Mewse maintains perfect British championship season for Crendon FASTRACK Honda
Red plate holder Conrad Mewse yet again dominated both gruelling motos to clinch the overall victory for the Crendon FASTRACK Honda in Sunday’s British MX1 championship round at a rain-hit Preston Docks in Lancashire. As the series hit the half way point, Mewse once again started the day in perfect form by setting the fastest lap in qualifying and went on to win both races by almost half a minute as the sandy track continued to cut up and get rougher. He is unbeaten in the series this year.
Jamie Carpenter got hurt in the first moto and retired from the day.
But it was terrible news for MX1 team-mate Jamie Carpenter who crashed hard on the first jump of the opening race. He was unable to miss a downed rider who fell right in front of him and the race was red-flagged for him to receive medical attention.
He was helped off the track with a knee injury and will undergo scans on Monday. It was a real shame as he was bidding for his first podium of the season after coming so close in every round so far. He still holds fifth in the series.
Jake Nicholls used his experience to master the tough conditions.
And in MX2, part-time racer Jake Nicholls couldn’t quite match the pace he had at the last round where he narrowly missed a podium place. He didn’t have the best starts in either race at Preston Docks, riding again top competition including world MX2 champion Kay De Wolf and GP regular Kay Karssemakers who were having one-off rides. Nicholls still took eighth overall on his Crendon FASTRACK Honda CRF250R and is sixth in the series.
Mewse was the master of the tricky Preston track.
As the gate dropped for the opening MX1 moto, Honda rider Josh Gilbert led with local hero Adam Sterry and Mewse giving chase. But the race was cut short due to Carpenter’s nasty crash. The restart saw the same riders battling for the lead, along with Joel Rizzi who quickly took the top spot then was swiftly demoted by Sterry.
The Welshman tried his best to pull away but Mewse rode a wise race and started to catch him. On lap five Mewse made his move and pounced, then stretched his lead out as Sterry couldn’t match the Honda man’s pace. As Triston Purdon moved up to third place, Mewse stretched his lead at the front to win by 29.9 seconds from Sterry with Purdon third a further 40 seconds back.
Mewse was in command and had two flawless races.
Mewse said: “One-one results and a perfect day again. I’m super happy and it’s amazing to keep the winning run going. I had some solid starts, found my rhythm quickly and rode my own race to get to the front. The track was naughty today so it could catch you out. It cut up a lot and was very rutty and bumpy so it was tough – very challenging.
“We made some changes to suspension between the motos and thanks to the team, Ryan, Rob, Willie and Luke who worked their butts off today and without them, none of this would be possible. The wrist is good now so I’m just trying to improve, week in, week out.”
Suspension changes between races helped the British championship leader to dominate the day.
In the MX2 class, Crendon FASTRACK Honda CRF250R rider Jake Nicholls admitted he wasn’t on top form as his full-time work as managing director of Tru7 means he has not had as much time on the bike as his rivals in recent weeks. But he set a commendable ninth in qualifying then took a gamble on picking a gate towards the inside of the first corner.
But he didn’t get a great start and was battling hard just inside the top ten, looking more comfortable as the race progressed. But as the race passed the half way point, a rider fell and the moto was red-flagged.
Nicholls turned on the style as he rode hard.
Then for the first time in British championship motocross history, a brand new rule was implemented where the riders had a staggered start in the order they were when the race was stopped. So leader De Wolf started first and Nicholls tenth. In a mad sprint where all the riders were bunched up, Nicholls held on for tenth, fending off an attack from Billy Askew right down to the line.
The 35-year-old Nicholls used his experience to go even better in the final race as the track hit its roughest. He came out of the start in 11th then worked hard to make progress right through the race. He worked his way through to seventh after lots of battles with current EMX aces Gyan Doensen and Max Werner. That gave him eighth overall and he a solid sixth in the championship – just 31 points behind the leader Tommy Searle.
Nicholls is loving the latest Honda CRF250R.
Team manager Ryan Thorpe said: “It was an day of great highs with Conrad riding so well to win both motos with ease, to the terrible crash that Jamie had and now faces a knee injury. It’s such a shame as he has been working very hard and since joining the team has had his best ever start to a British championship season in MX1. It was only a matter of time before he got onto the podium. We obviously don’t know the extent of his injury yet but we wish him all the best in his recovery.
“Jake had some decent results against really tough competition. It’s not where he wanted to finish but he rode well on a tough and demanding track and is not far behind the lead of the championship. All credit to him, and of course Conrad who was just exceptional again today. He’s a true talent and had a perfect day once more.”
For a full set of photos go to https://we.tl/t-LKJfcOt1qt
Results MX1:
1 Conrad Mewse Crendon FASTRACK Honda 50
2 Adam Sterry 44
3 Tristan Purdon 40
4 Taylor Hammal 36
5 Josh Gilbert 31
6 Martin Barr 28
7 Tom Grimshaw 26
8 Dan Thornhill 23
9 Charlie Putnam 23
10 Liam Knight 18
Championship points after four rounds
1 Conrad Mewse Crendon FASTRACK Honda 200
2 Adam Sterry 169
3 Josh Gilbert 131
4 Tristan Purdon 129
5 Jamie Carpenter Crendon Tru7 Honda 97
6 Taylor Hammal 92
7 Martin Barr 92
8 Carlton Husband 77
9 John Adamson 71
10 Dan Thornhill 70
MX2:
1 Kay De Wolf 50
2 Kay Karssemakers 44
3 Charlie Heyman 38
4 Gyan Doensen 35
5 Ben Mustoe 33
6 Glenn McCormick 29
7 Josh Vail 26
8 Jake Nicholls Crendon FASTRACK Honda 25
9 Max Werner 25
10 Gavin Stevenson 20
Championship points after four rounds
1 Tommy Searle 131
2 Billy Askew 130
3 Charlie Heyman 125
4 Ben Mustoe 92
5 Gyan Doensen 110
6 Jake Nicholls Crendon FASTRACK Honda 100
7 Glenn McCormick 99
8 Ollie Colmer 99
9 Bobby Bruce 93
10 Josh Vail 84
