Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship 2008
Round 4 – Lyng – Sunday 4th May
Mackenzie steamrollers onwards
Reigning number one Billy Mackenzie’s relentless assault
on the 2008 Maxxis ACU British Championship showed no signs
of easing after the CAS Honda rider guided his blackened factory-backed
machine to another comprehensive double moto victory at round
four of eight. A quick course and warm temperatures greeted
the racers at the Lyng circuit in Norfolk where the MX2 class
was also swept by former multi-champion Stephen Sword in front
of one of the biggest crowds the venue has seen.
Twenty-four year old Mackenzie deservedly gathered the headlines
over weekend after yet another pole position and set of chequered
flags. The fourth overall win from four also saw the 2007
title-winner register his eighth triumph from eight motos.
This devastating streak of form means that he now holds a
lead of sixty-five points; an advantage of more than two motos.
The battle for second place on this occasion was won by Swift
Suzuki’s Brad Anderson who is still recovering from
an injured shoulder and beat KTM UK’s James Noble by
four points with second and third positions. Noble was handicapped
by an incident in race one when the Whitby-resident hit a
fallen Mark Hucklebridge and lost several places before rejoining
the fray. The latter would also recover and score fourth in
the final classification.
Mark Jones grabbed third spot in moto one, but a hefty crash
ruled him out of the second sprint while Molson Kawasaki’s
Tom Church finished behind the Welshman in the opening race
only to have mechanical trouble in moto two.
“It was our first ‘full-speed’ meeting
of the year; where the track was not slow or technical and
the weather was not against us,” commented Mackenzie.
“After my mistakes at the Portuguese Grand Prix last
week I was keen to get myself back on-track and I’m
glad I have the British Championship to blow away some frustration.
It was almost like training for me today.”
In the MX2 class Molson Kawasaki’s Stephen Sword drilled
his works KX250F to deflect the attentions of KTM UK’s
Shaun Simpson. The twenty-seven year old overtook his rival
in the first moto to win and then capitalised on Simpson missing
a gear in race two to reach the line first; his third success
from four outings and now he heads the series by twenty-two
points. In third place was Relentless Suzuki’s Lewis
Gregory, enjoying a personal best, and still missing race
fitness due to recovery from a broken wrist.
MX1 Moto One: 1: Mackenzie 2: Anderson 3: Jones 4: Church
5: Noble
MX1 Moto Two: 1: Mackenzie 2: Noble 3: Anderson 4: Campano
5: Smith
MX1 Overall: 1: Mackenzie 50 2: Anderson 42 3: Noble 38
Championship to date: 1: Mackenzie 200 2: Noble 135 3: Anderson
131
MX2 Moto One: 1: Sword 2: Simpson 3: Dougan 4: Gregory 5:
Nicholls
MX2 Moto Two: 1: Sword 2: Simpson 3: Nunn 4: Banks-Browne
5: Gregory
MX2 Overall: 1: Sword 50 2: Simpson 44 3: Gregory 34
Championship to date: 1: Sword 179 2: Simpson 157 3: Barr
137
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