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Bradshaw triumphs at brutal Norley! 2021 AMCA British Motocross Championship Round 4 – Race Report & Results

Bradshaw triumphs at brutal Norley! 2021 AMCA British Motocross Championship Round 4 – Race Report & Results

Total concentration and maximum respect were to be the vital demands of all riders contesting round four of the 2021 AMCA British Motocross Championship powered by Datatag and supported by Dunlop as the Norley circuit became totally brutal and very punishing!

Report and Images by Mike Wood

Hosted by the Mid Cheshire MXC, three all –action blocks of racing were comfortably completed and it’s now Ashley Greedy (LHRT Kawasaki), Nev Bradshaw(FUS Marsh MX Husqvarna), Kieran Banks (Meredith MX Fantic), Phil Mercer (FUS Marsh MX Husqvarna), Andrew Watkins (MDMX Apico Racing KTM), Oliver Rigby (Edge-One Motocross KTM) and Oakley Kettle (Rikki Priest Academy KTM) leading the respective classes.

What a contest the 2021 MX2 class is proving to be as it’s not only 2T 250cc machine v 250F Four-stroke power but also experience v youthful talent and exuberance. At Norley though it was 2T 250cc experience which was to come out on top as Nev Bradshaw took the overall win. After having had a run out at Foxhills on Saturday in the ACU Revo British Championship, he then travelled North to Cheshire. Setting the fastest qualifying time, Nev then took the opening moto win of the day ahead of Rossi Beard, Shane Carless, Henry Williams, Ray Rowson, Corey Hockey and Josh Peters. In moto two it was then a super FUS battle all the way with Carless stalking Bradshaw before zipping past for the win with just two laps remaining.

Corey Hockey – MX2

In the last MX2 contest, Bradshaw again led all the way from Carless, Beard, Peters, Hockey and Williams. Also in the frame in this one were Josh Coleman, Rory Jones and Josh Canton. In the Championship race, Bradshaw now tops the standings on 468, just a single point ahead of his FUS Marsh MX teammate Carless with Williams in 3rd .

MX1 first turn action

Whilst Burton claimed the opening MX1 moto win of the day with a big, smooth performance, the event did not start quite so well for fellow Championship contender Josh Waterman. Falling on turn three and being relegated to last place, Josh then came storming back to a hard earned 7th. Ahead of him was Greedy in 2nd, Luke Hawkins, Jayden Ashwell having his best ride of the series so far, James Dodd and Adam Harris.

Adam Chatfield leading Jamie Skuse in MX1

After that impressive moto one victory, Burton then looked all-set to repeat the feat in the second clash. Getting past early leaders Dodd and Greedy, the FUS Marsh MX rider was comfortable at the front until crashing on lap nine and dropping down to 10th. At the front now though a super tussle for supremacy was developing as Dodd locked horns with Greedy, a battle which was to produce a simply thrilling and dramatic finish! With Dodd looking set for the win, Greedy gave it everything on the last lap and literally passed the stunned Honda rider in mid-air on the final jump, going over the finish line almost out of control but winning by the very narrowest of margins! Taking 3rd in this one was Hawkins from Waterman who had moved up from 14th, the fast starting Jamie Skuse and Adam Chatfield with Burton getting back to 7th.

James Dodd MX1

Following the disappointment and pain of that moto two crash, Burton got it all together again to take the last MX1 moto at Norley. Once again though the series leader Greedy was right in the mix and taking 2nd with Waterman having his best ride of the day in 3rd. On the podium it was Greedy, Burton and Dodd taking home the prizes and now also filling the top three positions in the standings.

MX1 moto one start action

Holding second spot in the 125cc Championship table, Jonathan Roderick-Evans was missing from the Norley action after dislocating his elbow. His absence therefore offered series leader Kieran Banks the opportunity to stretch his advantage at the top and that’s just what he achieved. He was though made to work very hard throughout proceedings by a whole host of equally fast and very determined fellow competitors. In the opening 125cc moto, Lloyd Morgan grabbed the holeshot before being overhauled by first Bradley Tranter then Banks. Taking control on lap seven, Banks winning margin was nearly 8 seconds ahead of his closest title rival Tranter as Morgan took 3rd from Matt Ridgway, Clinton Barrs and Max Lewis.

125cc blast off with Bradley Tranter(19), Connor Challinor(999) and Matt Ridgway

Despite suffering from a damaged lung, the result of a big crash at Warmingham Lane during the last round, Jordan Wright gloriously grabbed the 125cc moto two holeshot before eventually taking a very gutsy 5th place finish. Taking the victory this time was a very focussed Tranter from Banks, Morgan and Ridgway. Also in the big points this time around were Stuart Owen, Barrs, Harrison McCann and Joel Fisher.

Bradley Tranter in 125cc action

So with one win apiece, it was down to a final moto decider for the Norley 125cc overall verdict. From the off it certainly looked like Tranter was going to take top honours but Banks on the rapid Fantic timed his challenge to perfection. Gating 6th he got up into 2nd by lap four then gradually reeling in Tranter, he moved into pole position with just three tough, demanding circuits remaining. In a late twist, Tranter was then passed by the hard charging Morgan. That meant it was Banks from Tranter and Morgan on the podium and they also form the Championship top three.

Jordan Wright 125cc

The opening two Vets moto’s produced pretty much identical results as series leader Phil Mercer took the win ahead of Gary Davies and Paul Burn whilst the Lane brothers James and Simon hotly disputed 4th spot. It certainly wasn’t all plain sailing though for the defending Champion James Lane. In moto one he fell on the opening turn and had to come from last back to somehow take that 4th place, what a ride that was! In moto two  he then tasted the Norley soil yet again and despite bending his bike dug deep to produce a great recovery ride for a 5th place finish.

Phil Mercer the Vets winner

In the last one though it was all change as Davis led all the way. Gating 5th, Mercer got up into 2nd by lap five but by this point Davies was clear and racing onto a comfortable win. In the mix again were James Lane, Burn, Simon Lane, Andy Marchant, Sean Smith, Andrew Watkins and Anthony Bennett. Taking 8th overall on the day, Welsh rider and former AMCA Champion Watkins is also now the series leader of the separately scored Vets Over 50 class ahead of Brian Staples, Gareth Dunsford and Mark Hawkins. In that competition, Kev Rogers had been in control winning all three of the previous rounds but is now unfortunately out of action after breaking some ribs then contracting sepsis after a Warmingham Lane crash, get well soon Kev!

Harley Prickett(22) leading Will Turner in a Youth battle

2021 AMCA Youth 85cc title series leader Oliver Rigby and his closest challenger Charlie Hucklebridge were at it again during the Norley racing. Whilst Rigby got off to a flyer in moto one, it did not start too well for Hucklebridge though! Thankfully fit after his big Warmingham off, Charlie found himself last off the start before completing the opening lap in 11th. Two circuits later and he was reeling in leader Rigby before finally taking control on lap five. Racing onto victory, Charlie was just three seconds clear of Oliver with Jack Evans, Will Turner, Harry Bebb and Oakley Kettle next up.

Oliver Rigby leading a Youth 85cc battle

In moto two, Hucklebridge made a far better start to thus lead the contest all the way. This time around with Rigby again in 2nd there were some different names in the frame as the likes of Linc Hasted, Logan Jay Powell and Wyatt McGregor bagged some big Championship point’s hauls. With Rigby then producing a smooth start to finish win in the last one ahead of Hucklebridge, McGregor and Cameron Chell it meant that the podium was confirmed. On the day, Hucklebridge had bagged the overall but it’s still Rigby leading the Championship, 32 points clear of his rival as McGregor 384, David 373, Rheanna Morgan-Rogers 301 and Harley Prickett 294 complete the top six.

Josh Waterman MX1

In the separately scored SW85cc group, Prickett was the leader but has now been overhauled by Oakley Kettle. The difference though is just a single point so with Harrison Davies just a further 13 points in arrears it’s certainly still all to play for in this one. Yes Norley was tough and very demanding but next up it’s a trip to Hawkstone Park on July 4th, another very stern test for the stars of tomorrow!

Luke Burton MX1

Results

MX1

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Ashley Greedy 144 47 50 47
2 Luke Burton 137 50 37 50
3 James Dodd 131 41 47 43
4 Luke Hawkins 129 45 45 39
5 Josh Waterman 125 37 43 45
6 Adam Chatfield 110 30 39 41
7 Adam Harris 107 39 35 33
8 Jamie Skuse 105 33 41 31
9 Jimmy Margetson 94 28 31 35
10 Jayden Ashwell 93 43 13 37
11 Luke Meredith 92 35 27 30
12 Zac Stealey 86 31 33 22
13 Luke Dean 79 27 23 29
14 Henry Partridge 79 22 30 27
15 Will Hughes 78 29 26 23
16 Damon Strydom 76 19 29 28
17 Chris Neesam 71 21 24 26
18 Mark Roberts 71 26 25 20
19 Jake Parker 69 20 28 21
20 Lewis Hughes 61 15 21 25
21 Rhys Walker 60 17 19 24
22 Ieuan Barrett-Harris 57 16 22 19
23 Benjamin Nicholls 48 14 17 17
24 Adam Wells 45 25 20
25 Jack Griffiths 42 12 15 15
26 Rory Merchant 41 9 14 18
27 Mark Young 41 23 18
28 Luke Chessell 36 10 12 14
29 Sunny Thompson 34 18 16
30 Tye Barrs 29 13 16
31 Corie Southwood 24 24
32 Matthew Jones 11 11

MX2

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Neville Bradshaw 147 50 47 50
2 Shane Carless 142 45 50 47
3 Rossi Beard 127 47 35 45
4 Henry Williams 127 43 45 39
5 Corey Hockey 123 39 43 41
6 Josh Peters 121 37 41 43
7 Rory Jones 101 29 37 35
8 Josh Canton 101 35 33 33
9 Josh Coleman 94 30 27 37
10 Lewis Dowdeswell 92 31 31 30
11 Brooklyn Evans 85 25 29 31
12 Ray Rowson 80 41 39
13 Sean Eckersley 78 27 26 25
14 Martin Jones 76 28 22 26
15 Cory Mcshane 73 33 28 12
16 Callum Ford 71 20 24 27
17 James Smith 71 23 25 23
18 James Hanscomb 69 24 21 24
19 Billy Bayliss 67 15 23 29
20 Lee Truman 65 26 11 28
21 Mitchell Perry 63 21 20 22
22 Adam Hill 57 18 18 21
23 Aaron Collins 55 17 19 19
24 Joe Russell 55 22 17 16
25 Patrick Gilligan 55 12 30 13
26 Keelan Southwood 53 19 16 18
27 Joshua Barnett 51 16 15 20
28 Ben James 45 14 14 17
29 Macauley Davies 40 13 13 14
30 Matthew Bath 27 12 15

Jayden Ashwell in MX1 action

125’s

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Kieran Banks 147 50 47 50
2 Bradley Tranter 142 47 50 45
3 Lloyd Morgan 137 45 45 47
4 Matt Ridgway 125 43 43 39
5 Jordan Wright 109 33 41 35
6 Clinton Barrs 109 41 37 31
7 Harrison Mccann 108 30 35 43
8 Joel Fisher 107 37 33 37
9 Stuart Owen 105 25 39 41
10 Max Lewis 94 39 29 26
11 Jack Timms 87 29 28 30
12 Tom Fish 84 31 20 33
13 Jamie Powell 82 27 26 29
14 Conner Challinor 82 28 31 23
15 Luke Newman 81 26 27 28
16 tomos wright 79 24 30 25
17 Olly Hathaway 70 21 22 27
18 Jordan Ridgway 70 22 24 24
19 Harry Ridgway 69 23 25 21
20 Toby English 65 20 23 22
21 Jordan Meredith 58 19 21 18
22 Callum Baldwin 53 17 19 17
23 Ezra Blackwell 48 15 17 16
24 Mitchell Gregory 48 18 16 14
25 Nathan Bache 46 9 18 19
26 Yarin Evans 46 16 15 15
27 Oliver Barnes 38 13 14 11
28 Joshua Fletcher-Williams 37 12 13 12
29 Tom Cumber 36 11 12 13
30 Aaron Colley 35 35
31 Ben Hunter 34 14 20
32 Harry Beach 31 10 11 10
33 Mitchell Hartill 19 10 9

Vets

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Phil Mercer 147 50 50 47
2 Gary Davies 144 47 47 50
3 Paul Burn 133 45 45 43
4 James Lane 129 43 41 45
5 Simon Lane 125 41 43 41
6 Andrew Marchant 115 39 37 39
7 Sean Smith 111 35 39 37
8 Andrew Watkins 107 37 35 35
9 Anthony Bennett 97 33 31 33
10 Matthew Chaplin 92 31 33 28
11 Richard Tudor 89 28 30 31
12 Mark Hawkins 89 30 29 30
13 Brian Staples 82 27 28 27
14 Stephen Hurst 79 23 27 29
15 Russell Hartill 75 25 26 24
16 Ryan Thomas 74 24 25 25
17 Gareth Dunsford 72 26 20 26
18 John Heath 68 21 24 23
19 Guy Langmead 65 20 23 22
20 Paul Biddulph 64 22 22 20
21 Steve Ferney 51 19 15 17
22 Andrew Prosser 49 16 14 19
23 Gary Hurst 49 14 17 18
24 Graham Baddiley 48 17 16 15
25 Sean Reynolds 47 29 18
26 David Bullock 44 15 13 16
27 Matthew Evans 42 21 21
28 Stuart Arden 37 18 19
29 Russell Hurst 25 11 14
30 Christopher Jukes 25 13 12