The chase for the championship gets truly underway this weekend in the 2025 Bridgestone British Masters powered by Rock Oil, as the second half of the series kicks off and the rounds get ever more vital!
Words by Chris Czora – Feature Image courtesy of Mike Wood
And to make matters even more exciting, it’s the annual visit to one of the world’s iconic venues, as the series moves to the Shropshire sand at Hawkstone Park.
An evocative name, Hawkstone conjures memories of Jeff Smith and Genaddy Moiseev, Jobe’s iconic leap over Malherbe, whilst Dave Thorpe rampaged to victory, Jacky Martens heralding the four-stroke era on his booming Husqvarna 610. Legendary singer Roy Orbison even took a lap of Hawkstone Park on Dave Bickers’ factory CZ… although perhaps the ‘Big O’ took the old stage saying of ‘break a leg’ too literally as he did just that and spent the rest of his UK tour on crutches!
Headlining the event is Sunday’s Fix Auto UK Pro class, which sees some rather notable debutantes joining the championship regulars.
Foremost amongst them is factory Yamaha rider Todd Kellett, the Sand World Cup champion and Le Touquet winner, who is well suited to Hawkstone, and always a crowd favourite, he will be one to watch, as when he gets back to his motocross roots, he is still pretty rapid! It’s a Kellett family day on Sunday, as brother Ty Kellett also wildcards in the Amateur MX1 class.
READ MORE: BRITISH MOTOCROSS NEWS
Another Pro name to look out for is the SuperSwede, Freddie Bartlett. The Anglo-Swedish rider grew up in Newquay but found his calling on two wheels rather than the waves, and in 2025, he returned from Sweden to compete in selected UK races for the SevenSevenTwo Kawasaki team along with some US amateur races.
Still only 15 years old, Freddie takes to his Kawasaki on Sunday as he pits his skills against the series regulars.
The sharp end of the championship seeds Josh Spinks (Triumph West London) and Carlton Husband (Phoenix Tools Fantic) are well matched, whilst Christopher Mills (Mills Racing Yamaha) is also in at the sharp end, as he returns to the circuit where he took a brilliant overall win last year.
Jason Meara (Moto Cycle Gas Gas) took a comprehensive win at the second round of the series at Preston Docks, and will be amongst the favourites.
Round one winner Jamie Carpenter (Crendon Tru7 Honda) makes a comeback, and with young guns Tyla Hooley, Charlie Heyman and Josh Vail joining some of the established names like Tristian Purdon, Gavin Stevenson and former amateur champion Harry Bradley, spectators should see some fast-pace racing for their £10 admission fee!
The weekend’s action sees the usual mix of youth and amateur racing.
Kicking the weekend off, the Clubman category saw Lee Clarkson take the overall win at Wroxton, and is firmly in the championship mix with Elliott Pugh and Matt Fuller, whilst 2023 champion Ritchie Roberts is also in good form.
The Amateur MX1 class sees Scott Aldridge and Ben Knight closely matched in the first half of the title race, whilst in MX2 Zac Stealey has hit some good form and will be hoping to extend that on his local track, with Kayde Rayns, Jonathan Roderick-Evans, and last year’s MXY2 champion Beau Brown amongst names to watch.
Speaking of MXY2, the young guns have dished up some pretty close racing this year, with Ollie Bubb in fine form, whilst the Corke brothers, Max and George are closely matched, and Will Haddock got over a difficult start to the season to put in a strong result last time out, he could yet be a factor in the title race.
The Big Wheel 85 category has the hallmarks of a classic, with a lot of rookies making their name against the regulars.
Joel Winstanley Dawson got back to winning ways at Wroxton, but he faces stiff opposition from names such as Arthur Moore, Olly Waters, Cohen Jagielski and Harley Marczak, all looking to take victory, whilst Archie Stapley and Nixon Collins have also looked good.
Of those names, Cohen Jagielski took a comprehensive victory at Hawkstone last year, albeit in the 65 class. Can he do it again, having made a rare jump of two race classes for this season?
The Small Wheel 85 class is seeing a close battle shape up between Arthur King andJett Gardiner, and Hawkstone will provide a tough test. Teddy Merriman is also well placed with Mylie Evans, Ethan Gawley and Elliot Shawyer amongst the front runners.
No one’s been able to challenge Alfie Cotter in the last two 65cc championship rounds. Can he extend the title lead at Hawkstone?
He will certainly hope so, but the demanding Hawkstone circuit is arguably the toughest circuit the little 65s will face, with Forrest Roberts, Blake Marks-Bracey and Jack Waters amongst riders who will be looking to catch up in the title races.
One race not to be missed is the 125cc class, with the eighth of a litre machines always sounding great with the two strokes echoing in the woods. Charlie Richmond is emerging as the rider to beat, whilst fan favourites Matt Bayliss and Neville Bradshaw will be looking to snatch the victory. Former champion Jordan Batchelor hit some good form at Wroxton and could be one to watch at Hawkstone.
Action starts at 9am on both days, with the youth and amateur qualifying preceding two blocks of racing on Saturday, with the Pro class kicking off Sunday’s action, their qualifying getting underway before a full day of race action.
Admission is just £10 for adults, £5 for concessions. Postcode for Hawkstone is SY4 4NA, it’s also on What Three Words as animal.rattler.shudders.
Access is north of Shrewsbury via your preferred route, the A49 north of Lee Brockhurst or the A53 south of Hodnet.
