British Minibike Champs are go! Round 1 & 2 Report
All vision’s of Mud races, bog and mire were cast aside as a splendid weekend of weather greeted the MBC crew and racers at the awesome Mildenhall Motopark as it hosted rounds 1 and 2 of the British Minibike Championships.
With the best weather ever at an MBC event and with fantastic viewing for spectators, the event was set fare to be a cracker as the first racers lined up on Saturday to get their championships under way.
A stacked Kids 50cc class put plenty of smiles on faces as the littlest racers rode their heart’s out all weekend long. Archie Britton proved to be too hot to handle and steamed to 3 wins on each day in an epic performance, and on each occasion was followed home by 6 year old Robbie Daly who would have been happy with his second overall in both rounds. Another to keep his results consistent was Dayton Thompson who made it onto the podium on each day with third places in each and everyone of his races. Another 6 year old, Riley-Ray Barrow battled his way into 4th on the Saturday, but it was Tyler McKeown who took the number 4 spot on the Sunday. It was great to see so many new faces in this class with lots of riders having their first meetings ever.
Barring a Race one blip on the Saturday, Leo Vowles had a perfect weekend in the Youth 125cc Junior class blasting to 5 moto wins and overall wins on each day. Mickey Bennett kept it consistent on day one to come home in second overall in the first round, but a few crashes on the Sunday put him down the order in 6th on day two. Jack Perry was the rider to take the third podium position on the Saturday and followed it up with a second on the Sunday whilst Saturday’s race one winner Jake Speller was third overall at round 2.
The Youth Senior class was pretty hectic all weekend long. Ewan Goddard started his campaign in the best possible way with two stunning race wins on the Saturday, but in his third ride of the day a mechanical failure meant he had to push his bike over the line to ensure he still gained those valuable championship points. With Goddard pushing home it meant a first MBC race win to Alex Dutton who used these points to good effect to take the round one victory after tieing on points with Freddie Hills, who finished the round in second, with Harry Streeter third and Goddard fourth. With so many riders moving up into this class the racing was fast and fierce as they were mixed in with the Youth Junior class. The first bend for the opening race on the Sunday was absolute carnage and with bikes and bodies mangled together last years Youth Junior Champ Senna Ace Summers had to start the race almost a lap down on his competitors. Sunday was Ewan’s day though and he rifled home three Moto wins and the Round 2 overall, ahead of Hills, Streeter and Dutton.
The 88cc class wasn’t well supported but full credit goes to the two racers, Michael Lyons and Tom Parker who turned out in this class and got themselves in the mix.
In the Ultra competitive 110 class Piers Skinner drew first blood by racing to all three race wins on the Saturday. Never one to back down Matthew Pocock gave it the big one and rode his socks off for second, with Harry Titterell in third. On the Sunday Pococks perseverance paid off and he pipped Skinner for the win by a solitary point after Piers dropped points in his final ride. Oscar Stearn grabbed the final podium spot on the Sunday.
Some Pro class big hitters have descended on the 140 class and it was Double Nationals champion Blaine Blackwell who showed his cards early with the Saturday win. The racing in this class is nothing short of majestic with any of the top 6 capable of a race win. Reigning Champion Ash Gorman pushed Blackwell all the way on the Saturday for second, but on the Sunday he was a different animal and stepped it up a gear for a hat trick of race wins and the overall. Kris Ayres was third on each day but his speed shone through and he is a definite title contender, and throw into the mix Simon Vowles, Louis Dutton and Craig Powell the 140 class is set to be an intriguing contest.
Not forgetting the elderly… Lee Mitchell started the season in perfect style in the Masters class with 6 wins from 6 over the weekend. Jay Taylor put his name on the scorechart with second on both days, with Russell Jepson third on the Saturday and Danny Miller replacing him in that spot on the Sunday.
Jason Gutteridge was in unforgettable form in the Vets class and put one over reigning champ Chris Rose on both days taking both overall wins, ahead of Rose, with Geoff Arrowsmith in third on the Saturday, and Richard McLellan on the box in third on the Sunday.
The new clubman class was won by Robert Baldock on the Saturday ahead of Tom Burrill with them switching places on the Sunday with Burrill claiming the number 1 spot. Shawn Clarke was Saturday’s third place rider whilst on the Sunday this went to Dan Johnson.
Jack Whithead pulled the Saturday win out of the bag in the Expert B class ahead of Terry Murphy and Tom Crowder, but it was all change on the Sunday with Sean Mason getting the win, Dickey White second and Sam White third.
The Expert A+ class is a tough competition with these racer’s mixed in and battling with the Pro’s. Rick Ford was the cream of the Saturday crop ahead of Daniel Fisher 2nd and Luke Burton third. Jody Barnes upped his game on the Sunday to record the win with Ford keeping it on the podium for a second day in a row in the runners up spot, with Tyrone Tugwell in third.
The Minibike Champs Pro class is the toughest it’s ever been, with the series absolutely wide open after the points were tallied after the first two rounds. World Champion Mike Valade put in a unbelievable performance on the Saturday and showed his immense speed to take all three wins on the day and the round 1 overall. Behind Valade was all manner of shenanigans with reigning Champ Bradley Pocock having punctures in both his first two races, but he did his utmost to limit the point scoring damage by finishing in both outings but only scoring in the first. He was back on the gas in the third race where he came second. After a first race second, Nationals champ Blaine Blackwell had a race two blow up and DNF which set him down the order. This time last year Kris Ayres season was ending with a broken collarbone, but he put pay to those painful memories by putting in three consistent races rewarding him with second place in round one. Factory Bucci Racer Troy Beck was another who had three good rides to finish in third, with Danish racers Sebastian Kaergaard, and Mads Frostholm in 4th and 5th respectively.
The Sunday sun was out and all eyes were on Valade as he plunged into his practice session but a huge crash spelled disaster for the Frenchman who knocked himself out and suffered a shoulder injury which put him out of the meeting. Valade’s loss was his competitors gain and the competition for the Round 2 win was rife. Blackwell started the day with an impressive win, which was his first ever British Champs Pro race win, but it wasn’t enough to produce a podium place as a low scoring race 3 put him down in 4th on the day. Pocock’s weekend continued in similar vein of his Saturday as his first Sunday race he had another puncture which put him out of the points. Determined to right the wrongs he ended the weekend with a win and a second and a Sunday 5th overall. At the head of the field it was the aggressive riding Beck who finished the meeting on a high with a race win which meant he won on the day by just one point over Kaergaard with Ayres just one point further behind in third.
With the results all over the place the championship standings make for interesting reading after 2 rounds with Troy Beck and Kris Ayres tied for points with Kaergaard in third. Valade, Pocock and Blackwell have some serious work to do, and it’s sure going to be a battle to the end.
The series head’s to the purpose build Minibike track at Kieradan Park in Scunthorpe on May the 26th and 27th for rounds 3 and 4 of the championships. For more information and how to get involved visit http://www.minibikechamps.com/
Pictures by Harry Lessman - Picturebike
For the full results go to
