Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship 2007
Preview – Rnd 5 Desertmartin – Saturday
23rd June
MacKenzie and Searle lead the charge as the series
visits Northern Ireland
 Round
five of the 2007 Maxxis ACU British Motocross championship
will take place on Saturday 23rd June at the fantastic Desertmartin
circuit in Northern Ireland, which hosted a Grand Prix less
than twelve months ago. The compact and highly spectacular
track has benefited from a whole host of changes in more recent
years, and in doing so has become one of the most popular
venues for many of the riders.
Billy MacKenzie – De Groot Kawasaki will lead the MX1
title assault as the action shifts to the far side of the
Irish Sea just at the point where the championship moves past
its halfway stage. MacKenzie along with the other many GP
runners who contest the British series will be at the busiest
point of their season, with Desertmartin being the third stop
on a four-week consecutive tour that will include no less
than three Grand Prix, plus one domestic outing.
Billy is currently Britain’s highest placed MX1 runner
on the World stage, however the feel good factor from his
recent GP win in Japan was short lived, with the shocking
and sad loss of his team boss Jan De Groot just a week later.
Twelve months ago MacKenzie was runner up to Carl Nunn in
the first MX2 race at Desertmartin, but he will be looking
for a better showing this time around with last year’s
MX1 winner Josh Coppins now out of the picture.
The usual crop of chasing talent is sure to include 2006
champion Ken De Dycker – CAS Honda, Brad Anderson –
Pioneer Yamaha, James Noble – Multitek Honda and local
hero Gordon Crockard – PAR Honda. Crockard will be hoping
the luck of the Irish is with him on home soil to make amends
for the cruel luck he suffered at the last round when his
chain broke whilst holding a podium place in the first MX1
moto.
Carl Nunn – Bike It Yamaha was the dominant force in
the MX2 category at Desertmartin in June 2006, with back to
back race wins earning him the overall victory on the day
ahead of Tommy Searle – KTM UK who placed 3 -2 over
the two motos. Twelve months on and Nunn is still getting
back to form after having suffered a nasty back injury at
a pre season international meeting. In contrast Searle has
become the man to beat in this class, with consistent and
mature results for his domestic season to date.
The trip to Ireland will see Searle continue his year long
battle with Gareth Swanepoel – Molson Kawasaki, with
the two youngsters enjoying fierce fights with each other
both on the British and World stages. Searle’s advantage
over Swanepoel is only slight in both cases, leaving the KTM
runner in no doubt that rivalry is set to last right through
to the final moto in the two different championships.
Far from being a two horse race for the MX2 title, Mike Brown
– CAS Honda heads up a large team of challengers, that
includes Sean Hamblin – Swift Suzuki, Tom Church –
Molson – Kawasaki and Elliot Brown-Banks – Swift
Suzuki who just could make things difficult for the leading
duo at Desertmartin.
The action will get underway at 9.30am with qualifying for
the MX2 contenders, followed by an autograph session with
all the top riders in both classes at 11.40am. The first support
race will be at 12.30pm, whilst the championship races kick
off at 1.05pm, with the first MX2 clash. For more information
about this round and the rest of the series, please visit
the official championship website www.mxgb.co.uk
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