Race results: Simpson crowned British Champion!
Shaun Simpson took three race wins and the 2015 British MX1 title in what was a perfect day at Preston Docks.
Simpson won all three races, and in the absence of any other MXGP riders in the field, was simply unchallenged all day. The gulf is getting bigger and the other British championship riders need to start taking part in some MXGP rounds next year to try and close the gap or it’s going to be more of the same in 2016.
Simpson has had quite a brilliant last 6 weeks with two GP wins, fourth overall at Unadilla, getting upgraded to full factory support from KTM and retaining his British title, it doesn’t get much better than that – unless Shaun can lead team GB to the MXoN win at Ernee at the end of the month!
Kristian Whatley was second overall and got one position better in each moto! A fifth, fourth and third gave the Buildbase Honda rider second overall by one point over Graeme Irwin.
It was Irwin’s second podium in a row and the Ulsterman is coming on strong in the second part of the season. Irwin came from outside the top ten to sixth in race one and only Shaun Simpson was going quicker. A third and fourth in the next two races helped the Heads and All Threads rider get on the box.
But it was a disastrous day for his countryman Martin Barr. The Northern Irishman was in fine form, qualifying second and finishing third in race one but Barr’s machine let him down twice in the next two races and cost him big points as he battles for fourth in the championship. Barr is now down to fifth in the championship 17 points behind fourth place Brad Anderson and one point ahead of Irwin who’s sixth.
Ashley Wilde is having a superb season and was impressive again at Preston Docks scoring fourth overall with best result of fourth coming in the first moto. Wilde seems to be getting more confident as the the season goes on and will go into the winter full of hope for what he could do in 2016!
MX1 Overall
1 1 Shaun Simpson 75 25 25 25
2 227 Kristian Whatley54 16 18 20
3 5 Graeme Irwin 53 15 20 18
4 704 Ashley Wilde 48 18 14 16
5 40 Tanel Leok 44 0 22 22
6 25 Jamie Law 42 14 13 15
7 31 Alex Snow 38 10 15 13
8 60 Brad Anderson 38 22 16 0
9 148 Michael Eccles 36 12 10 14
10 21 Ryan Houghton 27 13 12 2
Max Anstie stormed to another hat-trick of wins in the MX2 class. Anstie showed the rest of the British riders the speed they have to reach to be a genuine world title contender and that can only help the youngsters in MX2.
Leading the charge is Adam Sterry and he rode well to second overall. Sterry did his best to stay with Anstie in the first two motos where he finished second both times out, with an almost identical best lap to Anstie in moto one. Sterry had to come through the field to finish sixth in race three but it was still enough to claim second overall.
Steven Lenoir was on the podium with a fifth, fourth and third, typifying the superb consistency of the Frenchman all season. Behind him was young Ben Watson who, after a poor first moto in tenth, showed his true form in races two and three to take a third and second.
The big story of the day was the performance of Conrad Mewse. In this first race on a 250f, Mewse proved to be a fast learner. Eleventh in race one was backed up by tenth in race two and a decent start in race three saw Mewse pull through to a fantastic fifth and eighth overall on the day.
Mewse’ performance highlights just how high the level is in EMX125 and with a whole winter to prepare for 2016, Mewse is showing he is going to be a man to watch next season on the 250 machine.
MX2 Overall
1 99 Max Anstie 75 25 25 25
2 811 Adam Sterry 59 22 22 15
3 685 Steven Lenoir 54 16 18 20
4 919 Ben Watson 53 11 20 22
5 121 Bryan Mackenzie 45 18 9 18
6 511 Steven Clarke 45 20 16 9
7 714 Brad Todd 37 14 15 8
8 41 Conrad Mewse 36 10 10 16
9 114 Jordan Booker 36 12 12 12
10 214 Lewis Trickett 35 15 6 14
