Final fight at Foxhill! 2023 Bridgestone British Masters Finale – Preview
The famous Foxhill circuit near Swindon sees the Bridgestone British Masters host the final round of their 2023 Motocross Championship this weekend.
Feature Image courtesy of Dick Law
The Pro class has seen low entries this year, hence the championships change to an Open Expert class for 2024, nethertheless, there are still Pro champions to be crowned this weekend with Steven Clarke looking odds on for the MX1 title having notched up a 68 point lead over Richard McKeown in second. Charlie Putnam looks to have third nailed too. Interesting MX1 wildcards this weekend are South African racer Tristan Purdon and Scottish rider Ross Rutherford.
MX2 title is close to being wrapped up by Callum Mitchel who is 59 points clear of Daniel Hutchinson, with these two already securing the top 2 spots in the championship. Third place could go to a number of riders so it will be interesting to see who rocks up to claim the final spit on the box with MX Nationals champion Carlton Husband looking the likely candidate.
Josh Gilbert is the big wildcard rider in MX2 as he will be using this as a test on his 250 for the Motocross of Nations. Liam Garland and John Adamson will also be surefire contenders for the final round victory.
John Joe Wright has had a great season in Amateur MX1 and has one hand on the trophy, having gained a 74 point advantage over Simon Booth who sits in second just 3 points ahead of Max Lewis. Sean Williamson, Jamie Fort and Jamie Dixon cannot be counted out for a final podium push either.
Over in Amateur MX2 Henry Siddiqui has pulled clear of Rory Jones to the tune of 74 points as well with Ben Clark narrowly holding third by 10 points over Patrick Jackson. The fight for third is where it will be at in this class this weekend.
Three racers are duking it out for the 125 championship. As it stands Beau Brown dons the red plate, but with just 20 points to play with, he has a target on his back which Freddie Gardiner in second and Chester Hyde who sits six points further back in third this is a battle that could go down to the wire.
The Clubman class is equally as tight at the top with four riders still in the hunt for glory. Richard Roberts as eked out a 20 point lead over Lee Clarkson in second but Kane Fisher and Colin McLuckie are still within striking distance and with this class always full and always unpredictable the number one spot could go to any of these four.
Bayliss Utting has been in formidable form in the MXY2 class and will be looking to get the job done on Saturday and if he does, maybe he will step up into the Pro ranks on Sunday. Jak Taylor won’t let him off the hook though and even though he is 79 points down, he won’t back down until it is mathematically impossible for him to claim the title. Kayde Rayns has some breathing space in the third spot but Jack Dando and Mackenzie Marshall will have their eyes firmly fixed on the final step of the podium.
Josh Vail has already claimed the Revo ACU British Motocross and MX Nationals titles in the Big Wheel 85 class and having gone unbeaten in the Bridgestone this year, it looks pretty certain he will make it the triple this weekend at Foxhills. Zane Stephens is in strong position to bag second while third is all to race for between Maison Jones, Kameron Greenhalgh and Jorge Parkin with just 12 points separating the trio..
Another rider to already have a full trophy cabinet with British and MX Nationals titles up his sleeve is Joel Winstanley-Dawson who will be going all out to take the a phenomenal Small Wheel 85 triple. Lucas Lee holds a good lead in second but not big enough to relax while like in the Big Wheels, three riders are chasing the final podium spot and they are Chase Panter, Archie Butterfield and Arthur Moore.
All eyes will be on the Junior 65’s who have the biggest title battle going on between Casey Lister and Harley Marczak. Lister holds a slender six point lead over Marczak and this looks likely to be going down to the last moto. Arthur King needs solid moto’s to make sure he keeps hold of third spot.
If you want to come and watch the action prices for tickets are Adults £10 – Kids £5 – These are for weekend passes
