MacKenzie and Simpson shine at Canada Heights

A light covering of snow dusted the Kent circuit ahead of the second round of the 2008 Maxxis British Motocross Championship. However whilst extreme Easter weather conditions halted events elsewhere in the UK, the country’s premier off road motorcycle series enjoyed a well-prepared and drying track surface despite the dull and overcast skies overhead.

Reigning MX1 British champion Billy MacKenzie – CAS Honda maintained his 100% record with another pair of race wins at the spectacular Canada Heights circuit that overlooks the infamous M25 motorway. MacKenzie was once again in blistering form to out-qualify Kenneth Gundersen – UTAG Yamaha, before dominating both motos from start to finish to increase his championship lead to twenty two points after just two rounds.

A battling Brad Anderson – Swift Suzuki edged out a rejuvenated Mark Jones – Kawasaki for the runner-up spot in the MX1 class on the day. Anderson got the nod despite tying with Jones on points, thanks to a better second race result when he followed MacKenzie across the line. Anderson also moves into second position in the general standings on a similar footing, with the Suzuki rider now sharing the same points tally as Gundersen at the quarter point in the campaign.

Shaun Simpson – KTM UK picked up from where Tommy Searle – KTM UK left off after the first round. The promising young Scot was the man of the meeting, topping MX2 qualifying by over two seconds, before cruising to two race wins. His margin of victory in both encounters told the true scale of his success, it being thirty-six and forty-six seconds respectively.

Stephen Sword – Molson Kawasaki could only manage third spot overall on the day, behind Simpson and Martin Barr – UTAG Yamaha, but now heads the MX2 championship standing by ten points over the Yamaha rider. Sword went 2 – 4 to earn his podium place, and to keep his title challenge alive, but will be only too aware of the threat that his young KTM rival will pose as the series progresses over the coming months.

The 2008 championship moves further south for its next instalment on Sunday 13th April, when the series visits Torrington in Devon. Here both of the main championship classes will be joined by the MXY2 youth category that takes place at four out of the eight rounds.



Billy Mackenzie
Mackenzie’s dominant 2008 rolls onwards

New factory Honda motocross racer Billy Mackenzie, Great Britain’s sole works representative in the premier FIM MX1 World Championship, continued his excellent start as an HRC rider by romping away with both races at a chilly and snowy Canada Heights for the second round of the 2008 Maxxis British Championship last Sunday.

The reigning champion and Grand Prix winner – the UK’s highest profile motocrosser – extended his streak of victories to ‘4-from-4’ after an electric launch to the 2008 campaign on the CAS Honda machine. His double salvo at the Kent venue came after setting pole position and grabbing two holeshots to dominate proceedings. His second set of overall silverware came two weeks after he was equally as emphatic at Donington Park (home of the 62nd Motocross of Nations later this year) for the opening round of eight in the domestic series.

The 23-year-old Scot, from East Lothian in Edinburgh, blitzed the British competition carrying his number one plate in dark Monster Energy colours and has been in sizzling form since returning from a month training and testing in the USA earlier this year.

Mackenzie will be hoping to transfer his speed and confidence to the Netherlands in two weeks time when the fifteen-round World Championship gets underway in the sand of the Valkenswaard circuit near the city of Eindhoven. ‘Mac’ finished 9th in a topsy-turvy debut season in the MX1 class (riding 450cc machinery) with Kawasaki, but became the very first British winner of an MX1 Grand Prix with his third successive victory at the Sugo circuit in Japan (an accolade to match his previous two triumphs on an MX2 motorcycle).

“This is the best bike I have ridden and being back with a British team has helped me settle immediately,” he said. “I still do not feel like I am pushing my limit yet and these results in the build up to the world championship have only assisted my confidence and the good vibes I have about my set-up for 2008.”

“That’s four motos from four, and I feel like there are many more to come,” he added. “We will make some more tests with the bike this week and have a few new bits to try but then we will move onto the sandy tracks and get ready for Valkenswaard. I don’t want to get too excited but it is clear that we are looking good and I can’t remember being this keen to get to the first GP for quite a while.”

The third round of the 2008 Maxxis British championship will take place on April 13th at Torrington in Devon. Mackenzie already leads by 22 points with a race victory counting for 30. Six meetings and twelve motos remain.



Molson Kawasaki Racing
Sword swoops into series lead at Canada Heights

Molson Kawasaki’s Stephen Sword takes over as MX2 British Championship series leader while team mate Tom Church holds down 5th in MX1 after Canada Heights On a cold wintery day at Canada Heights in the South East of England Stephen Sword gave the Molson team plenty to smile about by taking the MX2 British championship lead with consistent 2-4 finishes on his KX250F-SR. With track conditions quite tricky due to deep ruts and a slippery surface Stephen rode smartly and smoothly to take second overall on the day and take a comfortable 10 point lead in the series.

“Although I didn’t put my fast time in during the right part of timed qualifying – I should have done it at the start but mine was set near the end – I was reasonably happy to get second position,” claimed Stephen later.

“In the first race I got a good start but by the time I got into second Simpson had a sizeable lead and he was riding really well so I just concentrated on what I was doing and rode as hard as I could but I stayed in second.

“I was looking forward to the second race because I knew I could still win the overall if I won the race. But I got caught in a first turn accident and although I didn’t go down I lost a lot of time. I had to come through the pack, which was quite difficult because it’s quite tight here but I felt I was riding really well – much better than I did in the first race. My lines were good, I was attacking well and I’m generally just really happy with that race even though I only finished fourth.

“Overall it was a really good day for me. Two good consistent rides again which is what you need during the early part of the season and I also took the lead in the championship by 10 points – a really good day.”

In the MX1 division Tom Church is fast and smooth all day on his KX450F but suffers a little bit of bad luck in the opening moto. Crashing on lap one of the 30-minute plus two lap race Tom’s forced to charge hard all moto long and proves his speed and fitness is good by passing at least one rider a lap and running lap times similar to the race winner’s on his way to an 11th place finish.

Moto two is much more positive for Church as he gates in the top five before moving into third place where he battles briefly with Brad Anderson for second place before settling for third after making some small rider errors late in the race.

“In the first race I went down on the first lap and it took ages to get going again,” explained Tom. “I just had to put my head down and make the most of a bad race and charge hard until the end which resulted in an 11th place finish. I felt good on the bike and my pace at the end of the race was the same as the leaders.

“In the second race I got a much better start but took a little bit too long to get around Smyth who was running third and by the time I had the first two had gone. I ended up third in the second race after making a couple of mistakes, which was a much better result.

“I learnt a lot today and I now know what I need to work on before the first GP at Valkenswaard in a couple of weeks time.”

Gareth Swanepoel was unfortunately not in action this weekend due to the fact that the South African is recovering from a minor operation that will help aid mobility and ease pain in the Molson team rider’s wrist.



ARB Tuning Kawasaki
First season podium for ARB Tuning Kawasaki

Snow and freezing conditions couldn't stop ARB Tuning Kawasaki from achieving one of its goals at the second round of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship this past weekend - a podium.

With Easter morning dawning with snow in the air, the team's two riders qualified in the top fifteen; Mark Jones in third and Jamie Lewis in thirteenth. The first race saw Mark remain in second behind Billy MacKenzie throughout while Jamie, riding with a suspected fractured big toe sustained in qualifying, looked to make a good impression in the top fifteen. However, his injury started making shifting difficult and painful on the rutty and tough circuit, and he slipped back to end in twenty-first.

The second race also looked to be a corker for Mark, while Jamie, very much in pain, had to pull out after the sighting lap. Good manoeuvring allowed Mark to take his start and turn it into another second place, before jumping a rut and crashing. Restarting in fifth, Mark returned to fourth soon after, keeping the competition at bay for a fourth place and tying in points with Brad Anderson. Race position broke the tie, with Mark in third overall for the day.

This outstanding result means that ARB Tuning Kawasaki again is the highest-scoring Kawasaki team in the MX1 class for the day, and remains the highest-scoring Kawasaki team in the championship for the class.

Team owner Mark Bishop enthused: "It's been an excellent day today with a third overall. It's a shame about Jamie's injury, but I'm chuffed to bits with Mark's third overall, it's been a long time coming."

The team's next race will be Round 3 of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship at Torrington in Devon on April 13, which will include the second round of the MXY2 class and the return of the third member of the team, Vytautas Bucas.

CCM Racing
More valuable British Championship points for CCM Racing at Canada Heights

CCM Racing made their second outing at the 2008 Maxxis ACU British Motocross championship, with the latest round taking place at the fantastic Canada Heights circuit in Kent. Once again the sole responsibility of flying the flag for the famous British motorcycle manufacturer was left to the emerging talent of Oliver Sandiford-Smith, with his younger team mate Richie Worrall still sidelined by a pre-season injury.

Winter like conditions gripped the venue with a light covering of snow defining the track despite the meeting’s Easter date. Whilst the undulating circuit stood up well in spite of the best efforts of the British weather, conditions out on track were very difficult, with the top surface offering little grip and few chances to overtake. Sandiford-Smith used the morning qualifying session to acquaint himself with both the circuit and the conditions, posting his best time on lap four of the nine he completed. Although slightly off the pace of the leading group, Oliver qualified in a respectable twentieth position to book his place in the two main MX1 races.

The first thirty-minute plus two lap encounter proved to be an ongoing battle for the lone CCM rider as he rose and fell in the running order as a series of minor crashes throughout the moto limited his progress. Oliver’s pace should have easily netted him a top twenty finish, but his catalogue of small mistakes left him down in a disappointing twenty seventh place come the flag.

Race two brought better fortunes for the Bolton-based team, with the revolutionary aluminium bonded chassis CCM MX450 emerging from the first turn in a mid-pack position and the opportunity of making progress. Looking much more at home in the heavy conditions Sandiford-Smith set about his task of climbing up the leader board, with his spirited efforts taking him into the top fifteen with just one lap to go.

Unfortunately Oliver was not able to hold onto this position, and slipped one place to sixteenth as the flag was waved on the second moto. This performance was worthy of five valuable championship points, to put Oliver in twentieth place overall on the day, and to move him up into the top twenty five in the general series standings.

Team Principle Gary Harthern gave his view of the day’s events and news of Worrall’s return to riding. “The good news is that we are making the progress, even it is a little slower than our enthusiasm would like it to be. The last three meetings have seen Oliver produce far better second race results, so we just need to focus on getting him dialled in earlier in the meeting and then I am sure we can be a lot nearer our overall goal of top ten finishes.

“Richie has got the OK from the doctor and is back riding a bike today, so should be back in racing action very soon, but not before he is fully ready.”



MacKenzie heads the charge for The Fuchs Silkolene Charity Award
Fuchs Silkolene backed rider Billy MacKenzie – CAS Honda maintained his 100% record with yet another dominant performance at the second round of the 2008 Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship held at the undulating Canada Heights circuit that sits beside the M25 in Kent. MacKenzie had no sympathy for his rivals, with the reigning MX1 British champion never headed throughout the meeting. The Honda rider topped qualifying before going on to record another brace of start gate to chequered flag moto wins.

Four race victories, in the first two of the eight scheduled rounds, which will decide this year’s title fight sees Billy head the overall standings by a healthy twenty-two points at this early stage in the season. If the young Scot can maintain his current speed and form, he very much looks the odds on favourite to retain his crown.

In addition to taking the top honours at the meeting overall, MacKenzie also once again grabbed top spot in The Fuchs Silkolene Charity Award, which recognises and rewards the fastest lap of the day under race conditions. Billy achieved the outright fastest race lap of the day on the opening lap of the second MX1 moto. The award covers both classes, with Shaun Simpson – KTM UK recording the quickest time in the MX2 category during his second outing.

MacKenzie and Simpson head their respective classes, with the MX1 championship leader gaining maximum bonus points from his two outings to date. Simpson will have to wait until next month, before he can attempt to close the gap on Billy, and stake his claim of being the first winner of this unique award.

Using the information provided by the championship’s official timekeepers, the fastest three riders in each class at each round are awarded bonus points on a 5, 3 and 1 basis respectively. In addition to the two class winners being presented with prizes at each round, their cumulative points total will also count towards a very important overall prize that will be concluded at the last round in September. The rider with the highest points tally, irrespective of class, following the final meeting at Hawkstone Park will be presented with “The Fuchs Silkolene Charity Award” and a cheque for one thousand five hundred pounds to donate to a recognised charity of their choice.

The Fuchs Silkolene Charity Award
Results  Round 2 – Canada Heights – 23rd March 2008
MX1
1 - Billy MacKenzie  5 pts
2  - Brad Anderson 3 pts
3  - Mark Jones  1 pts

MX2
1 - Shaun Simpson  5 pts
2 - Martin Barr 3 pts
3 - Stephen Sword  1 pt

Overall MX1 to date
1 – Mackenzie 10, 2- Church 3, 3 – Anderson 3, 4 – Gundersen 1, 5 – Jones 1

Overall MX2 to date
1 – Simpson 5, 2 – Searle 5, 3 – Sword 4, 4 – Barr 3, 5 - Leuret 1

Next event: Round 3 - Torrington – 13th April 2008



SUSO MVR-D Suzuki Team
It was back to business on Sunday for the SUSO MVR-D Suzuki team, conditions at the Maxxis British motocross championship at Canada Heights in Kent were quite unbelievable.

The forecast all week was for snow and from 8am on Sunday morning it arrived and covered the circuit in a white blanket and that made timed qualifying very difficult.

Good news for all team riders is that all four qualified into the main event, Jason Dougan showed real pace and qualified in sixth in near impossible riding conditions.

Race one was tough as the snow started to disappear and was replaced with sleet which made the going very wet and difficult, Jason Dougan and Carl Nunn were outstanding finishing in fourth and fifth respectively. Marcus Norlen didn’t have a great start but showed courage and fought his way to a top fifteen position with James finishing in thirtieth.

In race two the conditions were freezing and the track was now full off deep rutted areas which made for difficult racing, Jason stuck to his guns and finished a creditable seventh, Carl had mid race off which put paid to a repeat of race one but still fought back to finish in seventeenth, Marcus again put in 100% and finished just outside the top ten in eleventh.

Team Manager – Mark Chamberlain: “Today was tough the weather was appalling but the boys stuck to it and fought well in both races, Jason showed he has the potential to challenge for race wins, Jason was the top Suzuki rider in the MX2 class and with dry conditions to come it’s looking good.

"Carl and Marcus both finished in the top twelve with more to come from them – three riders in the top twelve positions at this level is exciting. James was unlucky in the second race as he made a good start; he unfortunately collided with another rider which ended his race.

"We now have a week off before the first round of the world championship in Valkenswaard in Holland and hopefully better weather conditions.”



CAS Honda
Unstoppable MacKenzie has Grand Prix in his sights

Unstoppable Billy MacKenzie’s domination of MX1 continued at Canada Heights with an overwhelming performance in the second round of the British Championship. The CAS Honda rider qualified on pole position, assisting him to holeshot both races and seal two more impressive victories.

The Kent circuit is renowned for being a technical, physical venue. Heavy snow and low temperatures turned the event into a real grueller on Easter Sunday, but the young Scottish rider shrugged off the conditions to put down his marker for the first Grand Prix in a fortnight’s time.

“Billy’s performance was incredible,” said CAS Honda team manager, Neil Prince.” He won both his races with incredible ease.”

Billy’s CAS Honda team-mate, Mike Brown, suffered mixed fortunes in MX2. After qualifying in fifth place, he got tangled up with another rider  at the first corner of the first race and spent the rest of the session fighting through from the back of the field. He managed to scramble back to 15th place before a mud-caked radiator forced him to retire.

In the second race, American Mike was in the middle of the pack at the first corner, yet was up to fifth within two laps – a position he retained until the final lap, when he dropped a place after encountering back markers.

Billy and Mike’s consistency in qualifying in first and fourth places, respectively, delighted manager Prince.

“We’ve got two weeks of intensive testing now. All the parts we need have arrived from Japan and we are really confident,” he added.



Mark Jones
Mark hits the Heights with podium at British Open Round 2

ARB Tuning Kawasaki team leader Mark Jones lead by example on Easter Sunday providing the team's first podium of the season at the second round of the British Open championship at Canada Heights.

The demanding Kent track was in good condition following heavy overnight frost and was certainly sorting out the field, with Welshman Jones placing 3rd in qualifying, a second behind pole man and full factory pilot, Billy MacKenzie.

The opening leg got off to a flyer with Mark rounding the first turn in second. Staying close to the flying Billy Mac in the opening laps, the ARB Tuning machine pulled a healthy gap on third place Norwegian Kenneth Gunderson, and held an excellent 2nd from the gate to the line.

Moto 2 saw another decent start rounding the first few turns in 4th place, but soon saw Jones pull a tight line at the turn 4 hairpin and cut into second and again start to pull a gap. Lap 5 though saw Mark take a small spill after seeing his front wheel washed out by a large stone hidden in a rut. The machine took some recovery as it was awkwardly bridged across two deep ruts and took several kicks to restart, seeing MJ rejoin in 5th spot. Mark got his head down again and reeled in Gundersen, putting a pass in on him on lap 9 then gradually edging away to cross the line 4th, which gave Mark a tie on points for 2nd overall, though on second race count-back, placed him third overall for the day.

Speaking on Wednesday (I know), Mark was positive on using the weekend as a springboard for the rest of the campaign.

"I just felt really comfortable all day, the bike was working really well and it was one of those days when you have 110% confidence. The Kawasaki is working really well, and Dave (Morgan) my mechanic has the suspension set up spot on.

"Being 4th in the championship and only 8 points from second is a real boost. Since my illness before the Donington round, I've taken it fairly quietly and just relaxed into it a bit more and it seems to work. It's a few weeks before the next race at Torrington, so we will be testing a few more engine parts, but otherwise, bring it on!"