MX1 CLASS REALLY HOTS UP AS MATISS KARRO SWEEPS ALL THREE MOTOS AND ELLIOT BANKS-BROWNE TAKES THE RED PLATE IN MX2 AT ROUND 4 OF BRITISH MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP IN MILTON, NORTHAMPTON

Scorching weather and crystal clear skies greeted motocross enthusiasts in Northampton this weekend as Round 4 of the increasingly exciting 2012 British MX Championship arrived to thrill the crowds all day.

MX2

The soil was loose and gravelly after morning practise and superpole qualifying, with Raptor Titanium's EBB of HM Plant KTM UK gaining the upper hand in the first race after his main championship rival, fellow Raptor Titanium sponsored rider Mel Pocock of Monster Energy Bike It Cosworth Yamaha was forced to take last gate pick after a technicality in qualifying saw him take a 1 minute penalty. EBB battled with fellow Raptor Titanium sponsored rider Nicholas Aubin of the Buildbase Honda squad through the first race, though was eventually able to ease out a decent enough lead to be able to hold off the Frenchman until the chequered flag.

Race 2 was similar to the first as EBB got a sufficient enough start to control the race from early on and hold off Aubin once again, and though despite a late charge from Aubin to threaten for the lead, EBB never looked like capitulating and took the race 2 win deservingly.

MX1

The star of the day in MX1 was Team KTM STR's Latvian sensation and Raptor Titanium sponsored rider Mattis Karro who was in utterly dominant form off the back of a highly successful couple of rounds in the South American leg of the FIM World MX GP Championship. The British Championship red plate holder and man-to-beat so far, Raptor Titanium sponsored rider Kevin Strijbos of HM Plant KTM UK was looking for matching form to Karro's after a great few rounds in GP racing himself including a podium at the GP of Brazil, but had a tough day as he was forced to work his way up through the pack in every race as his prowess out of the starting blocks so far this season seemed to be amiss slightly putting him at a disadvantage to his main rivals, particularly in the first race where he was immediately down half a lap to the rest of the field following his engine being clogged with dirt round the first corner. The Belgian persevered and fought back up to 9th in race 1, gaining him valuable points as his fellow Raptor Titanium sponsored rivals Karro won the race with TYCO TAS Suzuki's Stephen Sword in 2nd and Shaun Simpson of Monster Energy Bike It Cosworth Yamaha in 3rd.

The Latvian continued to dominate in the second race, though was pushed much closer by a pursuing Simpson who pressured him all race, but was still suffering with a shoulder injury from the Mexican round of the GP series so could not make a full challenge.

MX1 & MX2 Superfinal

The final races were combined to see out the day a little differently to the standard three race format seen in the British Championship so far this season, with the top 20 overall riders from both classes competing against each other with no MX2 head-start and the points would count in their actual race positions.

The battle for MX2 supremacy in the superfinal was between EBB and Samsung Yamaha's Stephen Lenoir who used the packed field to get a great start ahead of the rest of the MX2 riders and pull an early advantage on EBB, but it didn't last until the end as EBB made his quality show, eventually passing the Yamaha rider and finishing highest among the MX2 crowd to increase his lead over Mel Pocock in the championship and to make for a close few rounds in the last half of the season.

Another blistering start from Simpson and Karro meant the battle was on for precious points as the two stand-out riders of the day went head-to-head, Simpson gaining the early advantage through the dusty, dry conditions of Milton Park. Kevin Strijbos had the final nail put in the coffin of a bad day for him as throttle failure midway through the superfinal put an end to his chances of retaining the red plate. Simpson was soon closed in by Karro who affirmed himself as the dominant force of the day on his 350-F KTM and sprinted off to a big lead to take all three races on the day and maximum points, now putting himself in pole position for the MX1 title as the championship goes to the Desertmartin circuit in Northern Ireland on June 24th.

MX2 Overall

1 44 Elliott Banks Browne 65 25-25-15
2 272 Neville Bradshaw 46 16-20-10
3 131 Nicolas Aubin 44 22-22-0
4 121 Bryan MacKenzie 43 14-16-13
5 685 Steven Lenoir 38 6-18-14
6 5 Graeme Irwin 35 18-15-2
7 111 Ray Rowson 32 12-14-6
8 119 Mel Pocock 31 20-2-9
9 711 James Cottrell 31 15-13-3
10 9 Stuart Edmonds 22 13-1-8

MX2 Standings

1 44 Elliott Banks Browne 235
2 119 Mel Pocock 216
3 272 Neville Bradshaw 183
4 685 Steven Lenoir 175
5 121 Bryan MacKenzie 173
6 131 Nicolas Aubin 151
7 5 Graeme Irwin 146
8 114 Jordan Booker 109
9 9 Stuart Edmonds 96
10 711 James Cottrell 90

MX1 Overall

1 91 Matiss Karro 75 25-25-25
2 24 Shaun Simpson 64 20-22-22
3 9 Joshua Coppins 52 16-18-18
4 8 Stephen Sword 52 22-14-16
5 227 Kristian Whatley 51 15-16-20
6 37 Gert Krestinov 40 18-15-7
7 25 Jamie Law 33 11-11-11
8 22 Kevin Strijbos 32 12-20-0
9 31 Alex Snow 27 5-10-12
10 50 Martin Barr 27 14-13-0


MX1 Standings

1 91 Matiss Karro 248
2 24 Shaun Simpson 239
3 22 Kevin Strijbos 238
4 8 Stephen Sword 188
5 37 Gert Krestinov 176
6 227 Kristian Whatley 145
7 25 Jamie Law 131
8 212 Marc De Reuver 130
9 50 Martin Barr 125 123
10 31 Alex Snow 119 129