Gilbert & Anderson power to Preston Docks victories! 2023 Bridgestone British Masters Round 1 – Race Report & Results

The Crendon Fastrack Honda teammates of Josh Gilbert and Conrad Mewse came to the opening round of the Bridgestone British Masters and completely dominated the event.

Race Report and Images by Dick Law

They ended the weekend tied on points, with Gilbert being awarded the overall win by winning race two, which was made slightly easier after Mewse was involved in a first-turn multi-rider pileup.

Brad Anderson won both Pro MX2 races on his two-stroke KTM but was missing at the presentation as he was at the local hospital after his son Vinnie was involved in a crash in his junior 65 race.

Riders travelled from all over the country to Preston Dock’s new deep sand track. Despite Friday’s heavy rain, it was in excellent racing condition, with most of the sloppy mud confined to the paddock area and ten full classes of riders. It was a busy weekend.

Brad Anderson

Gilbert got the first Pro holeshot from Mewse, but by the end of the lap, two of the positions were reversed, with Mewse taking the lead and slowly opening up a bigger and bigger lead and lapping up to fifth place before the end of the twenty-five minutes plus two lap race. Gilbert crossed the finish line over thirty seconds behind the leader Mewse but over a minute clear of third place Miro Sihvonen (SC Sporthomes Husqvarna). The only other rider on the lead lap was returning to UK raceing Evgeny Bobryshev (SC Sporthomes Husqvarna).

Josh Gilbert

Bobryshev had gated fifth and, for the first three laps, was involved in a battle for third with Steven Clarke (Store 114 Racing Honda) and Carlton Husband (Phoenix Evenstrokes Kawasaki). But while the three riders were tripping over each other, Sihvonen slipped by them for the last podium position. Clarke was fifth and a lap down, while Husband, who was not used to racing the 450 instead of his usual 250, ran out of fuel with three laps to go.

Billy Askew (GTCI Revo Kawasaki), having his first race in the Pro’s, was the first MX2 rider at the start, in nineteenth place. But his race only lasted five laps until his machine’s new clutch stopped working, leaving him stranded at the far end of the track with a long pushback to the paddock.

Jay Hague

Anderson had gated two places behind Askew but worked his way to eleventh at the end of the race, but first MX2. Bailey Johnston (Verde Shiloh KTM) didn’t get the start he wanted and ended the opening lap way down in twenty-fourth place. From there, he pushed on and finished the race in Anderson’s wheel track.

There was carnage at the start of the second Pro race as Gilbert, Husband, and Liam Knight (Gabriel KTM) sped off around the opening lap there was a heap of riders in the first turn, which included race one winner Mewse, Clarke, Sihvonen, and Bobryshev.

Conrad Mewse

While Gilbert stretched out a sizable lead at the front of the pack, Husband did all he could to stay with him till, at the halfway point, Mewse, who was really on a mission, shot past him and into second place. But Gilbert’s lead was too large for Mewse to catch him, so he settled for second place.

Husband had a crash, like most others, and dropped back to fourth place, while Sihvonen, who was following Mewse from turn one, slotted into third place with three laps to go.

On the MX2 side of the race, both Askew and Anderson had gated well and were amongst the bigger 450, but while Anderson held his own and finished seventh on the tack, once again the first MX2 rider, Askew slipped down to twelfth place.

Bobryshev’s day didn’t get any better as after he was involved in the first-turn crash, he mistimed the whoops on lap five, which sent him over the handlebars. He was severely winded but unhurt.

Overall, it was Gilbert from teammate Mewse on the same points, from Sihvonen in the Pro MX1s and Anderson from Johnston and Lewis Hall in the Pro MX2s.

Lewis Hall

“I have been getting a little bit better each week,” said winner Gilbert, “Even at last Fridays event, I keep getting arm pump, and I don’t know if it’s just a matter of getting more races under my belt outdoors. That’s one of the reasons we came here. The track today was savage but good. The races were the full twenty-five minutes, and that’s tough going. I got the holeshot in the first race, but Conrad (Mewse) got by me. I held onto him for a bit, but then I got the arm pump again, so we changed some things for the second race. I thought I got the holeshot again, but Liam (Knight) snatched it from me. After that, I took the lead and then just rode my race and felt more comfortable”.

When asked about the second race first corner pileup second place man Mewse said, “I don’t really know. I was riding around the inside of the first turn, and someone thought they would ride into me. It was a bit of a novice move, and I don’t know what they were thinking. As I picked up the bike, I noticed I had no brake or clutch lever, so I rode with just the throttle and back brake. I was coming fast into turn three when someone went down, and I couldn’t stop and went over their bike and came off. It was a disaster of a race. I came from last back to second, which I must be happy with”.

From third place on the podium, Sihvonen said, “I was struggling a bit with the track in the morning, but then it started to go better and better. In the second race, I was involved in the first-turn crash. I got really angry with that, but I had a good race getting back to third, so that was OK”.

With Anderson unavailable for comment, second-overall MX2 rider Johnston said, “I have had a good day today. I am very happy with my riding as we only entered this last minute for some good race training. In both races, I have come from the back to a second and a fourth for second overall, so I am happy with that”.

Third Pro MX2 Lewis Hall said, “I have only had a week on the bike since I had five months off with no training. So I rocked up today to see how I got on without expectations. I was rusty in the first race but found my flow in the second. I then realised I could ride sand, so third overall is good”.

Max Lewis and Jamie Dixon

With three-second places and a win, Max Lewis (MX Dreams KTM) took the overall in the amateur MX1s. Daniel Parry was always in the top four in all four of his races for second overall, while John Joe Wright (Mr Dig Honda) was third. But a crash for Ryan Mawhinney (Yamaha) on the last lap of race two, which saw him finish fifteenth, robbed him of the overall win or even a podium position as he won all the other races.

Aaron Ongley

Rory Jones (IDS Transport KTM) proved that you don’t have to win races to win overalls, as he didn’t win any of the amateur MX2 races but finished on the top set of the podium. Race three winner Ben Clark (Rock Oil Husqvarna) was second overall, with race one winner Henry Siddiqui (Apico Husqvarna) third. The last race of the weekend was won by Patrick Jackson (Yamaha), but he missed out on the podium by just two points.

Mitchel Collins (Collins Motor Care KTM), with two wins, a second and a third, won the clubman class from race two winner Daniel Chapman (Honda), with Nathan Heath (KTM) third.

Jimmy Margetson (Husqvarna), with three wins and a second place, won the 125cc class from race three winner Samuel Price (KTM). Freddie Gardiner (Team Matt Gardiner KTM) spent all weekend in the top five and was third overall, with Beau Brown (KTM) just missing out on a podium position in fourth.

Ryan Mawhinney

On the youth side of things, Bayliss Utting (Gibbons Plant Hire Husqvarna), with two-second places on Saturday, backed them up with two wins on Sunday for the MXY2 overall. Jak Taylor (W & W Tatchell Husqvarna) didn’t finish out of the top four for second overall, with Joseph Leeks (Honda) third. Mackenzie Marshall (DK Offroad Yamaha) won races one and two, but he didn’t race on day two.

Only one rider was unbeaten over the race weekend: Josh Vail (SJP Moto KTM) in the big wheel class. Jamie Keith (KTM) chased Vail over the finish line in all four races for second overall, with Lewis Spratt (KTM) third.

Josh Vail

With three wins and a third, Olly Waters (MGMX KTM) won the small wheels from race three winner Joel Winstanley-Dawson (Cattle Trucks KTM) in second and with Jenson Severn (Rod Sten Brickworks Gas Gas) third.

Jett Gardiner and Nixon Coppins

It was close at the top of the junior 65s, with Harley Marczak (JMR Foundation Gas Gas) notching up three-second places before ending the weekend with a race win. With two race wins and two third places, Casey Lister (VIP Motocross Gas Gas) was second, just two points behind Marczak. Race two winner Cohen Jagielski (Fast Eddy Racing Gas Gas) was third, just two points behind Lister, as six points separated the top three.

Marty Spires

Results

Pro MX1 

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2
1 Josh Gilbert 88 43 45
2 Conrad Mewse 88 45 43
3 Miro Sihvonen 82 41 41
4 Liam Knight 71 34 37
5 Steven Clarke 71 37 34
6 Jason Meora 68 33 35
7 Carlton Husband 65 26 39
8 Callum Green 63 30 33
9 Brad Todd 63 35 28
10 Gavin Stevenson 62 31 31
11 Richard McKeown 59 29 30
12 Harry Bradley 56 27 29
13 Evgeny Bobryshev 39 39
14 Charlie Putnam 32 32
15 Jay Hague 32 32
16 Josh Bentley 28 28

Pro MX2 

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2
1 Brad Anderson 90 45 45
2 Bailey Johnston 82 43 39
3 Lewis Hall 80 37 43
4 Uldis Freibergs 76 39 37
5 Callum Mitchell 73 41 32
6 Aaron Ongley 69 34 35
7 Jake Preston 68 35 33
8 Travis Steels 66 32 34
9 Daniel Hutchinson 64 33 31
10 Billy Askew 41 41

Amateur MX1

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Max Lewis 174 43 45 43 43
2 DanieL Parry 162 39 41 41 41
3 John Joe Wright 162 41 43 39 39
4 Ryan Mawhinney 159 45 24 45 45
5 Harrison McCann 142 35 33 37 37
6 Simon Booth 129 29 35 30 35
7 Luke Mellows 125 30 37 24 34
8 Liam Crellin 124 34 34 26 30
9 Jamie Dixon 120 27 39 21 33
10 Callum Gordon 119 26 32 32 29
11 Brad Thornhill 118 28 27 31 32
12 Sean Williamson 114 31 29 23 31
13 Jamie Fort 110 33 20 29 28
14 Oliver Ruddock 108 23 25 35 25
15 Ben Burridge 107 32 31 20 24
16 Ryan Osborn 103 21 23 33 26
17 Taylor Hampshire 92 24 22 27 19
18 Kieran Yorke 92 25 30 28 9
19 Daniel Maule 89 22 18 34 15
20 Keith Noble 85 19 26 18 22
21 Lewis Huckerby 80 20 17 22 21
22 Dale Brockhurst 76 28 25 23
23 James Thompson 73 18 16 19 20
24 David Curtis 68 17 21 12 18
25 Charlie Way 64 37 27
26 Frazer Gardiner 62 15 15 16 16
27 Liam Piggford 60 16 14 17 13
28 Lewis Anderson 53 14 11 14 14
29 Kathryn Booth 44 12 15 17
30 Matty Ryder 41 12 8 10 11
31 Danny Palmer 39 13 13 13
32 Connor Maltby 37 10 9 8 10
33 Max Monk 35 11 7 9 8
34 Linford Healer (w) 27 8 19
35 Roman York 23 11 12
36 Daniel Silvester 22 9 6 7
37 Marcus Trout 10 10

Amateur MX2

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Rory Jones 162 35 43 43 41
2 Ben Clark 160 37 35 45 43
3 Henry Siddiqui 157 45 41 41 30
4 Patrick Jackson 155 43 28 39 45
5 Aaron Ongley 153 39 45 32 37
6 Callum Murfitt 146 41 33 37 35
7 Drew Roe 130 33 37 33 27
8 Adam Harris 127 27 34 35 31
9 Logan Wilcox 125 31 31 30 33
10 Denny Rapson 124 34 39 12 39
11 Raife Broadley 120 32 32 22 34
12 Harvey Cashmore 115 28 27 28 32
13 Joele Hart 104 25 26 31 22
14 Jordan Bachelor 103 26 30 24 23
15 Lewis Parkinson 102 22 29 25 26
16 Mitchell Armour 100 24 24 23 29
17 Leon Ongley 99 19 23 29 28
18 Jude Turton 90 20 21 34 15
19 Gary Ashley 89 29 25 21 14
20 Syd Putnam 87 14 22 27 24
21 Lenny Ashley 75 16 19 19 21
22 Ben Zeale 74 23 26 25
23 Mathew Pocock 71 13 18 20 20
24 Mitchell Warhurst 71 21 20 13 17
25 Sam Menzies 70 18 15 18 19
26 Luke Southern 63 17 17 16 13
27 Charlie Parker 61 12 14 17 18
28 Charlie Gibson 55 11 13 15 16
29 Liam Smith 30 30
30 Alex Buchanan (W) 16 16
31 Adam Paxton 15 15
32 Sebastian Millbank 14 14

125cc

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Jimmy Margetson (W) 178 45 45 43 45
2 Samuel Price 166 43 39 45 39
3 Freddie Gardiner 158 41 43 31 43
4 Beau Brown 153 37 34 41 41
5 Troy Willerton 151 39 41 37 34
6 Chester Hyde 142 34 37 39 32
7 Declan Wright 130 32 28 33 37
8 Finlay Boxall 129 30 30 34 35
9 Daniel Brough 129 33 31 35 30
10 Will Haddock 125 31 32 29 33
11 Conor McGrath 119 25 35 28 31
12 Harry Barker 117 29 33 30 25
13 Harry Shand 112 22 29 32 29
14 Ollie Addy 104 28 23 27 26
15 Zachary Pearson 97 23 25 25 24
16 Logan Powell 96 27 24 26 19
17 Bill Moynes 88 24 13 23 28
18 Teddy Hyde 82 19 20 20 23
19 Ashton Phillips 82 21 27 21 13
20 Levi Saunders 81 18 14 22 27
21 Tyler Jones 78 20 21 17 20
22 Braidy Tucker 72 16 18 16 22
23 Ryan Cristian 70 14 22 18 16
24 Ethan Blackley 69 15 17 19 18
25 Connor Smith 69 13 15 24 17
26 Jack Brearey 66 26 4 15 21
27 Callum Feely 51 5 19 12 15
28 Kevin Ranton 50 11 16 13 10
29 Max Ellerker 49 12 9 14 14
30 Oliver Almond 43 17 26
31 Joel Kremer 39 9 11 10 9
32 Josh Blackley 37 10 8 8 11
33 Oli Wickers 35 12 11 12
34 Ryan Waggott 35 35
35 Dan Wood 25 8 10 7
36 Joseph Horn 23 6 6 4 7
37 Harrison Clarke 20 7 5 8
38 Jake Ward 18 4 5 3 6
39 Leo Peacock 15 3 3 9
40 Thomas McLean 13 7 6

Clubman

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Mitchil Collins 174 45 43 41 45
2 Daniel Chapman 158 41 45 35 37
3 Nathan Heath 150 39 35 37 39
4 Kane Fisher 147 34 41 39 33
5 Colin McLuckie 141 26 29 45 41
6 Richard Roberts 139 37 39 34 29
7 Richard Evans 122 27 33 27 35
8 Matthew Jones 121 33 37 25 26
9 Jacob Bell 121 43 27 31 20
10 Mark Kinsley 118 32 43 43
11 Matthew Fuller 111 32 19 28 32
12 Josh Watson-Bailey 111 22 28 30 31
13 Frankie Elwell 106 24 16 32 34
14 Ivan Williamson 101 31 26 21 23
15 Jake Evans 101 16 34 33 18
16 Luke Price 98 21 18 29 30
17 Kevin McBride 98 28 31 20 19
18 Josh Young 97 35 21 19 22
19 Lee Clarkson 94 30 10 26 28
20 Joe Sargent 89 25 22 15 27
21 Ben Hughes 87 19 25 22 21
22 Alex Harvey 87 18 30 23 16
23 Bradley Priest 74 23 24 13 14
24 Aidan Carney 68 20 13 10 25
25 Tristan Daniels 67 15 23 18 11
26 Dan Best 63 17 17 14 15
27 Josh Ithell 60 7 12 24 17
28 Callum Radford 57 14 14 16 13
29 Roger Frean 53 9 20 12 12
30 Josh Jones 46 12 6 4 24
31 Dean Rodgers 46 29 17
32 Simon Jenkins 44 10 15 9 10
33 Kurt Richardson 39 11 9 11 8
34 Robert Williams 32 8 11 7 6
35 Joe Grace 29 5 7 8 9
36 Scott Isherwood 20 13 7
37 Harley Jones 20 2 8 5 5
38 Tyler Stevenson 12 6 6
39 Lee Johnston 8 3 5
40 James Barabach 4 4

MXY2

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Bayliss Utting 176 43 43 45 45
2 Jak Taylor 158 35 39 41 43
3 Joseph Leeks 148 39 35 37 37
4 Liam Bennett 145 26 41 39 39
5 Josh Bassett 143 37 37 34 35
6 Tye Jones 133 32 34 35 32
7 Jack Dando 132 33 33 32 34
8 Kayde Rayns 125 41 43 41
9 Kyron Carron 122 27 31 31 33
10 Jack Meara 115 34 28 33 20
11 Jack Wilson 113 28 32 27 26
12 Louis Perrin-Brown 112 29 29 26 28
13 Sam Jackson 108 30 30 24 24
14 Jamie Collins 107 24 25 29 29
15 Richard Barstow 106 25 21 30 30
16 Jake Barker 105 31 15 28 31
17 Lewis Bethell 99 21 26 25 27
18 Sonny Shipton 96 23 27 21 25
19 McKenzie Marshall 90 45 45
20 Curtis Roberts 89 19 24 23 23
21 Jon Waghorn 85 22 22 20 21
22 Harrison Drewell 82 20 23 22 17
23 Max Agar 76 16 20 18 22
24 Thomas Sharp 75 18 19 19 19
25 Lenny Wright 70 17 18 17 18
26 Leyton Duffy 64 15 17 16 16
27 Max Hudson 57 12 16 15 14
28 Tommy Gibbard 54 11 14 14 15
29 Jake Cappa 14 14
30 Danny Moore 13 13
31 Jack Hoare 13 13

Big Wheel 85

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Josh Vail 180 45 45 45 45
2 Jamie Keith 172 43 43 43 43
3 Lewis Spratt (w) 164 41 41 41 41
4 Jorge Parkin 152 39 37 37 39
5 Zane Stephens 149 34 39 39 37
6 Kameron Greenhalgh 142 37 35 35 35
7 Cailen Jai Griffiths 126 35 34 33 24
8 Ollie Jewitt 123 32 30 29 32
9 Harley O’Callaghan 118 31 28 30 29
10 Oakley Kettle 117 27 33 24 33
11 Elvis Totney 114 25 32 26 31
12 Ethan Jordan 112 24 29 25 34
13 Leo Self 109 30 22 27 30
14 Tristan McGrath 108 29 25 31 23
15 Maison Jones 107 33 18 28 28
16 Sebastian Moore 104 23 27 32 22
17 Halim Own 99 28 31 13 27
18 Jaxon Haswell 95 22 24 23 26
19 Andrew Piggford 86 20 19 22 25
20 Bobby Burns 86 26 23 20 17
21 Leo Wright 86 15 26 34 11
22 Josh Hutchinson 80 19 20 21 20
23 James Egerton 70 21 17 16 16
24 Marley Alder 69 18 15 15 21
25 Corey Jay Hull 62 13 12 18 19
26 Ellis Nelson 62 12 13 19 18
27 Ashden Walsh 61 8 21 17 15
28 Holly Williams 56 16 16 12 12
29 Corey Wheatley 51 17 10 11 13
30 Max Williams 51 14 14 14 9
31 Harry Grayson 38 11 8 9 10
32 Cole Taylor 35 11 10 14
33 Charlie Hollamby 33 10 7 8 8
34 Daniel Hollis-Reeves 29 9 6 7 7
35 Kyle Daniels 9 9

Small Wheel 85

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Olly Waters 174 45 45 39 45
2 Joel Winstanley-Dawson 166 39 43 45 39
3 Jenson Severn 164 41 41 41 41
4 Jack Leese 158 43 37 35 43
5 Marty Spires 145 34 34 43 34
6 Lucas Lee 139 29 39 34 37
7 Arthur Moore 137 37 32 37 31
8 Archie Butterfield 134 35 33 33 33
9 Chase Panter 133 33 35 30 35
10 Alfie Stott 116 32 29 31 24
11 Caiden Brand 115 31 27 28 29
12 Harry Hall 113 30 28 29 26
13 Ryan Jackson (W) 111 27 31 23 30
14 Hayden Gibson 105 11 30 32 32
15 Jamie Thorpe 103 28 26 21 28
16 Ryan Taylor 96 25 21 25 25
17 Ricky Barrick 93 26 17 27 23
18 William Evans 90 24 15 24 27
19 JJ Cooper 90 23 20 26 21
20 Brooklyn Gabbitas 88 22 24 20 22
21 Jamie Prentice 79 19 25 18 17
22 Harry Cuddy 71 17 14 22 18
23 Ryan Prentice 71 18 23 19 11
24 Henry Lewis 66 20 18 14 14
25 Oscar Gilham 62 8 22 12 20
26 Kyle Graham 62 21 16 9 16
27 Tommy Hutchinson 60 15 9 17 19
28 Alan Thomson 55 16 8 16 15
29 William Macaulay 55 14 19 10 12
30 Spencer Newman 51 13 12 13 13
31 Ben Egerton (W) 41 9 11 11 10
32 Martin Janson 37 13 15 9
33 Junior Wigglesworth 35 10 10 7 8
34 Jack Masters 32 12 7 6 7
35 Jake Dixon (w) 27 7 6 8 6
36 Seersha Jones 10 5 5
37 Byron Wheldon 6 6

Junior 65

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Harley Marczak 174 43 43 43 45
2 Casey Lister 172 45 41 45 41
3 Cohen Jagielski 170 41 45 41 43
4 Nixon Coppins 149 34 39 37 39
5 Jett Gardiner 136 37 35 27 37
6 Ethan Gawley 136 35 33 34 34
7 Arthur King 134 28 34 39 33
8 Lyall Rutherford 132 33 31 33 35
9 Teddy Merriman 130 39 37 35 19
10 Charley Wilcock 123 31 29 32 31
11 Elliott Shawyer 112 30 32 29 21
12 Alfie Cotter 109 26 27 24 32
13 Jakson Ross 97 23 30 19 25
14 Jamie Currie 94 14 26 26 28
15 Mason Brown 92 20 28 30 14
16 Ronan Watson 90 32 28 30
17 Dylan Standing 90 24 24 22 20
18 Remi Wigglesworth 89 25 23 18 23
19 Rylee Byrne 87 27 14 17 29
20 Vinnie Anderson 85 29 25 31
21 Tommy Wood 84 18 17 25 24
22 Sydney Williams 81 11 22 21 27
23 Riley Seeds 80 21 20 23 16
24 Finley Rundle 77 16 19 20 22
25 Ivan Williamson 76 17 18 15 26
26 Bradley Thompson 66 22 16 16 12
27 Jack Clark 65 19 15 13 18
28 Will kremer 58 8 21 14 15
29 Johnny Wright 54 15 11 11 17
30 Olly Hanley 47 12 10 12 13
31 Jack Waters 43 10 13 9 11
32 Troy McGrath 43 13 12 8 10
33 Haydn Escott 31 7 8 7 9
34 Max Jones 28 9 9 10
35 Caitlyn Cone 27 6 7 6 8

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