The first bank holiday weekend in May was the date for round 3 of the 2026 Motul British Motocross Championship at Lyng in Norfolk. The Apico Honda team arrived on Saturday morning, and with the sunny, calm weather, everything looked set for a great weekend of racing. With Josh Gilbert recovering from surgery, Tom Murphy had been given the opportunity to fill in as Tom Grimshaw’s teammate aboard the Honda CRF405R 2026 until Josh’s return.
Words by Apico Honda – Images courtesy of Insight Media
With qualifying underway, both Grimshaw and Murphy managed their quickest laps on their first attempt of timed practice, with Grimshaw placing 7th fastest on 2.12 and Murphy 17th on 2.15 seconds.
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In race 1, Grimshaw made a great start, well inside the top 10, making an early pass on Purdon and having a close battle with Carpenter, who he passed in the outfield at the halfway point of the race. Unfortunately, Hammal and then the front 3 had already gapped Tom, so he was unable to progress over the last 7 laps, though he was more than happy with his season best 5th place in the Apico MX1 Class. Tom Murphy had a new bike to get to grips with. After not making the start he’d have liked to, he had it all to do. Passing several riders, Tom was in 17th place by the third lap and then went on to have a battle with Southgate, making his way to 15th before colliding with a rider and dropping back to 17th at the flag.
Race 2 was, in some respects, a change of fortune. Murphy managed to get out of the gate on the edge of the top 10 and progress over the opening few laps to 11th place, only to be passed in the last half of the race by Edwards and Cole for a solid 13th overall. Grimshaw didn’t get the start as he had in the first race and was outside of the top 10. He quickly made progress on the field and was inside the top 10 by lap 3. Grimshaw made some hard passes and was in 6th position by 3 quarters of the way through the race, having passed Durow, Bruce and Meara. Tom Grimshaw managed to make up time on Purdon over the last quarter of the race, though he had to settle for 6th and 5th overall in the Apico MX1 Championship. Tom Murphy finished his first meeting with the team and a season-best 15th overall.
Dylan: “The team had a solid day of racing, with Tom Grimshaw equalling his career best MX1 finish in 5th place, something we hope he can improve on as the season progresses. To see Tom back at the sharp end after a difficult period is a testament to his mental strength, which we are all very proud to see.
“Tom Murphy stepped up to the plate, whilst Josh recovers from injury, and has shown his ability by getting on a bike he’s not used to and scoring points from the get-go. I’d like to think there’s a little more to come from Tom over the next couple of rounds he’ll be with us, and that he’ll show his potential.
“We wish Josh all the best for a speedy recovery and his return to the team. Thank you to all the team members and sponsors for their support, and we now look forward to the 4th round of the Motul British Championship at Landrake.”
