Crendon Tru7 Honda’s Jamie Carpenter battled through to take a fourth in the first race of Round 3 of the 2025 Motul ACU British Motocross Championship, then, after a nasty crash on the opening lap of moto two, he came from last to an incredible sixth. That gave him fifth overall and stay fourth in the series, as he edged closer to third place man Josh Gilbert.
In Moto One, Carpenter, rounding the first lap in fifth place, put on a charge in a bid to take his first ever MX1 British championship podium. After showing incredible pace early on, he moved his Honda CRF450R into fourth on lap three, then at half race distance, he followed Gilbert past Sterry. Carpenter chased hard after Gilbert, but a couple of laps from home was caught and passed by Tristan Purdon, finishing fourth.
READ MORE: BRITISH MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP NEWS
In Moto Two, the heroic action was all around Carpenter, who went down hard on the first lap when a rider crashed in front of him, and the Crendon Tru7 Honda man landed on his rival’s bike and was spat off. Carpenter’s machine was badly damaged with a bent front brake and gear lever, but the brave 25-year-old got back on and set off in pursuit of the pack.
With no front brake, he then quickly discovered he could only change up the gears using his left hand! So he moved the bike into fourth gear by hand, and rode the whole race like that.
It was a brave ride as he pulled right through the 30-strong field to take sixth on the last lap, good enough for fifth overall. And that means he stays fourth in the title hunt.
Carpenter said: “What a weird day! After the last round at Canada Heights, I had good speed and came here to keep that going. I had a solid fifth and qualifying, which was all right, then the first race I started about seventh. I got up to fourth and was with Sterry and Gilbert. I got into third which was really good. Just let the last couple of laps let me down a little bit as Purdon got me which was a bit of a shame as third would’ve been my best result.
“Then I didn’t get the best to start in the second one and I got caught in the chaos. Somebody crashed in front of me on a jump, their bike was right in front of me and it was too late to do anything. I landed on the bike and had a big crash.
“When I got up, the gear lever was bent around under the footpeg and I had no front brake. It took me a couple laps to figure out the gears. I managed to get it stuck in fourth gear so rode the whole race in fourth with no front brake and got all the way back sixth from dead last. So I’m pretty happy with that.”
Team manager Ryan Thorpe said: “Jamie showed his true speed and determination, especially after that second race crash. The front disc was bent, the gear lever bent and he still managed to bring the bike home and stay fourth in the championship.”
Words and Images by Crendon Tru7 Honda
