AMCA 2 Stroke Championships (Final round)

Written by AMCA OFFICE Tuesday, 11 October 2011 00:00

Danny Blakeley was crowned 2011 AMCA 2-Stroke champion after an exciting final round on Sunday at Alport Heights, staged by the Derby Sporting club. The lead up to the event saw many hours of work completed by the Derby club, and the hard work certainly paid off with new jumps and technical sections added to the circuit, and immaculate track preparation befitting of a championship finale, with the Alport track in perfect condition.

Ahead of the final round all eyes were on championhip leader Danny Blakeley as the former MX1 ace looked to secure his first ever AMCA championship, going into the final round with a 72 point lead over Cannock's Jack Bas. With third place Adam Harris a surprise no-show, Walsall's Rian Warren was presented with a golden opportunity to snatch third in the final standings.
Late inclusion into the series was another former MX1 championship rider Sean Eckersley, and as the gate dropped for the first moto it was Eckersley who lead the pack from Jack Bas and home club rider Thurlow Bone.
However after Bone crashed on a difficult uphill section Blakeley fought his way through to third, and as Bas managed to get past holeshot man Eckersley, he was soon followed by Blakeley and the two championship leaders battled at the front, Bas just managing to hold off Blakeley until the last few laps, where Blakeley seemed to drop off the lead pace. It was Bas that kept his championship hopes alive by winning, Blakeley cruising home in second from Eckersley. Blakeley's sudden loss of pace seemed to indicate some form of problem, but after the race he was composed as he explained the reason for his loss of pace 'Jack (Bas) threw up a rock from his rear wheel and it hit me just above the knee, there were a few large rocks round the back of the circuit, so I took it easy and made sure I finished second rather than risk not finishing'
Blakeley's second place at the finish meant he could wrap up the title in the second moto, however it was Thurlow Bone who took the early lead in race two with Blakeley close behind. Unfortunately Bone's bad luck was continue as he crashed once again, with Blakeley taking the lead from Bas, Eckersley once again close behind in third. Bas chased hard once again, but Blakeley was determined to secure the title with a win and held on to snatch the win, with Eckersley third and a real battle for fourth place, Telford Rian Warren snatching fourth from leading MX2 rider George Hough as he fought to move up to third in the standings.
With the title secured for 2011, Blakeley came to the line for the final moto proudly displaying the red number one plate, and after a season of largely good weather, the heavens opened for the last championship race of 2011, with persistent drizzle, coupled with an increasingly rough course making a real challenge for the riders in the season finale.
Blakeley and Ecklersley led the pack away, as Jack Bas fell on the second corners, the fellow riders squeezing past the stricken rider as he scrambled back to his feet. At the front, Blakeley marvelled in the tough conditions as he began to pull away from Eckersley, with Warren in third, battling hard with Hough. The battle for third was interceped by Bas, with Hough dropping off the pace and losing fourth to the championship runner up, but as Blakeley took the flag from Eckersley to wrap up his championship year, Rian Warren took third from Bas, and more importantly secure third in the title, a brave fightback having suffered from a broken leg at the start of the season.
Further down in the pack, other riders won their own private battles, George Hough was the top MX2 Expert taking fourth in the series, with Lee Brown sixth and Ian Norman seventh. The Senior riders taking part in the championship impressed, as they mixed it with their Expert counterparts. Adam Turner was unfortunate on the day, mechanical problems meant he failed to score any points, but he still finished top Senior with 15th in the series, with Jack Berry 17th and Chris Czora 20th.
Congratulations to Danny Blakeley for taking the crown, and to all riders who competed in the championship during 2011. With superb racing across the whole season, and a good level of cameraderie and sportsmanship between the riders the championship has been a huge success.

Final Championship Standings (after 8 rounds) : 1 Blakeley 1368pts, 2 Bas 1279, 3 Warren 1065, 4 Hough 1022, 5 Adam Harris 967, 6 Brown 848, 7 Norman 845, 8 Bone 842, 9 Ashley Wilson 637, 10 Jones 622, 11 Wainwright 582, 12 Stephen Jones 578, 13 Russello 525, 14 Spencer 488, 15 Turner 448, 16 Hales 443, 17 Berry 412, 18 Christopher Cowler 410, 19 James Smith 393, 20 Czora 390, 21 Sam Morse 356, 22 Nigel Woodman 339, 23 Evans 332, 24 Louis Hill 273, 25 Eckersley 262

Results