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British Championship

Race Report: Culham

A recap of all that went on at Culham.

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The Maxxis British Championship returned to Culham this past weekend, as the old-school circuit played host to the first Maxxis British Championship round. Rain threatened to derail proceedings, unfortunately, but the circuit coped well and was extremely demanding.

Ben Watson made a statement in the qualifying session, as he sat atop the times with an advantage of more than two seconds. ‘919’ failed to turn that into a holeshot in the first MX2 moto, however, as Harri Kullas emerged as the early leader. Kullas took advantage of a clear track and established an advantage immediately, hence why most presumed that it would be impossible for Watson to overcome the deficit. He did just that though and swooped into the lead at the halfway point.

The Hitachi Construction Machinery KTM rider managed to create a twelve-second cushion by the end of the moto and had the fastest time too. Kullas finished second, which was a good start to what promised to be a hectic day, with Josiah Natzke in third. Natzke actually closed in towards the end, after running alone in third for the entire moto. Mel Pocock, who started on the cusp of the top ten, and Brad Todd completed the top five.

The second moto was fairly similar to the first, as Watson had a mediocre start and worked his way forward after a couple of laps. Luke Norris actually took the holeshot in his Geartec Husqvarna debut, but lost the lead to Jordan Divall early on. Divall had a good run out front, but failed to stop Watson and had to watch him sprint away at the head of the field from lap three on. Divall still looked set to take twenty-two points home, but gave up the spot to Martin Barr with two to go. Barr moved forward from seventh on lap one.

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Site-Harri-Kullas
Harri Kullas rode all four motos on Sunday. Yeah, you read that right!

ConwayMX

Luke Norris held on for fourth and was actually just a second down on Divall at the chequered flag, with Brad Todd in fifth again. A brace of fifths was actually more than enough to give Todd third overall! The Planet Advanced Racing Suspension Husqvarna rider stood alongside Ben Watson and Harri Kullas on the box. Kullas finished second overall after working his way up from fourteenth to eighth in that second moto.

Jake Nicholls was just as impressive as his teammate, despite not taking the holeshot in the first of two motos. Jamie Law led the field early on in the first encounter, much to the surprise of pundits, but could only fend off Nicholls for a brief period. The race for the win was over as soon as ‘45’ broke into first place on lap two, as he maintained a comfortable advantage over Steven Lenoir in second. The top three were actually set from lap two on.

Elliott Banks-Browne chased those two across the line, after grabbing pole position in the timed session earlier in the day. Graeme Irwin put pressure on EBB, but crashed with a couple of laps to go and eventually limped to the finish in fourth. Kristian Whatley secured fifth place.

A better start in the final moto made life a lot easier for Nicholls, as he led on lap one and established an eight-second advantage after just two laps! Irwin started second, but failed to fend Brad Anderson off and had to eventually settle for third. That was good enough for second overall, however, as Steven Lenoir could only manage a fifth place this time around. Where was Banks-Browne? The Geartec Husqvarna rider was pushing Lenoir for a spot inside of the top five, but had to withdraw with a freak mechanical issue.

Words: Lewis Phillips | Lead Image: ConwayMX

British Championship

Bickers to supply UK market with Alpinestars

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This is great news for UK motocross dealers, who can now order Alpinestars Boots and Protection for the motocross and enduro community.

Full PR:
Bickers are pleased to announce a new partnership with Alpinestars, from 2024 Bickers will be a
newly appointed distributor of Alpinestars Off-Road range of MX, Enduro and Trials footwear and
protections.

Alpinestars has been redefining protection for motorcyclists ever since the company was established
in 1963. Commitment to innovation has led Alpinestars to become the world-leading manufacturer
of professional motorsport racing products, motorcycling airbag protection, high-performance
apparel, technical footwear, and helmets. Alpinestars understands that the best design and research
is achieved under extreme conditions. Their involvement in Formula 1, NASCAR, MotoGP, World
SBK, AMA Supercross and Motocross, MXGP, Dakar and more has led to the creation of the most
advanced technical equipment for the racing world’s top athletes.

Bickers and Alpinestars will be working together in the UK and Ireland (via Bickers Dornan) to create
an industry leading integrated sales program, reaching the Bickers dealer network; carrying stock in
2 strategic locations in the UK and Ireland to ensure next day delivery on all items.
Stock is in the UK and available now, to see the range visit alpinestars.com or bickers-online.co.uk.

Chris Hillard (Alpinestars Communications Manager)

Alpinestars are pleased to welcome Bickers as a distributor of our MX/Off-Road range in the UK and
Ireland. With their proven record in offering next day service to dealers; we see Bickers as a logical
partner to add to our already strong network of Dealers and Distributors in the region. With focus on
offering keystone hard goods from our range; namely Footwear and Protection. Central to our plan,
inside July/August 2024 Bickers will also become an Official Alpinestars repair and service center for
MX Goods, with the aim of increasing efficiency for our UK/Ireland based racers and customers
moving ahead, and we look forward to developing this partnership.

Derek McMartin (Bickers)
“Bickers are extremely excited to be able to service and sell Alpinestars Range of Off-Road Footwear
and Protection and cannot wait to start offering these great products to our dealers”
To see what Bickers offer, please go to bickers-online.co.uk
You can visit the Full Range at Alpinestars direct alpinestars.com.

Picture – KTM Group

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Breaking News

NPC 2024 IS ON! All eyes are on Oakhanger.

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Oakhanger will host the first round of the NPC series this weekend. Gulf Racing Fuels, which will support the series for the next three years, will be in attendance. The line looks impressive, while entry lists are still being worked on. Starting a series from scratch is always hard, but trying to do that in a recession and with industry budgets at an all-time low is even more challenging. The guys behind the NPC have been working around the clock to make this happen.

MX1 and MX2 classes will provide some exciting racing with this at the weekend. MX1 will see Tristan Purdon, Brad Todd, Jamie Carpenter, Carlton Husband, Tom Grimshaw, John Adamson, Dan Thornhill, Chalie Putnam, and Aaron Patstone lining up. MX2 will offer some great racing with Charlie Cole, Charlie Heyman, Ollie Colmer, Ben Mustoe, Glen McCormick, Callum Mitchell, Syd Putnam, Ben Franklin, Harvey Cashmore and Liam Bennet all looking to get some hours in the bank racing.

Justin Barclay and Alfie Smith have produced a stunning track for riders to compete on. As I’m typing this update, more British riders are signing up, and they will be confirmed every day leading up to what will be a historical event. I say historical because I believe this series will go from strength to strength and offer one of the best championships in the UK and, hopefully, Europe.

The Acerbis is cancelled this weekend, so places at the NPC are filling up fast. There are four groups, and wildcards are still available in each group.

Entries for the event can be accessed here: https://nora92.com/event/nora-pro-championship-round-1/#tribe-tickets

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British Championship

Andrew Short confirmed for the 2024 VMXdN at Foxhill

No Short measures for Team USA

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The promoters for the annual VMXdN Foxhill have announced that former factory HRC, KTM Factory Racing and Monster Energy Yamaha rider Andrew Short will be racing at the legendary Wiltshire Grand Prix circuit over August bank holiday weekend (August 22nd-26th) as part of the American squad.


Words: Press Release | Lead Image: Supplied


Short has had a stellar sixteen-year pro career, during that time, he earned over 50 podium finishes and nine wins, he is also one of the nicest guys you could wish to meet. One of his personal highlights was being part of the American Team that won the 2010 Motocross of Nations held in his home state of Colorado. 

After he retired from professional motocross at the end of 2016, Short then worked as a team advisor and brand ambassador for Factory Honda HRC before making a big transition to compete in rally racing and take on the ultimate rally race – the Dakar.

After a steep learning curve, he was able to become competitive in rally and even took his first win at the 2019 Rallye du Maroc, a leadup to the 2020 Dakar. He raced for the Rockstar Husqvarna team as well as the Monster Energy Factory Yamaha rally teams.

After a nasty injury while riding at home, he is now back to full fitness and bang up for the challenge that is Foxhill, the greatest 2-stroke event in the world. Short will race a 2002 YZ 250 built and maintained by the crew at DocWob. Team USA won the inaugural event in 2022 and finished 3rd behind Team GB and Team Northern Ireland in 2023. 

The race is already creating a huge buzz with new and returning legends being announced weekly, it really is a whos’ who of the sport through the golden heydays of the 90’s and 00’s era.

Labelled by RacerX magazine as “the Woodstock of two strokes” the event simply goes from strength to strength.

With ticket sales up year on year, the promoters have been blown away at the response to the event and are urging spectators to purchase tickets asap. Could this be the first outdoor motocross event in the UK to be ticket only? Camping passes will be capped at last year’s numbers as simply putting it – it was full!

Ensure your place at the most anticipated event on the British MX calendar by booking early.

Saturday, Sunday, Weekend and Camping passes are available at https://vmxdnfoxhill2024.eventbrite.co.uk

Keep up to date with all the VMXdN Foxhill news

www.vmxdnfoxhill.com 

www.facebook.com/vmxdnfoxhills 

https://www.instagram.com/vmxdnfoxhill/

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