX1 contest settled rather quickly, moto two was on fire from start to finish.Barr raced wheel to wheel with Sword for pole position whilst Dougan and Crockard did likewise for 3^rd.Swooping stylishly round the outside of a tight corner,Swordy took control of proceedings on lap six whilst Crockard also eventually overcame a resilient Dougan.However the drama in this clash was far from over, as first Dougan slipped back to 7^th then disappeared  from proceedings whilst Barr fell on the final lap, thus relegating himself back to 4th.Taking full advantage of the rapidly changing leaderboard though was a very hard charging LaMay.After gating in 7^th, Ben was to eventually haul himself all the way back to a great 2^nd at the flag behind winner Swordy.Crockard was to take 3^rd and is still 10 points ahead of Elderfield in the series standings.

      Although Barr took 3^rd overall in Pro MX1, his Wulfsport Pro MX2 quest started rather disastrously, falling in turn one of the opening clash and banging his head.Forced to retire, he could then only watch as his PAR Honda teamate Scott Elderfield further extended his Masters series lead with a super win after passing fast starting Kristian Whatley.The highlight of this moto was a titanic tussle for 3^rd as battle raged between Stuart Edmonds,James Noble,Shane Carless and Neville Bradshaw.At the flag,Noble won that particular scrap.

     Having recovered from his earlier tumble,Barr was back for the second Pro MX2 clash of the day, and showing more of his very rich vein of form, he led from gate to flag, taking victory by a margin of just over seven seconds. After gating in 5^th, Elderfield swiftly moved past Whatley, Carless and Bradshaw to take the runners-up slot.In the series standings, Elderfield now leads by over 100 points although James Dodd has consolidated his current 2^nd placing, taking full advantage of Barr’s fall and resulting DNF in moto one.

    In the Proppa.com MXY2 championship, the boys were again in great form and showing their flying skills over the big, Foxhills jumps.And its now all change in the series standings as both Dan Thornhill and Ryan Williams have overhauled leader Alexander Hussey.At Foxhills, Thornhill was again the model of consistency, producing a 6/3/3/3 scorecard.Top man though, was the immaculate Luke Norris who won all four motos in style to back up his overall win in the previous round at Whitby.Although Hussey was 8^th overall at Foxhills, he is still very much in contention though for the series title as just 48 points currently separates the top four of Thornhill,Williams,Hussey in 3^rd and James Dunn..Unluckiest riders of the weekend in this class, surely Luke Dean and Andrew Smart.

      Making their first appearances of the season in the Masters, James Harrison and Jack Gardiner took the top two places in the Moto-Pro Suspension BW85cc class at Foxhills.Harrison was in great form, winning three out of four motos, his only defeat coming in the third clash of the weekend when Adam Sterry was first past the post.Despite suffering from a heavy cold, it is though Sam Winterburn who leads the series ahead of Adam Darbyshire and Murray Clunie.After failing to score in the opening SW85cc contest of the weekend, Gradie Featherstone then took complete control to reel off three moto wins.Winner of that first Foxhills clash, Charlie Hamlet, currently sits third in the title table behind leader Casey Connelly and Tyron Cleaver.

     Surprise, Surprise, the Kawasaki Masters class at Foxhills was again dominated by that dynamic duo of Mr Zac Stealey and Mr Tom Watts.At round four it was definitely advantage Watts as he constantly repelled Stealey’s very best efforts, typified by a thrilling final contest, to thus scorch to four stylish moto wins.Equally consistent though are their closest challengers as Daniel Hill, Edward Briscoe and Ryan Blee were all in fine form.It was Hill who eventually took 3^rd overall, the position he currently holds in the title standings.Barring disaster, Stealey v Watts looks set to go all the way to the final round at Pontrilas but they certainly cannot rest on their laurels as the other riders in what is a quality contest attempt to lower their colours.

      In Michelin Masters MX1, Will Foster(2), Shaun Scrivens and Darren Fowden picked up the moto wins.It was though series leader Scrivens who picked up the overall victory ahead of Aaron Lowe and Fowden.Foster would surely instead have featured on the Foxhill podium but for an opening moto no score.At the top of the title placings,Scrivens and Lowe are now seriously dictating proceedings, some 158 points clear of Ian Taylor.Over in Michelin MX2, series leader Scott Smith suffered a big crash in qualifying and a trip to hospital.Scott has now been overhauled in the championship standings by both Marc Roe and his own brother Sam Smith.Sam though did his very best to help relieve Scott’s pain by upholding the family honour and winning three out of four motos.However after failing to score in the opening moto of the weekend,Sam was restricted to an eventual 7^th overall.Filling the Foxhills top three in this particular class was Roe,Adam Savage and Nathan Buckland.

       In GSP Race Products Amateur MX2, Darren Carter maintained his advantage at the top of the Masters table with another overall win at Foxhills.His closest rival Daniel Brough though had looked set to take top slot before incurring a rather disappointing final moto in which he had to settle for 12^th spot.Throughout the weekend, Brough(2), Ricky Lethaby and Carter had picked up the moto wins.Completing the podium during round four was to be KTM mounted Joseph Del-Busso with a 9/4/2/4 scorecard.

     Going into the Foxhills event, just three points separated Amateur MX1 leader Scott Beevers and second placed Matthew Williamson.However on a weekend of very contrasting fortunes, its now all change at the top as young Williamson sits proudly in control whilst Beevers as dropped down to 4^th behind George Walton and Michael Smith.

During the latest action, Williamson took 2^nd overall behind impressive local rider Kris Ayres with Hayden Wilkinson claiming the final podium step.For Beevers though, his only points was to come from a 3^rd place finish in moto one.

     With Gary Evans taking the Amateur Non-Qualifiers class ahead of Elliot Cook and Scott Fisher,the thrilling Wulfsport Masters action moves further South to Landrake on 3^rd/4^th July.