Ben Watson claims Hawkstone win
Ben Watson extended his MX2 series lead and Graeme Irwin grabbed the MX1 leader’s red plate at round four of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship at Hawkstone Park on Sunday.
Dry conditions leading into the event resulted in a track which did not cut up as badly as expected, shaving seconds off lap times as the country’s premier championship passed the halfway stage, writes James Driver-Fisher.
Opening-round winner Watson, from Nottingham, who has seen his lead cut first at Lyng and then Canada Heights, hit his stride in the Shropshire sand and took full advantage of a mechanical problem suffered by Harri Kullas in the opening moto to extend his lead with the race win.
He was chased home by Martin Barr and Todd Kellett, who took his first top-three finish at this level.
Watson’s Kiwi team-mate Josiah Natzke beat him into second in race two with Kullas coming home third with the overall going to Watson from Natzke and Barr.
In the championship, Watson now leads Kullas by 30 points with Barr another 13 points adrift in third.
“It was a great day for me and it couldn’t have gone much better to be honest,” said Watson. “I went one-two, which was consistent, and it got me the overall and allowed me to extend my lead in the championship.
“Harri [Kullas] had a bike problem in the first race which put him out and I’ve come away with a 30-point lead.
“I was happy with my riding on the day but the track didn’t cut up as it normally does and wasn’t quite as technical as I hoped it was going to get, but I can’t complain because I had a good day.”
Irwin was in dominant form in the MX1, backing up his pole in qualifying with a one-one scorecard that lifted him four points ahead of Steven Lenoir. “That was a perfect day,” said Irwin. “It couldn’t have been any better apart from the fact that I got a bad start in the first race but other than that it was awesome.
“I qualified in pole, won both races, I didn’t get stung by any bees – everything was sweet.”
French favourite Lenoir, the leader heading into Hawkstone, ran two-two for second overall ahead of ironman Kullas – who doubled up in both classes – returing with a three-four.
Gert Krestinov recovered from a crash-induced 13th in the opener finish third in race two to maintain his third place in the championship.
The meeting also featured the second round of the ACU British Two-Stroke Championship where series leader Mike Kras kept his unbeaten streak going with another pair of wins from Lewis Trickett, who recorded a two runner-up finishes.
Neville Bradshaw, who also raced the MX2 class, was third overall.
