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AMCA MX Championships(Final round)

Written by MIKE WOOD Tuesday, 04 October 2011 00:00

‘They think it’s all over,well it is now’,and its many congratulations to the new 2011 AMCA MX Champions Lee Dunham and Shane Holmes.At a very dull and cool Norley in Cheshire on Sunday,both lads remained totally composed and focussed to earn enough points and thus bag those crowns.

Dunham’s final winning margin was just seven points as his closest rival Clinton Barrs did his very best to take it to the wire by defeating Lee in all three moto’s,a truly gallant and noble effort!.Indeed the final MX1 podium of the season was to have a very familiar look about it as Richard Cannings scored maximum points and take the win with Barrs 2^nd and Dunham 3^rd.In MX2,Shane Holmes required just 87 points to take his first ever AMCA title and in his usual,smooth,untroubled style,he got the job done and dusted with still one race to spare.On the day,Shane finished 6^th overall as Jack Taylor took the win from Paul Neale and Ryan Morris.About to embark on a 12 month break in Austrailia,Jack signed off in style,also claiming the Championship silver medal after his closest rival Ben Saunders crashed heavily in the final MX2 moto, breaking a toe and injuring his leg in the process.

So,back to MX1,and Clinton Barrs made a perfect start to the day,grabbing the moto one holeshot and lead Simon Lane,Richard Cannings,Stephen Tillotson,Michael Reynolds and Matthew Williamson whilst Lee Dunham was down in 9^th.As the race settled down,Lane gradually slipped down the leaderboard as Dunham was charging in the opposite direction although crucially at this point a very determined Barrs was still the pace-setter.By lap seven, Dunham was up into 3^rd only to then lose his place following an excursion over the handlebars of his Kawasaki machine.However desperate to retain his pole position in the Championship standings,Lee was rapidly on his feet and in forward motion,repassing Tillotson for that crucial 3^rd spot and thus 50 big points.After what had been a tough opening battle,it then got better for Lee as upfront Cannings passed Barrs with just two laps remaining. Despite blowing his own Honda engine in practice,Lee Payne on a Kawasaki very kindly lent to him by DK Off-Road took a super 5^th in moto one chased by Reynolds,Jamie Dobson,Lane,Williamson and Richard Meakin.

This time using a bike from rival Clinton Barrs,Payne was to have an anxious moment at the start of moto two, frantically inserting air into the Kawasaki’s front tyre with a foot pump.When the gate dropped though it was almost a repeat of the opener as Barrs made another dream start to lead Cannings with Dunham in 6^th and just behind Williamson,Meakin and Shaun Pearce.On this occasion though,Cannings took just five laps to overhaul Barrs whilst Dunham coolly slotted up into 3^rd and that’s the way it remained with Williamson,Pearce,Meakin,Payne,Dobson, Luke Meredith and Glen Phillips all getting home inside the top ten.

So,going into the final MX1 moto of the season,11 points separated Dunham at the top and chaser Barrs.To snatch the title at the last gap,Barrs was looking to take the race win and hope Dunham was lower than 3^rd.When the gate dropped though a totally focussed Dunham popped out first and was seriously on the gas,leading the long charge to turn one.As the pack completed the opening lap though,that man Cannings was now in control but crucially Dunham was still 2^nd with Pearce 3^rd and Barrs 4^th.Although Barrs eventually moved through and pass both Pearce and Dunham,it was to be a case of ‘what might have been’ for the likeable Bristol rider.Instead its many congratulations to Lee Dunham,MX1 Champion in his maiden season on 450F machinery,a great achievement!!.

In a typically frantic,bar-banging start to the opening MX2 action at Norley,it was Ryan Crowder who brilliantly led the way chased by Ben Saunders,Tom Neesam,Joseph Del-Busso,Edward Briscoe and Kieran Mulloy.Lap two and that leader board was already changing as Crowder crashed and dropped all the way back to 28^th.At the front,Saunders was in control and cruising to victory but the tussle for 2^nd spot was simply red-hot.Throughout the contest,Briscoe, Ryan Morris,Lewis Abbott,Paul Neale and Aled Bellis all threatened with both Morris and Abbott eventually slipping out of contention after falls.So as the flag dropped on a breath-taking encounter,Saunders was a comfortable winner nearly 11 seconds ahead of a very impressive Del-Busso with Neale 3^rd.The ride of the moto though belonged without doubt to Jack Taylor.Falling on lap one,Jack was down in 33^rd place before storming back to take a truly incredible 4^th,what an effort!!.Also inside the top ten were Bellis,Abbott,Briscoe,Morris,Shane Holmes and Christopher Hill.

Paul Neale led the moto two charge but on completion of the opening lap both Taylor and Saunders had found a way through,locking horns and disputing the likely destination of the MX2 Championship silver medal.Two laps later and the pendulum was to swing firmly in favour of Taylor as Saunders fell and dropped back to 8^th.Also in trouble was Morris,falling when holding a very strong 4^th spot after being impeded by a slowing backmarker.Upfront though the very rapid Taylor was in total control,blasting to a stunning win,24 seconds ahead of Abbott in a great 2^nd.As early pace-setter Neale got home 3^rd,Briscoe was again right in the thick of the action.producing another impressive ride to earn 4^th just ahead of early faller Saunders.Also reeling off another eye-catching performance was Crowder in 6^th as Holmes,Morris,Bellis and Mathia rounded off the top ten.This result meant that Holmes had been crowned 2011 MX2 King,well done Shane,a very worthy Champion.

Despite being already confirmed as title holder,Shane still competed in the last MX2 moto of 2011,finishing his campaign with a 5^th spot.Taking the win though in this finale was Taylor with another supersonic gate to flag victory with Morris,Bellis and Neale chasing hard.Unfortunately in this moto,Saunders suffered a very heavy crash on lap two,a painful conclusion to a tough season!!.On course for a possible podium spot,Abbott also crashed heavily when holding 5^th spot,dropping back to 12^th place at the flag.However Lewis still took the number five plate in the final Championship standings,a result which delighted the youngster who had only arrived in Cheshire at 2.00am on Sunday morning following the long trip from his South coast base!!.In this 2011 MX2 finale,Carl Benjamim aboard his 2010 bike,Sean Frayne and Martin Jones got home inside the top ten to record their best results of the day.

Wrapping up the Norley action.Lewis King bagged maximum points in the Experts/Non-Qualifiers class whilst Aaron Starkey and Frazer Martin were the victors of the respective Seniors and Juniors supporting groups.

Mike Wood (www.moto-action.co.uk)