Brown & Chamberlain snatch title at tense Cusses showdown! 2022 ACU British Sidecarcross Championship Finale – Race Report, Standings & Results
The Waterlooville Motorcycle Club ran the final round of the ACU British Sidecarcross championships of 2022 at the Cusses Gorse track near Salisbury in Wiltshire. The event also incorporated the Sidecar Southern Centre championship, the British Championship Quads, Twinshock Sidecar support and the final round of the southern centre (MCU) Open Solos.
Race Report and Images by Tracy Thacker
The track was in great condition with recent changes, additional loops, and some of the track run in reverse. There was regular watering to keep the dust to a manageable level on a day where temperatures were extremely hot, making racing conditions difficult, but all went ahead smoothly.
All rounds this season have seen very closely fought battles for the sidecar championship lead, and today was no exception. Stuart Brown / Josh Chamberlain started the day holding the red plate with a four-point lead over rivals Brett Wilkinson / Joe Millard who had a great day with two race wins and the overall win on the day, but with such close racing they only gained three-points, and Stuart Brown / Josh Chamberlain took the championship title by one point – That’s an eighteenth win for Stuart and a ninth title win for Josh.
Race one got underway with an early lead for Stuart Brown / Josh Chamberlain from Brett Wilkinson / Joe Millard, but they pushed hard in the first lap blasting into the lead and going on to take their first great win of the day with supporters hanging over the fences cheering on their favourite teams. Stuart Brown / Josh Chamberlain held second which dropped their championship advantage to just one point. Behind Gary Moulds / Lewis Gray tucked into third just ahead of Dan Foden/ Nathan Cooper. Tony Grahame/ Ryan Henderson took fifth with a great battler for sixth, with Michael Hodges/ Jack Wilkinson holding the advantage despite challenges from George Kinge/ Chris Pannell and Neil Campbell/ Ross Graham.
In Race two it was drama from the start, with just one point between the arch rivals the atmosphere was electric, but as the gate dropped half of the gates malfunctioned and most of the top teams were left behind, it took a while to get resolved and the race restarted without the gate in full operation. Stuart Brown / Josh Chamberlain took the lead, but the pair were determined to stay ahead, Brett Wilkinson / Joe Millard were close behind, in fact right on their rear wheel, until they started to negotiate the back markers with Brett Wilkinson / Joe Millard colliding with one of the teams they were lapping, this enables Dan Foden / Nathan Cooper to move into second with Gary Moulds / Lewis Gray third, Brett Wilkinson / Joe Millard fought back from fourth with their supporters going wild, their got back to second and had the leaders in sight, but at the flag had to settle for second, which meant Stuart Brown / Josh Chamberlain now had a four-point advantage going into the last race of the season. Behind, Gary Moulds/ Lewis Gray moved into third with Dan Foden/ Nathan Cooper holding fourth. A great battle for fifth saw Tony Grahame/ Ryan Henderson hold the advantage over Michael Hodges/ Jack Wilkinson.
In the last championship race of the season Stuart Brown / Josh Chamberlain held a four-point championship advantage at the start of the race and were determined to keep it that way, but it was Brett Wilkinson / Joe Millard who took the hole shot from Gary Moulds / Lewis Gray with Dan Foden / Nathan Cooper third and Stuart Brown / Josh Chamberlain fourth. A big cheer went up from the Wilkinson Fans, and the Brown fans held their breath because they knew that if Brett Wilkinson / Joe Millard won this race Stuart Brown / Josh Chamberlain had to be second to retain the championship title. The battle was on. Brett Wilkinson / Joe Millard held the lead throughout doing everything they could to gain maximum points, the rest was outside their control. Behind Stuart Brown / Josh Chamberlain gradually moved forward, steady and leaving nothing to chance, they slotted into second place, and that was enough to take the championship win by just one point. What fantastic racing from both teams, in every race all season, nothing less than a third place in any race from either team. The large crowd appreciate that and gave both teams massive cheers as they crossed the line, as they did for Gary Moulds / Lewis Gray who took third in the championship. Dan Foden/ Nathan Cooper held fourth. A brilliant race behind for fifth place with Neil Campbell/ Ross Graham moving ahead of Michael Hodges/ Jack Wilkinson.
At the end of another eventful day current champions Brown / Chamberlain retained their championship title for another year, for Stuart in the year he turned 50 this is an amazing achievement, for Brett Wilkinson / Joe Millard they were so close to a title in their first season together which is also amazing.
In the expert class, Paul Pelling / Michael Curnow took the championship win from Tony Grahame / Ryan Henderson with Anthony Green / Jason Green holding third despite not racing on the day due to injury.
Results
Standings
