Huge Vet victory for White! ACU British Vets Motocross Championship – Race Report & Results

Last weekend saw the inaugural ACU British Vets Championship take place at Old Park Farm, Toddington, hosted by the Luton & District MCC and promoted by Octane Junkies Ltd.

Race Report by Phil Gee and Laurence Wiltshire  – Images courtesy of Click466

The single weekend format saw 4 ACU British Vet Championship classes and a multitude of support races that allowed all skill levels and ages of vet rider to have a class that suited them. The event used a multi-gate drop format seen in Vets racing over in the USA, which allowed each class to have their own gate drop and race whilst being on track at the same time s another group. Riders were all given colour coded event bibs which allowed riders and the spectators to easily identify who was in which class.

After a timed qualifying session, each group lined up for 3 races each day, with classes paired to ensure they were closely matched beforehand, which made the racing easier to follow, and more importantly, kept the riders busy all day.

Gat drop 1 in the first race of the day was the +30 Championship class which saw Rusty Griffiths head fastest qualifier Matthew White and Rob Johnson, but Griffiths tucked the front under pressure from White and handed the lead to the Honda mounted rider, which he never lost, despite a great charge back from Griffiths, who came from 8 seconds back, to get within a second as they crossed the line. Johnson took third, from Scott Meredith in 4th, and Ryan Matthews 5th , who held off David Frankland in 6th.

Race 2 saw White lead off the gate and Griffiths drop in behind, with Scott Meredith 3rd, and Johnson 4th. The battle at the front was tight, and Griffiths had the fastest lap, but despite never being more than 2 secs adrift he was unable to make a pass stick, and crossed the line 0.8sec off of the win. Meredith was 3rd, Kawasaki mounted Matthews 4th, the KTM of Michael Mclurg 5th after a first race DNF and Johnson a close 6th

Race 3 was an all White affair, grabbing the holeshot he banged in an early advantage, which Griffiths could not claw back, and while the gap at the end flattered a little as Griffiths backed off, the result was never in doubt. Meredith took another 3rd, and a great battle to the flag saw McClurg edge out David Frankland by a second for 4th, and Frankland taking 5th by the same margin from Ryan Matthews in 6th

Event sponsor Corr Plant Hire had worked on the track over night to ensure a fresh track greeted the riders for Moto 4 on Sunday morning, and after a sighting lap, the action was again on, but Griffiths who appeared to lead briefly out of turn one, went down on the drop off into turn 2 and found himself at the back.

This left White free to run and hide at the front, with Sunday only riders Ben Milward on his Suzuki  in 2nd, and James Barnwell on his Super Evo Honda 3rd. Meredith took 4th, Matthews 5th and Frankland 6th, with the goggleless Griffiths clawing back to 7th.

Moto 5 saw Griffiths back on the gate, with a hastily repaired bike thanks to a pit rally round, and an injured hand;  he put in valiant effort to take 3rd, with White taking an easy win from Milward, Meredith 4th and Barnwell and McClurg 5th and 6th.

The final race of the day had Matthew White on 5 points with the Olympic scoring, and short of a DNF he had one hand on the first Championship of the day, but he set to chase down holeshot taker Millward, and fought hard all race to try an retain his unbeaten record, which showed the spirit that the whole meeting had been ridden in. After trying far harder than he needed to, he came up short by 5 seconds, with Millward taking victory for the first time. David Frankland had a weekend best 3rd, Meredith 4th, Barnwell 5th and a now struggling Griffiths recovering back to 6th, but it wasn’t enough, and he tied on points with Meredith and lost out on the tie breaker.

In the +40 Championship class, a tight qualifying saw Yamaha mounted Aston Bird take pole, followed by Luton and District stalwart Paul Burn, also on a Yamaha and the Husqvarna of multi time AMCA Champion Shane Holmes.

A second Gate drop for race one, the top 3 three leapt away from the rest of the field, and all took turns to lead in the opening laps, with Bird getting to the front and Burn pushing hard with Holmes in close attendance. For 4 laps there were passes and half passes in the leading group, but the start of lap 5 Bird and Burn came together with a slower rider in a tight slow turn and both went down, handing the lead to Holmes, who was close enough to almost join them on the floor. Holmes though managed to skirt the melee and take the lead, which he held to the finish while Burn and Bird battled for second. All 3 crossed the line less than 1.5 secs apart in one of the closest finishes of the weekend. 4th Place went to Peter Bulley who held off the Kawasaki of Mark Morris, with Justin Robinson 6th.

Moto 2 promised more of the same with Holmes initially leading, and Burn and Bird close behind. A repeat of race 1 was well underway until lap 5 when Burn crashed hard on an awkward downhill which resulted in a broken collarbone, and ruled him out of the rest of the meeting.

Bird took victory while Holmes chased hard, but he was unable to run down the Eastern Center rider. Mark Morris and Peter Bulley fought hard for 3rd, with Morris getting the nod at the end, Bulley 5th and Robinson again 6th.

Moto 3 saw Bird take his second race victory of the day with Holmes again second, meaning both riders would go in to Sunday tied on 5pts. Bulley took his KTM to a clear 3rd, while Robinson edged Morris for 4th. James Jackman rounded out the top 6 as they finished day 1.

Moto 4 was again a tight battle that saw Holmes get very close a number of times, but losing out to the Yamaha man, while Bulley and Robinson crossed the line bar to bar, with Bulley taking another fine 3rd. Robinson was 4th and Morris a distant 5th after a battle through from a bad start. Carl Stannard rounded out the top 6

By the time race 5 came round the track was drying fast, and was probably the best it had been. Bird took another victory, with Holmes not able to sustain a challenge. Bulley took another 3rd, while Robinson, Morris and Jackman battled hard for 4th, 5th and 6th respectively.

The final race of the day again saw Bird and Holmes lead away, and they battled hard, but with no rider likely to get between them Holmes needed a mistake from Bird that simply didn’t come, and at the end Bird edged him by 1.5 secs. Bulley was again 3rd, Jackman a best result of 4th, British Supermoto Star Richard Sharp in 5th and Robinson just edging Mark Morris for sixth.

In the +50 class, Sean Smith took pole on his KTM from Rob Mead and Guy Day, and at the first gate drop Smith found his way to the front chased closely by the Gas Gas of Simon Bonsor, while Brian Staples, Fantic mounted Richard Green, Yamaha mounted Dean Warren, and Paul Field battled to fill out the top 6.

At the end Smith took the victory from Bonsor by 4 seconds, as the Gas Gas man gave it his all to try and close down Smith but ran out of time. Staples sealed 3rd, from Green, Warren, and Paul Field.

Moto 2 was all Bonsor as he lead from start to finish, pushed hard by Smith who had to claw his way back from last place after a first lap crash to close to within 2 secs at the finish. With Green rolling in 3rd, after briefly being headed by the Kawasaki of Gary Chappell, who fell back to 9th.

Dean Warren took a good 4th from Honda mounted Steve Elford in 5th who took too long to get going, passing Guy Day and Brian Staples on the last lap.

Moto 3 saw contact between Smith and Bonsor in turn 4, with Bonsor ending up going off track and losing half a dozen places while Smith disposed of the fast starting Dean Warren to lead at the end of the opening lap.

Bonsor fought back to 2nd but was 9 secs adrift at the end, unable to pull back the time he had lost. Staples finished a good 3rd, with Warren 4th, Elford 5th and the Fantic of Green in 6th.

Moto 4 saw a repeat of race 2 with Bonsor dominating with a runaway win. Smith was 2nd for the whole race but unable to match the speed of the Gas Gas rider. Warren had a best of 3rd from Staples, Gary Chappell on the Kawasaki 5th and Paul Field 6th

Moto 5 was the turning point of the meeting, with an opening lap crash seeing Bonsor outside the top 20, while Smith opened an 8 second lead over Brian Staples on lap one, which he managed to the flag. Warren again took 3rd, while Bonsor charged through to take 4th on the last lap. Field took a best of 5th, with Green again 6th.

The final race of the day again saw Bonsor head the field, but with no rider between him and Smith, the KTM rider took victory by 2 points, following in the Gas Gas rider to clinch the title. Bonsor stopped after the finish to congratulate his rival, who crossed the line 5 seconds adrift. Guy Day took a weekend best of 3rd, Staples 4th and Green 5th with Dean Warren taking 6th, losing out on a podium to Brian Staples in the final race.

Another hard fought class which could have gone either way at the end.

In the +60 Championship Class, Kawasaki mounted Marc Spruce took pole from former KTM UK GP star Russ Jarman. Trevor Calderwood took 3rd, with Ian Knight on his KTM 4th.

At the first gate drop Jarman took a clear holeshot, with Spruce, Knight, Calderwood and Steve Gilbey on his Honda in 5th. While Spruce kept the pressure on Jarman until half distance, he wasn’t able to maintain a challenge and settled for second with Knight taking 3rd, Calderwood 4th, Gilby 5th and Gary Jones rounding out the top 6.

Moto 2 saw a repeat with Jarman taking the advantage off the start, but this time Knight came through in second, with Spruce 3rd, and the pair went back and forth for three laps, with Knight able to lead across the line each time, but Spruce being alongside on more than one occasion. Calderwood, headed out Rogerson for 4th, with Gary Jones again taking 6th.

Moto 3 again saw Jarman lead but this time, he didn’t get away far. Spruce went bar to bar behind him for pretty much the whole race, and just when it looked like Knight had done enough, Spruce pulled a killer pass in traffic with 2 corners to go, and Knight had no time to respond. Calderwood and Gilby battled hard for 4th, with Calderwood taking it by the narrowest of margins at the line, with Rogerson 6th.

Sunday action and race 4 was another win for Honda mounted Jarman, who still looked as fit as he did when he was a pro, followed by the equally fit Spruce, who belies a man of 60+ when he is riding, and 3rd was improving Trevor Calderwood, who dropped Knight to 4th, with Gilby 5th and another 6th place for Rogerson.

Moto 5 saw Spruce take the initial lead, with Knight and Jarman in tow; Jarman made it to the front on the opening lap while Spruce and Knight again battled, with the Kawasaki man pushed hard by Knight, who ended up just 1.5 secs adrift at the end. Calderwood added another 4th place, and Rogerson pipping Gilby on the line for 5th .

Moto 6 was pretty much a formality, with Jarman needing a top 8 to take the title, but the whole thing went on its head as he went down on the exit of turn one, leaving Spruce to lead and Knight and Calderwood in pursuit, with Jarman restarting dead last.

Spruce and Knight battled at the front, unaware of Jarman’s position, while Jarman battled through the considerable +60 field, finishing the first lap outside the top 15, before eventually climbing his way through to 4th, just a drift of Calderwood.

Spruce crossed the line to take the Moto, and possibly the overall, but his hopes were dashed as the Jarman appeared out of the final turn to claim overall victory with a 4th place finish.

There was some fantastic racing in the support classes with the over 30 Intermediate class victory being taken by Ben Reeves on his good-looking Yamaha 125. Reeves took three wins across the weekend but was challenged hard at times by both Kurt Richardson and Sam Vickers, who both took race wins, but with Reeves never finishing outside the top 3 in any of the races, his speed and consistency won out. Reeves, Richardson and Vickers will progress into the Championship class for next year’s event due to finishing in the top 3 this year.

In the over 30 Novice class Mitch Whitehead was in a class of his own with 6 race wins, but it was a much closer run thing for the other podium places with Shaun Jinks, Chris Mcclurg and James Marchment all battling it out. Jinks cost himself a certain place on the podium with a DNF in the last race of the weekend, leaving Mcclurg and Marchment to fill out the podium in 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

The over 40 Intermediate class saw some of the best racing of the weekend with any of the top 6 riders capable of winning. At the end of day 1, Roger Frean led the points with 2 wins and 2nd place from Warren Clifton who took the other race victory of the day, and Paul Groom in 3rd . On day two, newcomer Rupert Heaton turned up for the Sunday only and took all three race wins with ease but as he hadn’t raced on the Saturday, so was as not in with a shout for the overall victory. Clifton effectively ruled himself out of the title race when he crashed in race 5 and took a long time to restart his Suzuki resulting in him finishing 11th in that race. Groom and Frean went into the last race of the day tied on points, and it looked as though Groom was going to take the overall as he headed Frean for most of the race due to a lousy start meaning Frean had to work his way through the pack. However, Frean eventually passed Groom in the race’s closing stages, which meant Frean would take the title from groom, and Clifton rounding out the top 3.

The over 40 Novice class was largely dominated by George Luxford, who won 5 out of the 6 races. The other race winner in the class was Oliver Jorgensen who finished up 2nd with one victory, four 2nd places and a 4th. Adam Smith rounded out the podium, closely followed by Danny Morris and Neil Baughan, who both had top 3 finished through the weekend.

The over 50 Intermediate was another class that witnessed some super close racing. The fast-starting Andy Mitchell led most of the early stages of the races but didn’t quite have the staying power to stay at the front. The eventual winner Chris Walker went the other way by generally not getting the best of starts but steadily working his way to the front. Walker eventually took 5 of the six race victories, with Kawasaki rider Garry Butcher spoiling his party with a victory in race 4. Local racer Martin King put in impressive rides on his 1988 Cr250 against much more modern machinery around him. King would end up 2nd over all by finishing all races in either 2nd or 3rd position. Going into the last race, the points were very close for the podium’s final step, but the race-winning Garry Butcher grabbed the final step on the podium with a 3rd in the last race of the day.

The over 50 Novice class was a clean sweep for Ian Walding with six race wins across the weekend. Local racer Steve Bottoms was sitting in 2nd place at the end of day one with two second places and a fourth Neil Mountain sat in 3rd and event sponsor Brendon Corr of Corr Plant Hire ended day one in 4th overall. However, this was all to change on day 2 with Bottoms not competing on the Sunday and Brendon Corr crashing out of race 6. Neil Mountain had a strong Sunday with two 2nd places and a 3rd, which clinched him 2nd overall in the +50 Novice class. Steve Moody rounded out the podium with a strong Sunday showing which edged him ahead of Graham Jones.

Results

Over 30’s Championship

Over 40’s Championship

Over 50’s Championship

Over 60’s Championship

Over 30’s Intermediate

Over 40’s Intermediate

Over 50’s Intermediate

Over 30’s Novice

Over 40’s Novice

Over 50’s Novice

Luton & District MCC Members Support