Merry Christmas In March - Or, Easter Weekend Brings Snow To The Maxxis

"Merry Christmas!" It sounds through my car window as I pull into my parking spot at the second round of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship in Kent this past weekend. As much as that was meant to be a joke, you could swear that it is December 25 because the whole track is thinly covered in the white stuff, with the heavens opening up to chuck some more of it down. But no, it's Easter Sunday, it is March 23, and white Christmas is three months late. Canada Heights, so named after the Canadian troops camped out around this area in the Second World War, is one of the few tracks in the South East that has its races early in the year. The Sidcup and District MCC who owns the venue, has done a brilliant job preparing the track, but it is always Mother Nature who throws a spanner in the works.

Qualifying starts amid snow flurries with the MX2 class, with spectators thin on the ground and the riders quickly trying to work up a sweat to keep warm in the icy wind. Usually the spectators stream into the grounds around this time, but it is tough to beat the warmth of one's lounge. It's the hardcore folk who stand around the track, bundled up in the cold. With Red Bull KTM's Tommy Searle preparing for the World Motocross Championship, the field is wide open for anyone and everyone to win this. Team KTM UK's Shaun Simpson throws down the gauntlet to his peers; he takes pole with a time of just over 2:27. Next in line, two seconds later, is Molson Kawasaki's Stephen Sword, closely followed by UTag Yamaha's Martin Barr. Immediately after that, the MX1 class sees class champion Billy MacKenzie take pole for Monster CAS Honda. UTag Yamaha's Kenneth Gundersen is second, followed by ARB Tuning Kawasaki's Mark Jones.

Both classes are fully subscribed, so it is twenty-one riders in each class who are to line up together for the first support race. Just over half do, the others call it a day. MX1 rider André David leads the class to take the win, while Jack Brunell and Luke Kennett battle over the runner-up position. But it is MX2 rider Tom Watts on a KRM Racing Honda who blows right past both to take second. Kennett takes third.

The first MX2 race proves that Simpson is definitely someone to look out for this season. He dominates, he rules the race with a lead of over half a minute by the time the chequered flag waves for the riders. Although UTag Yamaha's Carlos Campano is second for a lap, Sword is the better of the two and goes on the offence. He tries to catch Simpson up for the remainder of the race. Barr, coming from fifth, tries to keep Sword in his sights also, and he has twenty seconds between him and Sword, for a third place. The remainder of the top ten does not differ much from this procession either; Suso MVR-D Suzuki's Jason Dougan is solid in fourth, his team-mate Carl Nunn comes from tenth to end in fifth, while Swift Suzuki's Elliott Banks-Browne is sixth. His team-mate Pascal Leuret ends eighth behind Campano. Former youth riders Mel Pocock and Kristian Whatley close out the top ten.

The first MX1 race delivers a bit of a surprise. Although MacKenzie takes and holds the lead, and Jones rides shotgun, it is who puts in a solid ride in fifth who has the crowd absolutely slack-jawed. It is none other than Scott Elderfield, the winner of the MXY2 class a fortnight ago at Donington Park. Riding an Elderfield KTM 250SX two-stroke, the fifteen-year-old youngster holds his own against the likes of PAR Honda's Jordan Rose, Pioneer Yamaha's Wayne Smith and Swift Suzuki's Brad Anderson. Although Anderson eventually passes Elderfield with a mere two laps to go, there are only five seconds between them at the finish line. The gap between Anderson in fourth and Gundersen in third is nearly forty seconds. The Grand Prix boys are fast, and this is ultimate proof of that. The only other two-stroke in the top ten is Wiseco Pistons Honda's Mark Eastwood in ninth.

The second support race looks to be in the bag for David, but again it is Watts who surprises the incumbents. Starting in fifth, he uses the cold and the wet sand to his advantage and delivers a last minute blow to David, taking the overall win on the day based on second race points. David ends second, and Dale Raynor third, with the latter third on the day as well.

Again it is Simpson who convincingly leads the second MX2 race. Unfortunately Sword does not have it this easy this time round. A bad start delays his hunt for second, and he has to be content with fourth after coming back from nineteenth. He is still third on the day though. It is Barr who is in third around the first corner and who soon beats DB Racing Honda's Neville Bradshaw. Bradshaw remains close on Barr throughout the race and there are only a couple of seconds between them across the finish line, whereas Simpson finished the race over forty-five seconds before. Class champion Mike Brown, who didn't make it around the first lap in the first race thanks to a mud-clogged radiator and a subsequent overheated engine, remains in fifth until the last lap, where Leuret makes a last-minute push to displace him to sixth. The times stretch in the lower half of the top ten, but Whatley, Banks-Browne and Dougan round it out beautifully.

There are big smiles on the podium as Simpson takes the top spot, flanked by Barr in second and Sword in third. Sword becomes the championship leader – A spot of déjà vu for him as it's exactly 3 years ago that he was in the same position. Barr and Simpson are second and third respectively.

As is usually the case, the sun comes out for the final race of the day, the second MX1 race. Again MacKenzie dominates, but Anderson and Molson Kawasaki's Tom Church keep up with him this time. Jones has a small mishap a third in as he misjudges a rut, loses control of the bike and crashes. He loses the position to Anderson, Gundersen and Church, but he is able to make up one place by beating Gundersen a few laps after. Smith again is close behind and ends in sixth; Team KTM UK's James Noble is nearly a minute behind him. LPE Kawasaki's Jamie Smith, NA Robinsons KTM's Michael Phillips and Eastwood close out the top ten.

This time round Elderfield has a bad start just inside the top twenty and works his way to twelfth, but Twisted7 Kawasaki's Bryan MacKenzie and Relentless Suzuki's Jamie Law are able to get by him in the last lap and he ends in fourteenth. Not surprisingly, Billy MacKenzie is on the top step for the day, deservedly so, while Anderson and Jones are tied for second and third, the tie broken based on race position. Elderfield, the wunderkind of the day, ends tenth overall on the day, a record if there ever was one lately. MacKenzie retains the lead in the championship by twenty-two points. Gundersen and Anderson tie for second and third, the tie again broken by final race points.

With the freezing cold making way for a glorious sunset, it's the cleaning and packing up that makes it just a little bit easier – if everyone wasn't stuck in the mud and needed tractoring out that is. At least one can hope that Round Three at Torrington in Devon in three weeks will have better weather, and just as good racing.

Results:

Championship Standings:

www.sidcupmotorcycleclub.co.uk

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