Round 6 saw the Apico Honda team travel down south to Canada Heights for Tom Grimshaw’s home round of the 2026 Motul British Motocross Championship aboard his Honda CRF450R 2026 model. Sadly, Tom Murphy had a nasty crash on the Thursday before the weekend’s racing, shattering his left shoulder. We wish Tom a speedy recovery and a return to racing next season.
After visiting the Bennetts on Friday night for dinner, the team made their way down to Canada Heights to set up on Saturday morning. With the weather hot and sunny, it was going to be a good weekend of racing for Tom as the sole rider for Apico Honda.
Practise on Sunday morning went well, with Tom’s first lap being his fastest and earning him 7th place in the Apico MX1 Pro Class.
In race 1, Tom made a good start, well inside the top 10 by the end of the first lap, and pushed on through the heat. Only the hard-charging Ben Watson was able to pass Tom a third of the way through the race, then Tom put a move on Jason Meara on lap 10 to go into 7th position. Tom rode out the rest of the race for 7th at the flag.
Race 2 saw a tyre change, opting for the Michelin Mid Soft rear over the Sand, with the track drying out. Tom got another good start and made some early passes for 8th and then moved up into 7th after Carlton Husbands’ DNF, where he rode a lonely race. He increased his lead over Jamie Carpenter who was running 8th, and then collected a bonus position at the end of the race due to Ben Watson’s DNF. Tom finished race 2 in 6th place and was 6th overall for the meeting.
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Tom: “Canada Heights is a local round for me. I had a lot of family and friends turn up to show their support, which I am very appreciative of. I’m a fan of the track; it’s just difficult with lots of technical aspects to it. I had a good qualifying, putting in a solid initial lap for 7th quickest in timed practice.
I had 2 mediocre starts; fortunately, in the first race, I was able to make some moves and get into a good position. I had to chase down Meara, made a solid pass on him, and came home 7th. I was happy with the ride, but I think there are still areas to improve on.
Race 2, we made some changes to give me more power and swapped to the Michelin mid-soft rear tyre. I made some quick moves early on and got into a steady 7th, no man’s land, then had luck with Watson going out with a chain issue, pushing me to 6th, ultimately coming home with a 7, 6 for 6th overall. There’s a little more for me to give and reach a top 5 position”.
Dylan: “Another solid weekend for Tom, decent starts saw him comfortably inside the top 10, pushing for a top 5. He was unlucky to have to restart race 2 as I believe he would have maintained his 5th place in that race. That said, 7, 6 and 6th overall in the Apico MX1 Pro Class is a good position for Tom to be in. Tom moves up to 6th in the Championship and we’re hoping for a strong finish to the season for him.
It was unfortunate for Tom Murphy to have a big crash whilst practising last week, and whilst we do not know the extent of the damage to his broken shoulder until the swelling subsides, he will be out for the rest of the season. I’d like to thank Tom and Gary Murphy for stepping up whilst Josh was injured and representing Apico Honda.
On a better note, Josh Gilbert will be making a return at round 7 of the Motul British Motocross Championship at Duns in Scotland. After some bad luck at the start of the season, we are hoping Josh will be strong and capable of delivering the results we know he can for the team and sponsors.
Thank you to all who play their part in the team, and we look forward to the next round on the 9th of August at Duns in Scotland”.
Words and Images by Apico Honda
