The spectacular, and still relatively new, hilltop venue of Monster Mountain played host to the first of three rounds of its new Midweek Race Series on Wednesday the 25th of June, and a good crowd of spectators came out to enjoy some of the best in the business ply their trade alongside a bumper entry of Clubmen, Vets, and Youth racers who all got stuck into the GP-sized circuit, which was prepped to perfection by the Monster Mountain crew.
In the Pro class, the enthusiastic crowd got what it wanted with a set of brilliant showdowns between “The Bullet” Jeffrey Herlings and Conrad Mewse, repeating their full-gas encounters from last year in the British Championships. Amazingly, the Crendon Tru7 Honda man from Somerset took the second heat win, and therefore the overall MX1 Pro class victory, away from the Dutchman, but the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing legend had the last laugh with a commanding win in the six-lap Super Final, although the “Mewse Missile” was closing in fast!
Qualifying
The day’s programme actually began for competitors shortly after noon, with each class getting two decent practice sessions as well as a five-lap qualifying run to set the gate pick order for the first races. While the Youth 125/250 class and the Clubmen were sitting around the two-and-a-half-minute mark, star man Herlings was justifying his “Bullet” nickname with a time of around two minutes and five seconds, still making it longer than Matterley Basin was for the MXGP of Great Britain just three days before. Mewse was just over a second behind the Dutchman in Qualifying, while Dirt Store Triumph Racing teammates Tommy Searle and Joel Rizzi took third and fourth in that order.
Lexa MX wildman John Adamson took fifth best time ahead of Mewse’s teammate Jamie Carpenter, while flying the green flag for Bike It Kawasaki was Taylor Hammal, earning a solid seventh. Leading MX2 contender Ben Mustoe was eighth fastest for ASA United GASGAS, just days after his top ten in EMX250 at Matterley.
The Youth of Today
The mini rippers of the 65cc class were the first to get the gate drop in the evening race programme, and after suffering mechanical issues with his Husqvarna in practice, which limited him to just one track session, it was the #94 of Ronnie Morgan who used that pent-up aggression to good effect with two clear race wins! Second place was disputed by three riders, at one point looking like a three-way tie in points as Jeston Hillman, the fastest in Qualifying, crashed in race one to drop himself to fourth behind Jaxson Hooper and Preston Killoran. He made no such mistake in race two and took second, but Hooper overtook Killoran on the penultimate lap for third, which was enough for the runner-up spot overall! Hillman took the third-place trophy ahead of Killoran, while Noah Stevens put in two good rides for fifth overall.
The 85cc classes, Big-Wheel and Small-Wheel, raced together but were scored separately, and the Small-Wheel class provided some top racing, faster than all but two of their Big-Wheel counterparts. Rafe Symons won the first outing ahead of the fast-starting Jake Bryant, while Ruddie Jones took third ahead of Rhys Jones and Harri Luckwell. Symons tipped off in race two, however, and could only recover to third behind Bryant, while Ruddie Jones took the race win and therefore the overall victory on the tie-break with Symons! Bryant’s two seconds were enough for third overall, with Rhys Jones fourth again, and Parker Thomas claiming fifth this time to take that spot overall.
The Big-Wheel class was completely dominated by Casey Lister on his Chambers KTM, coming straight from the EMX Semi-Final in Slovakia and winning both motos clearly at the Mountain. Jaden Hill did all he could with two solid second places, well clear of his competition as Jesse James took third twice, and Travis Thomas secured fourth overall on a tiebreak from top female competitor Amarni Faith Davies!
Two-stroke Vs Four-stroke
The pace stepped up each time for the 125/250 Youth races, scored in direct competition with each other, and although Christopher Brindley set fastest time in Qualifying, it was the 250F Kawasaki of Logan Powell that took both race wins, a Holeshot-and-hide first time out, before passing Brindley on the opening lap of race two to complete the perfect night! Brindley had to be satisfied with two second places, while Lewys Morgan came out on top of a pitched battle for third with Jayden Williams, who rescued fourth overall despite a second race tumble from an early lead! 125cc Yamaha screamer Estyn Rowsell took fifth overall with consistent 6-6 finishes, as race one’s third place man Kian John had a nightmare in race two.
The Backbone
Some of the most entertaining races in the programme came from those that form the backbone of the sport, the Steady/Clubmen/Vets classes, as Yamaha man Danny Webster cleaned up both times despite having to argue over the lead of race two with Vets 35+ winner Danny James! Ultimately Webster was the clear Clubman winner both times out, and punched his ticket to the Fastest 40 Super Final! Lewis Roden put in two consistent third places to secure second overall on the night, while a 6-2 scorecard for Callum Watson was enough for him to snag third overall by a point from Fantic rider Luka Aston, as Benito Sidoli earned fifth with 7-5 finishes.
The Steady class was won by KTM rider Tom Frowen, with Michael Summers second to him both times, as Craig Lewis came through to claim third in a crazy battle with 6-3 finishes! Vets winner Danny James was battling with the Clubmen throughout but topped the 35+ class ahead of Jason Barry and Tom White, while the Over 45s was won by Triumph man Guy Langmead ahead of Welsh legend Jeffro Evans and Neil Thomas!
The Fast Men
The buzz around the circuit grew when it came to the Pro/Expert class races. On such a big track there was no fear of lapped riders being an issue through the four-lap heat races, and Herlings bolted into the lead of the first outing from the get-go, with an impressive start from Joel Rizzi keeping him ahead of his teammate Searle. Mewse was in fifth, initially behind his teammate Carpenter, but worked his way forward methodically, up into third by the end of lap two. Herlings was disappearing, but Mewse’s lap times were better in the last two circulations as he worked his way past Rizzi. Jeffrey was up by eight seconds at the flag, a sprint by his standards of under six and a half minutes!
Rizzi kept a great pace to finish over six seconds clear of Searle, with Hammal passing Carpenter on the last lap for fifth spot. Ben Mustoe, with just Jonathan Roderick-Evans and Ezra Blackwell sharing the MX2 class with him, and finishing in that order both times, set about taking on the 450s and finished seventh on-track.
The Experts class win was snatched on the line from Glen Phillips by a tenacious Shane Carless, by just 18 thousandths of a second! Dan Maule brought his two-stroke home in third, while Gloucester boy Ollie Bubb took the MX2 Expert win ahead of Ben White and 250F rookie Reagan Rogers!
Revenge
Race two in the Pros saw Scotsman John Adamson take a brilliant Holeshot with the last three MX1 British Champions – Mewse, Searle, and Herlings, snapping at his heels! Although “The Bullett” also had Hammal in front of him initially, and had to carve his way through. He was up to third past his old rival Searle before Mewse could pass Adamson, and on lap two all three of them got past the Lexa rider, and the chase was on! The Brit, with an excited crowd behind him, just kept ahead of the five-time World Champion, and they crossed the line less than a second apart – in the Honda man’s favour! Searle took a steady third from Adamson, with Hammal fifth and Carpenter beating Rizzi to sixth.
Mustoe, again top MX2, was ninth on track this time just behind Tom Grimshaw, who was in his first race back from his early-season shoulder injury, but Glen Phillips was only a second and a bit behind him, the local legend being cheered on by the fans in the know! Carless and Maule rounded out the top three to make that the Expert MX1 podium, as Bubb, White, and Ollie Harris claimed the top three places in the MX2 Experts.
Mewse’s second race win meant that he would claim the overall winner’s trophy, but there was a bigger prize on the line next – the six-lap Super Final!
Herlings takes the big one
There was no doubt that Jeffrey wanted the big money from this one, and even though he is not known as a demon starter he was on it this time, nailing the Holeshot and basically clearing off. Mewse started behind Searle and Adamson, but was quicker to pass this time and set off after Jeffrey, who made a slight mistake on lap five to raise the crowd’s hopes as the gap came down to just over a second!
Ultimately the race went to the record GP winner by just over two seconds, but it was a thrill to watch him on sections like the dragon’s back, where he just flew the factory Katoom over the quickest “triple-out” combination to make a tenth or two on the rest every time. A joy to watch, and Mewse again showed just how much he can dig out of himself against the very best. With Searle third, Hammal fourth, and Adamson fifth, most riders went home happy and with a bit of extra cash in their pockets, although Rizzi was less than impressed with Carpenter after a rougher pass than usual in a right-hander!
Ben Mustoe was a solid seventh as the top 250 rider, and Carless was top Expert in the Super Final with ninth place.
All in all, an amazing night of quick-fire Motocross for all concerned, and for sure the buzz of this event can only attract more riders and fans to Monster Mountain for round two, the Wednesday after the Preston Docks British Championship round. Join us there on the 23rd of July to see Herlings Vs Mewse Vs Searle and the rest, all over again!
Photo Credit Matt Lee
Results
65cc Youth:
| Pos | No. | Competitor | Points | R1 | R2 |
| 1 | 94 | Ronnie Morgan | 90 | 45 | 45 |
| 2 | 8 | Jaxson Hooper | 82 | 42 | 40 |
| 3 | 35 | Jeston Hillman | 80 | 38 | 42 |
| 4 | 7 | Preston Killoran | 78 | 40 | 38 |
| 5 | 596 | Noah Stevens | 72 | 36 | 36 |
| 6 | 257 | Osian Davies | 70 | 35 | 35 |
| 7 | 126 | Billy Rose | 68 | 34 | 34 |
| 8 | 1 | Preston Plaine | 66 | 33 | 33 |
| 9 | 65 | Archie Robins | 63 | 31 | 32 |
| 10 | 100 | Keenan Jones | 63 | 32 | 31 |
85cc Small-Wheel
| Pos | No. | Competitor | Points | R1 | R2 |
| 1 | 808 | Ruddie Jones | 85 | 40 | 45 |
| 2 | 447 | Rafe Symons | 85 | 45 | 40 |
| 3 | 225 | Jake Bryant | 84 | 42 | 42 |
| 4 | 801 | Rhys Jones | 76 | 38 | 38 |
| 5 | 122 | Parker Thomas | 71 | 35 | 36 |
| 6 | 9 | Harri Luckwell | 71 | 36 | 35 |
| 7 | 128 | Rueben McNally | 67 | 34 | 33 |
| 8 | 13 | Carwyn Nation | 66 | 32 | 34 |
| 9 | 133 | Finley Lewis | 33 | 33 | 0 |
85cc Big-Wheel
| Pos | No. | Competitor | Points | R1 | R2 |
| 1 | 525 | Casey Lister | 90 | 45 | 45 |
| 2 | 17 | Jaden Hill | 84 | 42 | 42 |
| 3 | 46 | Jesse James | 80 | 40 | 40 |
| 4 | 601 | Travis Thomas | 74 | 36 | 38 |
| 5 | 11 | Amarni Faith Davies | 74 | 38 | 36 |
| 6 | 7 | Jake Powell | 70 | 35 | 35 |
| 7 | 112 | Harrison Armstrong | 67 | 33 | 34 |
| 8 | 153 | Ioan Roberts | 66 | 34 | 32 |
| 9 | 5 | Tyler Evans | 64 | 31 | 33 |
| 10 | 25 | Charlie Stonelake | 63 | 32 | 31 |
Youth 125cc/250F
| Pos | No. | Competitor | Points | R1 | R2 |
| 1 | 830 | Logan Powell | 90 | 45 | 45 |
| 2 | 142 | Christopher Brindley | 84 | 42 | 42 |
| 3 | 5 | Lewys Morgan | 78 | 38 | 40 |
| 4 | 34 | Jayden Williams | 74 | 36 | 38 |
| 5 | 125 | Estyn Rowsell | 70 | 35 | 35 |
| 6 | 52 | Bailey Hodges | 67 | 31 | 36 |
| 7 | 617 | Harley Roberts | 66 | 34 | 32 |
| 8 | 368 | Bodie Jones | 65 | 32 | 33 |
| 9 | 115 | Rowan Jones | 63 | 29 | 34 |
| 10 | 247 | Cody Williams | 63 | 33 | 30 |
Steady
| Pos | No. | Competitor | Points | R1 | R2 |
| 1 | 5 | Tom Frowen | 90 | 45 | 45 |
| 2 | 62 | Michael Summers | 84 | 42 | 42 |
| 3 | 263 | Craig Lewis | 75 | 35 | 40 |
| 4 | 8 | Kian Harper | 74 | 36 | 38 |
| 5 | 666 | Marc Rourke | 70 | 34 | 36 |
| 6 | 11 | James Roberts | 65 | 32 | 33 |
| 7 | 37 | Philip Hurn | 65 | 33 | 32 |
| 8 | 369 | Mark Allan | 64 | 31 | 31 |
| 9 | 994 | Ben Prosser | 40 | 40 | 0 |
| 10 | 99 | Gavyn Griffiths | 38 | 38 | 0 |
Clubman
| Pos | No. | Competitor | Points | R1 | R2 |
| 1 | 44 | Danny Webster | 90 | 45 | 45 |
| 2 | 961 | Lewis Roden | 80 | 40 | 40 |
| 3 | 5 | Callum Watson | 77 | 35 | 42 |
| 4 | 4 | Luka Aston | 76 | 38 | 38 |
| 5 | 201 | Benito Sidoli | 70 | 34 | 36 |
| 6 | 810 | Jamie Aitken | 68 | 33 | 35 |
| 7 | 283 | Jack Jordan | 68 | 36 | 32 |
| 8 | 56 | Scott Stephens | 66 | 32 | 34 |
| 9 | 303 | Aaron Glencross | 64 | 31 | 33 |
| 10 | 1 | Reece Davies | 42 | 42 | 0 |
Vets 35+
| Pos | No. | Competitor | Points | R1 | R2 |
| 1 | 438 | Danny James | 90 | 45 | 45 |
| 2 | 74 | Jason Barry | 84 | 42 | 42 |
| 3 | 12 | Thomas White | 80 | 40 | 40 |
| 4 | 247 | Ryan Williams | 74 | 36 | 38 |
| 5 | 19 | Phillip Jones | 74 | 38 | 36 |
Vets 45+
| Pos | No. | Competitor | Points | R1 | R2 |
| 1 | 711 | Guy Langmead | 90 | 45 | 45 |
| 2 | 681 | Jeff Evans | 82 | 40 | 42 |
| 3 | 646 | Neil Thomas | 82 | 42 | 40 |
Experts MX2
| Pos | No. | Competitor | Points | R1 | R2 |
| 1 | 544 | Ollie Bubb | 90 | 45 | 45 |
| 2 | 338 | Ben White | 84 | 42 | 42 |
| 3 | 181 | Ollie Harris | 78 | 38 | 40 |
| 4 | 278 | Reagan Rogers | 78 | 40 | 38 |
| 5 | 19 | Ben Boxell | 36 | 36 | 0 |
Experts MX1
| Pos | No. | Competitor | Points | R1 | R2 |
| 1 | 414 | Glen Phillips | 87 | 42 | 45 |
| 2 | 68 | Shane Carless | 87 | 45 | 42 |
| 3 | 4 | Dan Maule | 80 | 40 | 40 |
| 4 | 220 | Josh Canton | 74 | 36 | 38 |
| 5 | 8 | Shane Jones | 74 | 38 | 36 |
| 6 | 101 | Rhys Baker | 69 | 34 | 35 |
| 7 | 725 | Luke Oldfield | 69 | 35 | 34 |
Pro MX2
| Pos | No. | Competitor | Points | R1 | R2 |
| 1 | 163 | Ben Mustoe | 90 | 45 | 45 |
| 2 | 101 | Jonathan Roderick-Evens | 84 | 42 | 42 |
| 3 | 40 | Ezra Blackwell | 80 | 40 | 40 |
Pro MX1
| Pos | No. | Competitor | Points | R1 | R2 |
| 1 | 426 | Conrad Mewse | 87 | 42 | 45 |
| 2 | 84 | Jeffrey Herlings | 87 | 45 | 42 |
| 3 | 100 | Tommy Searle | 78 | 38 | 40 |
| 4 | 912 | Joel Rizzi | 74 | 40 | 34 |
| 5 | 212 | John Adamson | 72 | 34 | 38 |
| 6 | 23 | Taylor Hammal | 72 | 36 | 36 |
| 7 | 184 | Jamie Carpenter | 70 | 35 | 35 |
| 8 | 16 | Tom Grimshaw | 66 | 33 | 33 |
| 9 | 211 | Jayden Ashwell | 63 | 31 | 32 |
| 10 | 22 | Travis Steels | 62 | 32 | 30 |
| 11 | 91 | Charlie Putnam | 31 | 0 | 31 |
Super Final
| Pos | No. | Competitor | Class | Diff | Best Lap |
| 1 | 84 | Jeffrey Herlings | Pro MX1 | 0.000 | 2:07.086 |
| 2 | 426 | Conrad Mewse | Pro MX1 | 2.021 | 2:07.318 |
| 3 | 100 | Tommy Searle | Pro MX1 | 33.017 | 2:09.153 |
| 4 | 23 | Taylor Hammal | Pro MX1 | 36.437 | 2:12.225 |
| 5 | 212 | John Adamson | Pro MX1 | 39.807 | 2:13.438 |
| 6 | 184 | Jamie Carpenter | Pro MX1 | 40.677 | 2:12.021 |
| 7 | 163 | Ben Mustoe | Pro MX2 | 42.228 | 2:12.788 |
| 8 | 211 | Jayden Ashwell | Pro MX1 | 1:09.197 | 2:16.646 |
| 9 | 68 | Shane Carless | Expert MX1 | 1:11.593 | 2:18.343 |
| 10 | 16 | Tom Grimshaw | Pro MX1 | 1:12.390 | 2:16.170 |
| 11 | 91 | Charlie Putnam | Pro MX1 | 1:28.346 | 2:19.580 |
| 12 | 544 | Ollie Bubb | Expert MX2 | 1:31.315 | 2:20.881 |
| 13 | 8 | Shane Jones | Expert MX1 | 1:33.172 | 2:20.578 |
| 14 | 220 | Josh Canton | Expert MX1 | 1:35.366 | 2:21.734 |
| 15 | 101 | Jonathan Roderick-Evans | Pro MX2 | 1:48.965 | 2:20.783 |
