It’s time to really get down to business this weekend, 18th/19th July, as the AMCA stages the penultimate round of their 2026 AMCA British Motocross Championship supported by Rokit Tyres. And this meeting will be staged at the Seven Hills circuit on the outskirts of Derby, a brand-new venue for the championship series.
Words and Images by Mike Wood
With the eventual glory and prizes almost in sight, from here onwards riders need to be wheel perfect, and there’s certainly no allowance for that dreaded DNF! So far, 125cc championship leader Lee Sealey has certainly been just about perfect! All season long Lee has been involved in plenty of epic tussles with his closest rivals, the hard-charging Ashley Harland, Jordan Wright and Aaron Colley. Showing his class, the former World Enduro rider has led the series all the way, scoring four out of five overall wins. At present Lee holds a 24-point advantage at the top over Harland, with Wright still very much in contention and just a further 21 points in arrears. With Colley having unfortunately broken his shoulder at Hawkstone and out for the remainder of the season, Luke Phillips, Patrick Gilligan, Charlie Palmer and Luke Newman could all now move up in the standings. Over in the Youth 125cc class, Bobby Watson has jumped to the top of the championship table. Scoring a 3rd overall at Hawkstone, Bobby now leads the way by just an incredible single point from Oakley Skinner! Holding 3rd in the table, Ted Bullen is still very much in the title mix as Sean Smout and Toby Adamson give chase.
Talking earlier of being wheel perfect, well that certainly applies to the outstanding top two riders in the Open class. After 18 high-quality motos, just 24 points separate leader Tyla Hooley and James Dodd, with the eventual destiny of the title in this one a very hard call to make! Holding 3rd since the opening round in this class and showing great consistency, it’s Will Hughes, and it’s certainly difficult to see him relinquishing that position in the final two rounds! Although Ryan Crowder (injured) and Mackenzie Marshall (ACU Motul series duty) both missed the last round at Hawkstone, they still maintained their respective 4th and 5th places in the Open class table. During round five, Ben Clayton did move up in the standings to 6th with Josh Waterman, Tyron Cleaver, Joshua Fletcher-Williams and Jacob Bowden next up.
Four out of five podiums carried defending AMCA MX2 champion Henry Williams a big step closer to retaining his title. With Jayden Jones missing round five at Hawkstone due to Plews British Masters commitments, he’s dropped down to 3rd in the AMCA table, 39 points behind Finley Evans. Although Jimmy Margetson and Lee Truman both didn’t score at Hawkstone, they still hold 4th and 5th places respectively in the MX2 points table. In what as proved to be another very competitive and entertaining 2026 championship chase, Ray Rowson holds 6th in the standings with two rounds to go ahead of Yarin Evans, Jack Evans, Luke Meredith and Rory Jones.
READ MORE: AMCA BRITISH MX CHAMPS NEWS
In the AMCA Women’s series, leader Hannah Jones and 3rd place Amber McGregor, who is the defending champion, will be missing from round six as they are racing at Foxhill this weekend in the WMX class. That means that Caitlin Newman could well be the new AMCA leader come Sunday evening. Also looking very likely to move up into title contention due to Hannah and Amber’s absence is Jaymee Garrood. Other possible starters and contenders for a round six podium at Seven Hills are Erin Howes, Holly Williams, Sophie Jones, Daisy Blackwell and Nadiya Jones. Whilst it’s extremely disappointing that Hannah and Amber were even put into a position where they had to decide whether to compete at Foxhill or Seven Hills, let’s wish both girls the very best in their big WMX outing!
The Vets in 2026 have been very entertaining, producing plenty of close racing. In the young Vets for Over 40s, Jamie Dobson and James Lane continue to match each other round after round in a super head-to-head tussle at the top. At present Jamie has a slender 18-point advantage, with Lee Martin the Hawkstone overall winner a further 40 points in arrears. As Phil Mercer holds a big 82-point advantage at the top of the Vet’s Over 50’s, it’s all going on in the race for the other top three placings! At present Matt Ryder and Simon Lane are locked together on a total of 365 points, with Aaron Crowder a podium taker at Hawkstone in 4th, Stephen Clarke 5th and Sean Smith 6th. Riding on his local track, Brian Staples will be looking to move another big step closer to claiming another Vet’s Over 60’s crown. Brian goes into the Seven Hills event a big 78 points clear of Andrew Prosser and Mark Tilzey, who have jumped ahead of Darran Williams.
Right from the off it’s been the very dominant duo of Mason Brown and Will Kremer at the top of the BW85cc contest. Going into the Seven Hills event, Brown is still very much in control and boasting a 58-point lead over Kremer. Currently next best in the BW85cc are Byron Wheldon and Jimmy Whiston. Over in the SW85cc, Aaron Mercer and Oliver Moore are certainly the only two lads in title contention. At present it’s Mercer leading the way on 358 points from Moore on a 322 total. Of all the AMCA championship title hunts, the Youth 65cc is the closest to being signed, sealed and delivered. In that one, Harvey Wood is a whopping 172 points clear of Cohen Llewellyn. Whilst Wood has been present at every round, Llewellyn has only contested the Bevercotes and Brookthorpe events.
Third overall on the Hawkstone podium, George Clarke is still the Clubman Seniors leader. Super consistent Clarke has been on it right from round one and is the man that they all have to catch! Common sense says that he still looks the most likely champion, although Charlie Ludwell and Max Monk are chasing hard and very capable of taking the fight right down to the wire! At present in this one, Jack Hollis, Mackenzie Tranter and the Hawkstone winner Ayjay Simpson are next up.
Although neither Charlie Osborne nor Lewis Perks were on the Hawkstone Clubman Juniors podium, they still hold the current top two places in the championship chase. Just a very tight 22 points separates them, so it’s certainly all to play for in this one as John Cox is also right in the mix and only a further 8 points in arrears. Benjamin Prosser, Oliver Woodhouse and Bobby Turner complete the top six.
The Seven Hills local code is DE21 5LA, with racing due to start shortly after 11 am on day one and around 10 am on the second day of action. Admission costs are £15 for adults and £10 for OAPs for a weekend ticket, or £10 for adults and £5 for OAPs for a single day. Throughout the weekend, children under 16 will be admitted for FREE, provided they are accompanied by a paying Adult.
