Watson, Doensen & Stock triumph at Hawkstone! 2026 MXGB Round 1 – Race Report & Results

The 2026 Motul ACU British Motocross Championship burst into life with a fantastic Round 1 at the famous Hawkstone Park in Shropshire on Sunday, where Ben Watson on his Dirt Store Triumph in MX1, Gyan Doensen on his Gabriel SS24 KTM in MX2 and Drew Stock on his JK Yamaha in the 125’s emerged as victors.

Watson’s victory came via a second in the opening moto on the heavy and hard-going Hawkstone track. He finished behind the impressive Oriol Oliver on his Gabriel SS24 KTM in the first moto, backed up by a comfortable win in the second ahead of the aforementioned Oliver, who looked like he was close enough to mount a challenge before a fall resulting in his seat coming off halted his charge. Watson and Oliver would tie on points, but the number one spot would go the way of the Triumph rider courtesy of his deciding second-moto win.

Reigning champ Conrad Mewse was, by his own admission, race rusty, and his 4-3 results for third overall weren’t what the Crendon Tru7 Honda rider was hoping for. Starts hampered him, and he will be looking for better at Preston Docks. The season is still young, though, and Conrad will be sharper come round 2.  Finishing fourth with a fantastic performance, matching the scorecard of Mewse was DRT Kawasaki’s Taylor Hammal, who certainly looks like a force to be reckoned with in 2026.

Chambers Racing’s Adam Sterry was an early leader in Moto 1, but he whacked his hand on a post coming down the famous Hawkstone Hill, which saw him drop back to fifth. He would match this with a fifth in Moto Two for fifth overall.  South African racer Tristan Purdon, on his new Lexa MX ride, finished a good sixth overall, having to earn most of his points the hard way by coming through the pack, while popular American-bound privateer Brad Todd would end his day in seventh.

Scottish racer Ben Edwards on the Absolute MX KTM put in two impressive motos for eighth overall, Crendon Tru7 Honda’s Jamie Carpenter defied a recent illness for ninth, and Bobby Bruce put in some good rides for tenth.  South Eastern racer Bayliss Utting was one of the standout performers of the weekend with a superb eleventh ahead of Apico Honda’s Josh Gilbert, who had a weekend to forget with a DNF in Moto two after he finished sixth in the first moto.

READ MORE: BRITISH MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP NEWS

Other notables are the impressive 16-year-old Freddie Bartlett on his 450 debut in 13th, Chambers Racing’s Dan Thornhill was 14th, and Canadian Tanner Ward was 15th with a good 11th in his second race while guesting for the SC Sporthomes Husqvarna team.

MX2 threw up plenty of drama, and once again, it looks like this championship could go to the wire, and it could be anyone’s!   First up, with over 60 riders rocking up to Shropshire, the riders had two groups of qualifying, with the top 18 from each making it through to the main motos. The remaining four would go through via the tense LCQ, which was won by young gun George Corke.

Moto one, though, belonged to 17-year-old Jamie Keith, who stormed to the early lead on his MX2 Pro debut and was never caught, showing maturity beyond his years and a controlled smoothness to bring it home to the chequers in fine style ahead of the hard charging Chambers Racing KTM of Ollie Colmer who at one point seem to be catching Keith, but in the end had to settle for an excellent second. Both of these riders, though, would suffer DNF’s in moto two, so wouldn’t feature in the top five in the final standings, with Keith ending the day in eighth and Colmer in eleventh. Both riders can be super pumped with their race one performances, though, which bodes well for the remainder of their seasons.

Coming away from Hawkstone with the MX2 victory, though, was Gabriel SS24 KTM’s Dutch racer Gyan Doensen, who backed up his fourth in race one with a controlled victory in moto 2.  SC Sporthomes Husqvarna’s Charlie Heyman has grown in confidence and speed since this time last year, and with two fantastic third-place finishes, would take home second overall on the day.  New SevenSeven2 Ride Kawasaki signing Joel Rizzi toughed it out in the brutal conditions to notch up a pair of fifths, and such was the tangled mess of results through the field that would land him with third overall and a welcome place on the podium.

Fourth place for the weekend was ASA United GasGas’s Ben Mustoe, who had to pick himself up from an opening lap fall in Moto one, fighting his way through the pack to finish 15th. Moto 2 was a different story, making a good start, he kept leader Doensen on his toes throughout the moto, and kept Heyman at bay for an excellent second, and a sign that he will be one to watch in 2026.

Phoenix Tools Fantic Racing’s Josh Vail earned his best-ever result in the Pro ranks with fifth. The former British Youth champ followed up on an eleventh in race one with a superb battling fourth in race 2, where he showed both pace and fighting spirit, to look at home at the front of the pack.  Top overall Rookie of the day was Crendon Tru7 Honda’s Charlie Richmond, who moved forward in each moto to record an 8-6 scorecard for sixth overall, showing there are positive things to come for the 2025 British 125cc champ.

2 Stroke Warrior John Adamson, in his true swashbuckling style, was always in the thick of the action on his Phoenix Tools Fantic and would deliver a ninth and a seventh for seventh overall, ahead of Moto one winner Keith in eighth, while ninth would be occupied by 2025 champ Tommy Searle, who had a day to forget for the Dirt Store Triumph team. The champ struggled with poor starts, which put him in the thick of the action, but unfortunately, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Searle is made of tough stuff, and in Moto Two was racking up impressive lap times, faster than the leaders, while coming through the field.  Last year Searle won the title, even though he missed a round, so he certainly isn’t reaching for the panic button just yet.

Rounding out the top ten was Garland Powerports rider Liam Knight, who certainly impressed with two great motos.  In Eleventh was Moto one runner-up Colmer, and 12th was the consistent Chambers Racing rider, Glenn McCormick. 13th was Tyla Hooley with a pair of solid results, and in 14th was Joe Brookes, who showed great speed early doors by topping qualifying in Group 2 ahead of Doensen, but a DNF in Moto 2 after finishing sixth in race one hindered his result. Brookes hinted on his socials that he has suffered from an injury, so expect him to be closer to the sharp end at future rounds.  Lewis Hall, on his return to MXGB, was 15th.

Moto winner at last year’s finale, Calum Mitchell on his Worx Total Triumph, had a tough day, going down hard in race one and suffering from a broken nose. He toughed it out for 13th in race two, though.

Drew Stock was a dominant force in the 125cc class.  The JK Racing Yamaha rider has certainly matured as a racer over the winter months and looks the real deal in 2026, taking both motos in great style for the overall victory.  Taking second on the day and in the second moto with some impressive riding for a racer who has only just turned 13 was S Briggs Commercials Harley Marzcak.  The third step of the podium would go the way of another class debutant, Joel Winstanley Dawson, who fought hard in both motos to rack up an 8-4 scorecard, which put him on the box edging out Archie Stapley who had a fantastic day in fourth and Arthur Moore who had some great Live stream exposure in race one for TM UK in fifth.

Jenson Severn impressed with sixth overall, Lucas Moncrieff on the 3flo Concepts Yamaha had a tough day but ended up with seventh overall, Alfie Heron was a strong eighth, and Olly Waters rode well for ninth.  Edging into the top ten after finishing with a superb second in moto one was Alfie Geddes Green, who had a DNF in race two, which pushed him down the order. Alfie will be one to watch in 2026, that’s for sure, as will one of the pre-season favourites, Chambers Racing’s Hayden Statt, who had a motor blow in race one and followed it up with third in his second outing for eleventh overall.  Leo Wilson on the Manchester Extreme Yamaha also looked the part in the opening race, where he finished fourth, but a DNF in race two relegated him down the order to 12th. He has shown his potential and will have eyes on a podium in future rounds.

It’s onwards now to Preston Docks for Round 2 on Easter Sunday, 5th April, when a certain Jeffrey Herlings will be joining the fray in MX1. Don’t miss it!

Results

MX 1 – Overall

MX2 – Overall

British Under-21 – Overall

125cc – Overall