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THERE was a competitive change for Ireland’s motocross stars on Sunday, when the British Championships arrived at Desertmartin.
On Sunday, June 24, the Cookstown and District Motocross Club hosted round five of the nine round 2018 British Motocross Championship.
First to the line was the new Two-Stroke class with Annalong man Lindsay Newell, Saintfield’s Ben Kennedy, Matthew Fry, from Randalstown, and Craigavon man Darren Bradford challenging for points. In the first race championship leader Mike Kras, from Holland, got the holeshot and led the race throughout, taking the chequered flag with a 13 second advantage on second placed Italian, Manuel Lacopi. The fastest local riders off the line were Bradford and Newell, who held 12th and 13th positions at the end of lap one. Bradford finally came home in 15th and Newell was 16th, along with Fry in 17th and Kennedy in 18th position as the four men earned championship points.
In the second race Kras led from start to finish again, taking the chequered flag 20 seconds ahead of second placed Lacopi. This time Bradford was the fastest local rider off the line in fourth position, before a crash on lap three ended his race when he was in sixth position. Matthew Fry was lying in 13th after one lap, with Newell in 15th and Kennedy in 17th position, but with positions changing throughout the pack Newell came home in 14th ahead of Kennedy in 15th and Fry in 16th position.
Next to the line was the MX2 class with championship leader Conrad Mewse, from Somerton, up against Martin Barr, from Ballyclare, Loughbrickland’s Jason Meara and Glenoe rider Glenn McCormick. In the first race Mewse got the holeshot, with Barr close behind in third position. Barr moved into second position on the fifth lap, but by that stage Mewse already held a good lead, which he extended to take the chequered flag 35.5 seconds ahead of second placed Barr. After one lap Meara was in 18th and McCormick was in 28th position, before Meara moved through the field to take 13th and McCormick came home in 17th position.
The second MX2 race saw Mewse leave the line close to the front, with McCormick in tenth position, before the race was red flagged after one lap with an injured rider on the track. From the restart Mewse left the line in second position, as a crash in the third corner left Barr in last after his bike had become entangled with another rider’s bike. McCormick was the top local rider off the line in eighth and Meara got away in 19th position. Mewse went on to win the second race by a comfortable 40 seconds, with Meara taking 11th, McCormick in 12th position and Barr fought back to finish in 17th position.
The final class on the line was the MX1 class with championship leader Jake Nicholls, from Honiton, up against reigning champion Graeme Irwin, from Downpatrick, Lisburn man Richard Bird and Belfast’s Luke Smith. At the start of race one Irwin left the line in fifth position amongst a competitive group of riders. On the second lap Loughborough man Tommy Searle moved into first position, as Irwin had to wait to take his chances, passing his way into second position on lap 14. After 17 laps Searle took the chequered flag two seconds ahead of Irwin, as Bird came home in 17th and Smith finished in 19th position to earn championship points.
The second MX1 race was the final race of the day. This time Russian rider Evgeny Bobryshev got the holeshot ahead of Searle in second, Bird in 11th, Irwin in 16th Smith in 21st position. Irwin was left with a tough task to make his way through the competitive field, but after one lap he had moved into 10th position and after four laps he had made his way into fifth position. After eight laps in the 15-lap race Searle moved into the lead, which he held to take a second win on the day. On lap nine Irwin moved into fourth position, where he finished, with Bird in 15th and Smith coming home in 16th position.
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