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Clarke & Mitchell on top at Culham! 2023 Bridgestone British Masters Round 4 – Race Report & Results

Clarke & Mitchell on top at Culham! 2023 Bridgestone British Masters Round 4 – Race Report & Results

Steven Clarke, on his Store 114 Racing Honda, won the Elite MX1 class at round four of the Bridgestone British Master’s last weekend at a hastily arranged Culham Moto Park after the use of Oxford Moto Parc track was lost after local planning problems.

Race Report & Images by Dick Law

Callum Mitchell (Lexa MX Racing Husqvarna) won both Elite MX2 races of the poorly supported Pro classes.
The weather wasn’t the best over the weekend, with drizzle, heavier rain spells and bursts of strong winds making it a bit miserable for everyone, especially the marshals, on Saturday. But on Sunday we were all treated to a bit of sunshine with showers making it a bit more interesting. Considering all the weather, the track crew did a great job keeping the meeting running.

Dan Thornhill

Charlie Putnam (SC Sporthomes Husqvarna), who was just back from racing in the US championship, got the holeshot at the start of the first combined Pro MX1 and MX2 race and was followed around the first turn by Richard McKeown (RM 22 Husqvarna), Drew Anderson (Husqvarna), and Dan Thornhill (Chambers Gas Gas) with Clarke, who missed the start completely, in last place.

Charlie Putnam

By the end of the first lap, Anderson was in the lead as Putnam and Thornhill battled over second place with Clarke, who had already passed half of the small pro field, already up to fifth. Neville Bradshaw (Suzuki), who was doing an Iron Man by riding two classes, the other being the 125cc class, had gated almost last but was already powering his way towards the front of the pack with what looked ease.

On lap five, Thornhill went down and pulled out of the race and the event, his still damaged hand just not working right for racing.

Richard McKeown.

At the halfway point, Clarke was already in the lead with the first of the three MX2 riders, Mitchell in second on the track with the flying Bradshaw third. Putnam had settled into fourth place with the second of the MX2 riders, Alfie Jones (Chambers Husqvarna) fifth.

For the rest of the race, the running order stayed the same.

Once again, Putnam got the holeshot at the start of race two, with McKeown and Clarke following around turn one, but by the end of the lap, Clarke was in the lead and was unchallenged till the end of the race. Putnam held onto second place as first Mitchell passed McKeown, then Jones and Bradshaw.

Daniel Hutchinson (DMH Advantage Husqvarna) and Harry Bradley (ORW-SM Pro Kawasaki) spent the first half of the race passing and re-passing each other almost on every lap till Bradley upped his pace to finish fifth Hutchinson eighth.

Bradshaw had a better start and finished third for third overall behind Clarke and Putnam in the MX1s, while the three MX2 riders finished with Mitchell winning from Jones and Hutchinson.

“I am really buzzing after that”, said a happy Clarke, “In the first one, I didn’t get the best of starts as I stalled it on the gate trying to spin the rear tyre on the gate. It was an absolute rookie mistake, and I must hold my hand up for that one. But I made some good passes, got into the lead, and was helped when Dan (Thornhill) went down after his front wheel tucked under. But you have to keep it on two wheels to win. In the second one, I was second out of the gate behind Charlie (Putnam), passed him, put in a couple of fast laps, put it in cruise mode, and brought it home”.

Second place man overall, Putnam said, “It’s been great fun today as they run a brilliant event here. In the first race, I just pumped up (Arm pump), and I tried to ride a bit too reserved, but in the second I thought just go for it”.

Iron man Bradshaw said from his third-place podium, “It’s all been good. I just wanted to get some extra laps in as I was also riding the 125cc class and won that, but the 450 was for some extra laps. I started last in both races but managed to work my way through to second in race one and third in the last. I had a good pace and had a good feeling on the 450 for once. I wouldn’t say I like racing 450s much. It’s all a build-up to VMXDN at Foxhill, and this is the first weekend of a block of five races, so I am happy with that”.

First place in the MX2 side of the event, Mitchell said, “Happy days. I went one one, and the track was good as it’s been nearly a year since I have ridden here, so it was nice to ride a different track and to get ready for the next national”.

Jones said from second on the podium, “I am happy as this is my first race back from injury. I got off to a good start in the first race and was strong for the first ten minutes till I started to fade with arm pump and other this as I have been off the bike for so long. In the second race, it was the same thing over again. I want to finish off the year with a high now”.

Third place rider overall, Hutchinson said, “It’s been a good day, and I have enjoyed it. In the first race wasn’t great, but I got a better flow in the second one and had a couple of battles which are always fun”.

Wildcard rider Scott Aldridge won the amateur MX1s despite a first laps crash in race three that would see him finish the race in ninth place. But, adding that score with a win and two second places were enough to give him the overall. Race three winner John Joe Wright (Mr Dig Groundworks Honda) was second, with the likeable Simon Booth (Acerbis KTM), who scored his first national race win, third.

Ashley Greedy, another wildcard rider, won all four amateur MX2 races for the overall win. Rory Jones (IDS KTM), who didn’t finish out of the top three all weekend, was second, with Patrick Jackson third.

The start of an Amateur MX2 moto

Yet another wildcard rider Lenny Ashley with four wins from four starts, won the clubman class with Kane Fisher (PR Crane Yamaha) and Lee Clarkson (Husqvarna) tied on points in second and third.

With two race wins and a second place, wildcard rider Neville Bradshaw (Yamaha) won the 125cc two-strokes from Beau Brown (KTM) and with Corey Hockey (Husqvarna) third.

Louis Vincent

On the youth side of things. After being pushed down to second place by Mckenzie Marshall (DK Offroad Yamaha) in race one, Bayliss Utting (Gibbons Plant Husqvarna) went on to win the next three MXY2 races for the overall win. Marshall was second, with wildcard rider Louis Vincent third.

Josh Vail (SJP Moto Husqvarna) continued his winning ways by being unbeaten in the big wheel 85 class. With four high places finishes, Jorge Parkin (SPS MC KTM) was second overall, with Ryan Clift third, just two points behind Parkin.

With two race wins and two-second places, Lucas Lee (Ken Rodney Construction Husqvarna) won the small wheel 85s beating fancied rider Joel Winstanley-Dawson (Cattle Trucks KTM), who missed the start of race two, into second place with Jenson Severn (Rod Sten Brickwork Gas Gas) third.

Casey Lister (VIP Motocross Gas Gas) was unbeaten in the junior 65s, with Nixon Coppins (Yamaha) second and with Arthur King (Motoverde KTM) third.

The fifth round is at Hawkstone Park in Shropshire on the 19th-20th of August, book in and be there.

Oscar Gilham and Olivia Reynolds

Results

Pro MX1

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2
1 Steven Clarke 90 45 45
2 Charlie Putnam 84 41 43
3 Neville Bradshaw 84 43 41
4 Harry Bradley 78 39 39
5 Richard McKeown 74 37 37
6 Travis Steels 69 34 35
7 Aaron Ongley 67 33 34
8 Drew Anderson 35 35

Pro MX2

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2
1 Callum Mitchell 90 45 45
2 Alfie Jones 86 43 43
3 Daniel Hutchinson 82 41 41

Amateur MX1

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Scott Aldridge (w) 163 45 43 32 43
2 John Joe Wright 153 41 37 45 30
3 Simon Booth 152 33 39 35 45
4 Josh Greedy (W) 148 37 33 37 41
5 Brad Thornhill 143 26 41 43 33
6 Ryan Osborn 139 39 31 30 39
7 Daniel Maule 139 32 29 41 37
8 Sean Williamson 127 29 32 34 32
9 Jamie Dixon 124 30 34 26 34
10 Oliver Ruddock 119 35 24 33 27
11 Liam Crellin 110 23 30 28 29
12 Lewis Huckerby 109 25 26 27 31
13 Josh Conton (W) 108 34 35 39
14 Bradley Wheeler 100 31 45 24
15 Jamie Fort 93 27 31 35
16 Adam Paxton (W) 93 19 21 25 28
17 David Curtis 89 22 19 22 26
18 Dale Brockhurst 85 28 28 29
19 Connor Maltby 79 17 17 20 25
20 Frazer Gardiner 68 21 23 24
21 Liam Piggford 65 24 20 21
22 Connor Cramp (W) 65 20 22 23
23 Max Lewis 52 27 25
24 George Clarke (W) 43 43
25 Ben Parry 36 18 18
26 Jason Dallimore (W) 16 16
27 Nigel Smorfitt (W) 16 16

Amateur MX2

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Ashley Greedy (W) 180 45 45 45 45
2 Rory Jones 168 43 41 41 43
3 Patrick Jackson 162 39 39 43 41
4 Henry Siddiqui 150 41 43 39 27
5 Mitchell Armour 141 28 37 37 39
6 Callum Murfitt 138 33 34 34 37
7 Williams Leon (W) 130 34 33 31 32
8 Syd Putnam 119 26 32 28 33
9 Mitchell Warhurst 119 29 30 32 28
10 Jonathan Rodenick-Evans 117 25 28 29 35
11 Joele Hart 112 31 26 24 31
12 Gary Ashley(w) 107 37 35 35
13 David Plank (W) 105 27 29 27 22
14 Liam Smith 104 19 31 30 24
15 Luke Southern 94 24 27 22 21
16 Ben White (W) 91 22 25 18 26
17 Ben Clark 88 21 33 34
18 Jesse Wren 88 21 24 20 23
19 Thomas Dodsworth (W) 87 35 23 29
20 Leon Ongley 86 30 26 30
21 Charlie Parrott (W) 72 16 20 17 19
22 Alan Pearce (W) 69 23 21 25
23 Rusty Griffths (W) 57 32 25
24 Corey Collins(W) 56 17 19 20
25 Taylor Johnson(W) 42 20 22
26 Jordan Hearn (W) 41 18 23

Clubman

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Lenny Ashley (W) 180 45 45 45 45
2 Kane Fisher 160 41 41 35 43
3 Lee Clarkson 160 33 43 43 41
4 Colin McLuckie 146 43 31 33 39
5 Hayden Stevens (W) 140 30 34 39 37
6 Richard Roberts 138 39 39 37 23
7 Josh Young 132 34 33 30 35
8 Nathan Heath 132 32 35 32 33
9 Mark Kinsley 117 26 29 34 28
10 Daniel Chapman 111 29 37 24 21
11 Joe Sargent 109 21 30 26 32
12 Aidan Carney 109 24 32 29 24
13 Mitchil Collins 102 28 21 19 34
14 Matthew Fuller 100 31 18 22 29
15 Matthew Jones 100 35 24 21 20
16 Sam Menzies 99 22 28 31 18
17 Josh Ithell 91 25 17 27 22
18 Ivan Williams 86 27 28 31
19 Kevin McBride 85 20 22 18 25
20 Bradley Priest 83 15 19 23 26
21 Jacob Bell 76 19 27 30
22 Ben Hughes 69 18 9 25 17
23 Jordan Hurst (W) 68 41 27
24 Callum Radford 64 17 14 17 16
25 Ryan Davis (W) 63 37 26
26 Robert Williams 63 13 20 15 15
27 Roger Frean 52 10 15 14 13
28 Scott Isherwood 48 16 20 12
29 Richard Evans 44 25 19
30 Luke Price 39 23 16
31 Jake Evans 38 11 16 11
32 Ryan Davies (W) 34 4 10 11 9
33 Joe Grace 31 6 12 13
34 Tristan Daniels 28 5 23
35 Tyler Stevenson 25 3 12 10
36 Kurt Richardson 22 8 14
37 Matthew Hardwick (W) 22 9 13
38 Jamie Epplestone 18 7 11
39 Roman York 14 14
40 Harley Jones 12 12
41 Josh Watson-Bailey 2 2

125cc

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Neville Bradshaw (w) 178 43 45 45 45
2 Beau Brown 162 35 41 43 43
3 Corey Hockey 152 39 35 37 41
4 Freddie Gardiner 150 45 27 39 39
5 Daniel Brough 149 37 43 34 35
6 Archie Gridham (W) 144 33 39 41 31
7 Chester Hyde 131 32 34 33 32
8 Harry Barker 122 30 29 30 33
9 Shane Jones (W) 111 41 33 37
10 Wesley McGovin (W) 106 34 37 35
11 Finlay Boxall 105 24 30 21 30
12 Louis Perrin-Brown(W) 94 19 15 31 29
13 Jack Evans(W) 94 23 19 24 28
14 Conor McGrath 92 26 32 34
15 Jack Brearey 92 22 17 28 25
16 Braidy Tucker 91 21 21 25 24
17 Teddy Hyde 87 20 22 19 26
18 Ethan Blackley 86 17 25 27 17
19 Declan Wright 83 31 23 29
20 Ryan Cristian 83 14 24 23 22
21 Tyler Jones 80 15 16 22 27
22 Harley Maskill (W) 77 28 31 18
23 Zachary Pearson 72 16 11 26 19
24 Logan Powell (W) 69 18 13 20 18
25 Ashton Phillips 68 13 18 16 21
26 Cameron Jackson (W) 53 25 28
27 Max Ellerker 51 14 17 20
28 Oli Wickers 51 10 10 15 16
29 Callum Feely 48 11 14 23
30 Olly Hathaway (W) 46 26 20
31 Robert Wood 44 9 8 12 15
32 Joseph Horn 39 6 9 11 13
33 Harry Johnson (W) 37 7 7 9 14
34 Daniel Bartlett (W) 37 12 12 13
35 Warren Boyce 35 29 6
36 Rocco Hands (W) 32 32
37 Conor McGrath (W) 27 27
38 Jake Ward 22 10 12
39 Harrison Clarke 8 8

MXY2

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Bayliss Utting 178 43 45 45 45
2 McKenzie Marshall 164 45 43 35 41
3 Louis Vincent (W) 156 35 41 43 37
4 Finley Evans(W) 153 41 39 34 39
5 Jak Taylor 139 39 16 41 43
6 Sonny Shipton 128 31 34 31 32
7 Jack Dando 128 32 35 33 28
8 Jack Wilson 122 33 32 24 33
9 Tye Jones 121 28 24 39 30
10 Sam Jackson 115 21 31 32 31
11 Dayton Thompson 113 27 30 30 26
12 Mitchell Conway (W) 109 24 33 27 25
13 Lewis Bethell 107 23 26 29 29
14 Kayde Rayns 106 34 37 35
15 Kyron Carron 97 26 37 34
16 Owen Richards (W) 97 30 19 21 27
17 Jamie Collins 96 29 21 22 24
18 Richard Barstow 96 20 29 25 22
19 Curtis Roberts 95 25 22 28 20
20 Fenton Rayns (W) 92 18 25 26 23
21 Harrison Drewell 91 19 28 23 21
22 Jack Ranner (W) 79 17 23 20 19
23 Kieran Wightman(W) 73 16 20 19 18
24 Alfie Duckett(W) 67 15 18 18 16
25 Tommy Gibbard 65 14 17 17 17
26 Jake Barker 49 22 27
27 Joseph Leeks 37 37

Big Wheel 85

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Josh Vail 180 45 45 45 45
2 Jorge Parkin 156 43 37 35 41
3 Ryan Clift (W) 154 41 39 37 37
4 Jack Leese (W) 152 39 35 43 35
5 Zane Stephens 149 35 41 34 39
6 Austin Beasty (W) 137 31 34 39 33
7 Kameron Greenhalgh 134 32 43 27 32
8 Maison Jones 125 34 25 32 34
9 Ethan Jordan 120 12 24 41 43
10 Tristan McGrath 114 37 26 30 21
11 Stanley Siebert (W) 112 33 18 33 28
12 Oakley Kettle 112 24 31 31 26
13 Andrew Piggford 112 29 33 26 24
14 George Clarke (W) 107 21 28 28 30
15 Halim Own 107 19 30 29 29
16 Leah Reece-Evans (W) 91 26 23 23 19
17 Josh Hutchinson 91 25 27 25 14
18 Kole Nally (W) 90 22 22 24 22
19 Jacob Francis (W) 89 23 21 18 27
20 Marley Alder 87 27 29 31
21 Elvis Totney (W) 84 30 32 22
22 Corey Wheatley 77 17 16 21 23
23 Freddy Richards (W) 75 18 20 17 20
24 Kade Thomas (W) 72 28 19 25
25 Ashden Walsh 71 20 15 20 16
26 Kaden Pill (W) 62 14 17 16 15
27 Harry Grayson 50 13 19 18
28 Mason McPherson (W) 32 15 17
29 Holly Williams 16 16

Small Wheel 85

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Lucas Lee 176 43 45 45 43
2 Joel Winstanley-Dawson 172 45 39 43 45
3 Jenson Severn 156 35 41 41 39
4 William Evans 146 37 43 34 32
5 Olivia Reynolds (W) 141 41 28 35 37
6 Chase Panter 137 32 33 37 35
7 Oscar Gilham 135 33 35 33 34
8 Archie Butterfield 131 29 37 32 33
9 Caiden Brand 121 39 27 29 26
10 Sean Smout (W) 117 30 31 26 30
11 Spencer Newman 117 34 32 24 27
12 Jamie Thorpe 115 28 29 30 28
13 Harry Cuddy 112 27 23 31 31
14 Arthur Moore 111 31 39 41
15 Harry Hall 110 23 34 28 25
16 Tommy Hutchinson 109 25 30 25 29
17 Daniel Sheppard (W) 88 24 19 27 18
18 Ryan Taylor 87 22 20 22 23
19 Brooklyn Gabbitas 86 20 26 18 22
20 Jamie Prentice 79 14 24 21 20
21 Theo Richardson (W) 78 16 21 17 24
22 Alan Thomson 77 19 14 23 21
23 Alfie Pincher (W) 75 21 25 13 16
24 Henry Lewis 74 18 18 19 19
25 Oliver Bardoe (W) 69 17 22 16 14
26 Ricky Barrick 69 26 15 15 13
27 Ryan Prentice 67 15 17 20 15
28 Albert Jones (W) 48 10 16 11 11
29 Troy McGrath (W) 37 13 12 12
30 Emily Jones (W) 36 11 13 12
31 Jack Masters 31 14 17
32 Jake Dixon (W) 12 12

Junior 65cc

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Casey Lister 180 45 45 45 45
2 Nixon Coppins 164 43 41 41 39
3 Arthur King 150 37 39 37 37
4 Jett Gardiner 148 39 29 39 41
5 Teddy Merriman 148 41 37 35 35
6 Jamie Currie 131 35 31 33 32
7 John Slade (W) 130 28 34 34 34
8 Harley Marczak 129 43 43 43
9 Lyall Rutherford 122 27 30 32 33
10 Charley Wilcock 122 34 32 28 28
11 Elliott Shawyer 117 31 24 31 31
12 Tommy Wood 116 33 35 25 23
13 Ronan Watson 113 25 28 30 30
14 Ethan Gawley 108 23 33 23 29
15 Finley Rundle 107 32 27 24 24
16 Sydney Williams 104 26 26 27 25
17 Dylan Standing 103 30 25 21 27
18 Jakson Ross 95 20 23 26 26
19 Ivan Williamson 91 19 21 29 22
20 Riley Seeds 81 22 22 17 20
21 Rylee Byrne 80 21 20 20 19
22 Freddy Graham (W) 71 17 19 22 13
23 Oscar Fairclough (W) 65 11 18 15 21
24 Archie Oakes(W) 62 16 12 18 16
25 Sonny Sawnders (W) 61 12 15 16 18
26 Forrest Roberts (W) 61 13 17 14 17
27 Jack Waters (W) 49 15 19 15
28 Bradley Thompson (W) 44 14 16 14
29 Jack Clark 44 18 13 13
30 Logan Lewis 43 29 14
31 Woody Johnson (W) 42 9 11 11 11
32 Haydn Escott 34 10 12 12
33 Alfie Brough (W) 30 10 10 10
34 Mason Brown 24 24