Mixed Mayhem at Milton Malsor
31 May 2012
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Temperatures soared on Sunday all over England and the central area of Northamptonshire was no different, giving the crowd a taste of summer and the riders a little difficulty on what was to become a very dry and dusty track at Milton Malsor. Practise left Monster Energy Bike-It rider Mel Pocock with a bad taste in his mouth after an unjust decision made by officials left him with last gate choice, the worst possible standing. Whilst getting a few practise laps under his belt, a fence post clipped the brake of young Mel's Yamaha YZ250F leading him to pause for a few seconds to check for any damage that might have affected the bike; however very clear rules state that no stopping is allowed during practise, so although Mel had a more than reasonable excuse and appealed, the penalty applied nonetheless. One minute was added to his qualifying time, meaning he missed out on the superpole and had the last gate pick.
The gate choice left the championship leader at a serious disadvantage but he yet again demonstrated his ability to overcome any obstacles he faced, finishing in third after a good start and a serious battle through the whole pack.
The second race began in the same fashion, the track had been pounded in the previous races and as a result, was incredibly dusty and left problems for the riders trying to see the track. The effects of Mel's gate placement became more apparent and it became harder and harder to fend off the competition despite a good start, leaving Mel in 19th.
Shaun in the MX1 class showed his ability to consistently get the results he needs to keep him in the running for the title after two very strong races gave him a 3 – 2 respectively in the weekend after the gruelling two flyaway races in Mexico and Brazil.
Great starts on his Yamaha YZ450f gave him the ammunition he needed to give Mattis Karro a run for his money, however the latvian championship leader was on top form the whole day and even Shaun's excellent riding couldn't remove him from the top spot.
In a twist, the last race of the day was a mixed MX1 and MX2 class race rather than the two separate third races which left for some very intense racing, thrilling the crowd. The top twenty riders of each class battled it out to earn those coveted championship points, there was no staggered start for the MX2 riders either. The power of Shaun Simpsons YZ450f really came into its own here, the first lap bringing him into the lead and setting the difference between himself and Mattis Karro. Shaun's dislocated shoulder injury gained in Mexico caused a loss of pace towards the middle of the race and Karro stole the lead with Shaun eventually finishing in 2nd, an undeserved result when compared to the quality of his racing. A podium second was once again Shaun's reward as the championship title is still wide open.
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
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