Going back in time, the youth motocross racing calendar was full of two-day National events, many with a long and illustrious history. Unfortunately in recent years those prestigious Nationals have been replaced by endless Championship series run by various organisations. However thankfully there is though one National that as survived the change in direction and is still very much alive and kicking! It’s the All British Youth motocross meeting hosted by the Severn Valley SSC and it’s easy to see just why this event as survived the winds of change. Not only is the Maisemore venue expertly prepared and looking professional, but also the very hard working guys and gals at Severn Valley SSC ensure that the whole weekend provides entertainment and fun not just for the riders but for all their families too!
The 2017 staging which was also a memorial for former rider Andy Bubb as expected attracted a massive entry to the Gloucestershire venue and with conditions just about perfect it was time to go racing. For all the riders there was to be five blocks of action to enjoy, three on Saturday and two on Sunday. Young Freddie Gardner, a rider currently under the wing of Justin Morris certainly made the weekend look easy, cruising to five big wins in the Auto class. In every moto, Freddie quickly built a massive advantage for himself at the front of proceedings. Such was his dominance that his smallest winning margin came in the last clash on Sunday, getting home a mere 22 seconds clear of Ollie Bubb. Bubb’s own weekend was not to start too well, being forced out of moto one after just the opening lap.
In that Autos opener, Ben Casey took 2nd from Harlow Green, Shane Jones, Iolo Evans and Max Pridmore. After that moto one DNF, Bubb though joined the Autos party from here onwards for the remainder of the All British proceedings. Indeed this class produced plenty of super racing which was typified by a fierce moto four tussle between Casey and Bubb. In the overall standings with the immaculate Gardiner well clear, Casey took a well-deserved 2nd spot on the podium from Jones, Bubb, Pridmore and Jett Marlow.
Another maximum point’s winner doing it in style at Maisemore was the Lee Dunham Racing protégé Ben Mustoe, comfortably winning all five Junior motos. In the opening race of the weekend, Freddie Bartlett chased Mustoe home with Noah Eastwood, Jay Bond, Charlie Hucklebridge and Jake Davies in the frame. Proving that he was indeed very good value for his eventual overall runners-up position, fast Freddie Bartlett was the closest challenger to Mustoe in all four of the remaining Junior clashes. With the top two on the All British podium sorted, the battle for 3rd though went right down to the wire, disputed between Eastwood and Bond. In a tense last moto decider the verdict was to go to Noah as he finished the race in 3rd whilst Jay was restricted to a 13th place finish.
The Small-Wheel 85cc class at Maisemore produced five very fast and closely fought encounters. Alfie Jones was first past the chequered flag in four of the moto’s, his only reverse coming in race two when he had to settle for 6th behind Jak Taylor, Archie Pocock, Tommy Smith, Ben Pratt and Ben Humphries. That slight setback for Jones meant that he went into the last race of the weekend facing a very consistent Taylor for the right to claim the 2017 All British SW85cc crown. And when the gate dropped for the decider it was Taylor who led the way with Jones gating just inside the top ten and with still plenty of work to do! Alfie though was right on the gas and turning on the style, quickly picking off his rivals before moving into pole position for another victory and the crucial overall verdict. So with Jones topping the podium, the gallant Taylor took step number two joined by Pratt in a well-deserved 3rd.
James Hanscomb was in flying form in the Big-Wheel 85cc contest, winning four out of the five moto’s. Hanscomb’s one reverse came in race four with Callum Watson being first past the chequered flag ahead of Thomas Casbeard and Alfie Rickwood. Throughout the whole weekend, Watson had been right in the mix for overall honours before it all went wrong for him in the last clash. Crashing on turn two, Watson restarted last then recovered to move rapidly back up the leaderboard. All that good work though was to then be undone when he fell again in the closing stages, eventually finishing 15th. So on the podium the man on the top step was the impressive Hanscomb joined by Casbeard and Watson, the next best in this class being Rickwood, Billy Duke and Jason Down.
In the Seniors, Ieuan Harris took three out of five wins. After also finishing as runner-up behind Jaydon Murphy in the second clash of the weekend, he should have been well on course for the overall verdict top slot. However it was not to be due to a DNF in the last moto of day one which was to blot what was otherwise a very accomplished and stylish performance. In that race which Harris failed to complete it was crucially Murphy again he victor chased hard by John McKenzie, Josh Greedy, Callum Beeken, Joseph Davies and Elliott Pugh. The Seniors were scored separately for 250F and 2T riders. In the four-banger class it was Murphy from McKenzie and Greedy whilst Beeken topped the two-smokers ahead of Davies and Aaron Colley.
The Adult entry at Maisemore required qualification timing before being split into three groups, all of which were stacked full of quality. In the main Group A, Ashley Greedy styled it all the way to a maximum points score but the action just behind him was certainly red hot and full of great racing in this unlimited class. Next best 450F pilot was Shane Carless with Paul Neale in 3rd. Making it a very good day for TMC Kawasaki, their fast 250F pilots, Lewis King and Jansen Day filled the top two places on the MX2 podium ahead of Josh Waterman. Former Severn Valley ace Rob Lewis won all five races in Adult Group B aboard his Suzuki machine whilst Kawasaki mounted Kyle Jones took four out of five wins in Adult Group C, his only defeat being inflicted by Matthew Allen in the first race of the weekend. Words and pics by Mike Wood.
Results
Adult Group A Open 1 Ashley Greedy 225 points 2 Shane Carless 211 3 Paul Neale 207 4 Jack Timms 184 5 Corie Southwood 181 6 Daniel Preston 178.
Adult Group A AMX 1 Lewis King 217 points 2 Jansen Day 217 3 Josh Waterman 207 4 Lee Truman 199 5 James Bates 183 6 Jason Williams 168.
Adult Group A Vets 1 James Lane 223 2 Simon Lane 217 3 Neil Thomas 205 4 Ross Parry 115 5 Chris Jones 76.
Adult Group B Open 1 Rob Lewis 225 2 Nicky Jones 201 3 Dave Beard 147 4 Ryan Thomas 125 5 Chris Anderson 103 6 Josh Scoulding 102.
Adult Group B AMX 1 David Holder 175 points 2 Daryl Perkins 130 3 Ricci Burton 121 4 Matthew Tooth 82 5 Dan Thomas 74 6 Jordan Ryland 59.
Adult Group B Vets 1 Ian James 211 points 2 John Gauntlett 203 3 David Cooper 198 4 Jonathan Nudds 175 5 Daniel Ward 171 6 Jamie Smith 166.
Adult Group C Open 1 Matthew Allen 197 points 2 Ben Phillips 158 3 Mark Caudle 153 4 Roddy Howard 152 5 Stephan Meredith 126 6 Owen Cooper 126.
Adult Group C AMX 1 Kyle Jones 223 points 2 Graham Blake 148 3 Steve Powell 116 4 Craig Walkley 110 5 Jordan McClean 105 6 Nigel Beard 79.
Adult Group C Vets 1 Daniel Greenland 217 points 2 Matt Long 213 3 Roger Thornton 203 4 Roddy Howard 185 5 John Anderson 179 6 Paul Minihane 176.
Seniors 250F 1 Jaydon Murphy 215 points 2 John McKenzie 207 3 Josh Greedy 201 4 Elliott Pugh 180 5 Ieaun Harris 178 6 Tommi Davies 174.
Seniors 2T 1 Callum Beeken 217 points 2 Joseph Davies 211 3 Aaron Colley 206 4 Efan Loring 193 5 Finley Smith 183 6 Zach Cooper 177.
BW85cc 1 James Hanscomb 219 points 2 Thomas Casbeard 205 3 Callum Watson 194 4 Alfie Rickwood 193 5 Billy Duke 183 6 Jason Down 178.
SW85cc 1 Alfie Jones 215 points 2 Jake Taylor 215 3 Ben Pratt 182 4 Tommy Smith 179 5 Charlie Palmer 178 6 Jake Smith 169.
Juniors 1 Ben Mustoe 225 points 2 Freddie Bartlett 215 3 Noah Eastwood 201 4 Jay Bond 188 5 Jake Davies 183 6 Diesel Jones 173.
Autos 1 Freddie Gardiner 225 points 2 Ben Casey 203 3 Shane Jones 193 4 Ollie Bubb 172 5 Max Pridmore 172 6 Jett Marlow 159.