Merthyr MXC at Cwms Farm

Written by MIKE WOOD Tuesday, 12 April 2011 00:00

The hottest day of the year greeted those that made the trek to the Cwms Farm circuit in Merthyr, for the latest round of the AMCA Wessex / South Wales season. The action was also the hottest we have seen so far this year, with only one perfect score on the day.

The Merthyr club members had worked hard before the event and made some changes to the layout of the track – most of these were to the second half of the lap, reducing the overall speed and introducing some more technical elements, which helped make the racing closer and gave the spectators some fantastic viewing.

The MX2 Juniors over 18 started the days racing, and Hereford rider Luke Jones looked to be in for a comfortable day, taking the first race win with a six second gap to second place Upton rider Jordan Davies. Race two also went to Luke, although he was chased home all the way by Jordan, who only just missed out on the win. However, Jordan managed to up his pace in race three and pushed Luke all the way, providing some thrilling racing in getting past him and just held on for the victory, to spoil a clean sweep for Luke. Matthew Tooth from Cheltenham had a solid points scoring day and completed the podium in third overall.

Over in the MX1 Seniors class, the lap scorers must be thankful the AMCA now run transponders at all their events, as all three of their races were decided by fractions of a second! Race one was between another Hereford rider Andrew Prosser, and Billy McGillivray from Cheltenham, as they had managed to gap third place Mark Gaze. Billy held the early advantage, but Andrew was able to pass him and took the chequered flag by less than 0.3 of a second. Race two was between Andrew again, and Paul Simons – with Paul recovering from a fourth place finish in race one and keen to make up points. These two riders pulled away from Billy in third and set about each other in a desperate bid to take the win. As they came into the final run to the flag, they were side by side and it was anyone’s race, and as the dust settled, Paul had taken the win by 0.02 of a second! So to race three, and the crowd were treated to a cracking three way fight between Andrew, Paul and Billy, with Andrew out front and looking good for the overall win. However, he pulled off the track having just started the final lap, posting a DNF and leaving the battle to Billy and Paul. Both riders swapped the lead several times in that last lap, but Paul crossed the line by less than half a second, to give him the overall, with Billy second and Mark Gaze (another Hereford rider) finishing third on the day.

We were guaranteed a new winner in the Inter Junior class, as Josh Bishop was not at Merthyr, which meant an end to the total domination he has shown so far this year. Zak Watkins was at his home track, and must have been confident of a perfect score – but Grant Jones (yet another Hereford rider) had other ideas and was able to pressure Zak into a rare mistake in race one which let him through to the lead and he never looked back, taking the win with a comfortable gap. However, Zak struck back in race two, reversing their positions by a narrow margin after a race long battle with Grant. So it was honours even and all to play for in the final race, and once again they were both well clear of the following pack. It was another very close battle, with both Zak and Grant taking turns out in front, and going into the final lap Grant looked to have the advantage. Zak was not to be beaten on home soil though, and closed Grant down in the last half lap, got passed and just held on for a well deserved win and the winner’s trophy, with Grant having to settle for second and Josh Gethin in third.

It was a 1-2 over in the MX2 Juniors under 18’s class for Hereford, which was won by Billy Johnson with Harley Jones in second and home rider Adam Litchfield in third. In the MX1 Juniors class, top step on the podium went to a one day license rider Garth Berzinski, who was mounted on a Gas Gas Enduro bike and was able to post a 3,1,1 on the day, with Andrew Holland just beating Wayne Ashman to the second place trophy by one point.

The Expert classes were run as an unlimited group, with the different classes being scored separately. Scott Williams (Ross Falcons) was the only rider to win all 3 of his races to clinch the MX2 Experts, with Kieran Mulloy taking second and Chris Rudd getting third. The MX1 Expert class was won by Simon Lane (Worcester), with Matt McLean in second and James Lane in third – but these positions could have been so different. James was running at the front of the pack in race one when he low sided. He remounted quickly and was starting his bike when he was collected by one of the passing riders, in what looked like a very painful impact. He rejoined the race almost a lap down but was superb as he carved his way through the field and finished the race in 8^th place in class. Another rider to suffer was Glen Phillips, who won races two and three with some very fast and stylish riding, but was hampered by a DNF in race one which kept him out of the overall points chase. The MX2 Senior group was also full of incidents, with Scott Wood going into race three with a first and a third and looking good for a possible overall win by running out in front in the final race. However, with three laps to go he ran off the course and collected the rope in his back wheel which ended his day there and then. This left the way clear for home rider Cory Szpadt to take his second race win of the day and the overall trophy, with Michael Rees in second and Chris Jackson in third – this was despite Chris having to finish the first race stuck in the same gear, as his shifter had come off.

Congratulations must go to Mark Dicks and all the Merthyr club members, who had worked very hard in the build up to this meeting making changes to the layout, grading and watering the track. Despite the very dry conditions, dust was kept to a minimum thanks to this preparation and the water bowser was only needed twice during the day.

Report and images by Dave Richards

David Richards (www.mxdave.com)

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