Mitchell Wins British Championship at Milton Park

Tuesday October 4, 2011 at 12:25am

ACU Goldspeed British Quadcross Championship, Round Six, 2nd October 2011, Milton MX Park

Words and Photography by Alistair Plant

This weekend saw John Mitchell clinch the 2011 ACU Goldspeed British Quadcross Championship title at the ACU Events organised final round held at Milton Park MX track. Going into the round onboard his ATV World Yamaha 450, Mitchell needed to take four points to keep ahead of his only title contender Paul Holmes in an extended round, covering three races and with a maximum of 75 points.

{John Mitchell celebrates winning the British Championship - Click for high resolution image}

Paul Holmes qualified fastest and Stef Murphy took the holeshot in race one. Taking the lead, Murphy had started the day on joint points and battling for the under 21 championship with James Hellewell. Unfortunately, a crash and a subsequent disqualification on lap three; all but ended Hellewell’s chances to fight for the title. Meanwhile Holmes had worked his way up to second place and with 17 minutes left on the clock, took the lead. “Once I was leading the race I found a good rhythm and rode within my comfort zone while working a five second gap. I’m happy with the win and the points.” Holmes commented as he took the vital maximum points from the race.

It was Carl Bunce who took second place. After settling behind Murphy, he was able to pass and leave Murphy to grab third position. All eyes were now on Mitchell. He finished in fifth, ensuring he could not be beaten and claiming the 2011 championship. “I knew I didn’t have to win this one so I did what I was comfortable with. After getting a decent start I nearly got wiped out so I got up to fifth and nursed the bike home. I’m absolutely over the moon, delighted I’ve done it.”

{The action remained fast paced even in race three - Click for high resolution image}

With the title decided, there were still positions in contention and the under 21s to be decided. In race two, Ricky Tordoff made an impressive start, taking the lead and disappearing into the dust. However, soon Holmes was closing in and took the lead. With Bunce again on excellent form he moved into second place. Meanwhile, Mitchell had been busy working his way through while Holmes had spun out. Seizing the opportunity Mitchell took the lead, winning the race ahead of Bunce and a resurgent Hellewell who took third. It was a delighted Murphy who finished fourth and with it the title of under 21s champion. “I’m really pleased with the result, particularly after the poor start to the season but I found my bearings in the championship and happy I took the title in the last round.” Said Murphy. Despite his crash, Holmes managed to take fifth.

{Paul Holmes takes first place with the overall win - click for high resolution image}

After a restarted final race due to a false start, which had been cut to 20 minutes plus two laps, Holmes again took the early lead. He managed to maintain his position to take first place overall ahead of Bunce and Mitchell. “I managed to hold a really tight line to take third out of the first corner and took first by the end of the opening lap. I pushed really hard as I wanted to win the overall round after finishing second in the championship. I’m happy with that.” Commented Holmes on his first overall win of the season. It was also a great result for Carl Bunce as he explained: “Second on the day and third overall in the championship. Spot on really, good result.”
The battle in the masters championship saw Paul Harkness, Anthony Barrett and Darren Bridge battling it out for the 2011 title. Barrett won the first race but with two wins from the following two races it was Harkness who won on the day and took the championship. David Coatsworth wrapped up the Support round impressively taking maximum points ahead of Chris King and Sam Payne.

{Harkness, Barrett and Bridge Battled all day in the Masters - click for high resolution image}

There was plenty yet to be decided in the youth class championships with overall wins on the day, some incredible performances and championship titles for Leon Rodgers in the 250cc open class, Frazer McFadden in the 250cc modified class, Anna Dawson in the 250cc stock, Bailey Edwards in the 100cc geared, James Rawlins in the 100cc standard, Dafydd Davies in the 100cc modified and Jonty Wright in the 50cc standard. Despite a strong performance to win overall on the day, Jordan Harris had to settle for third in the championship as Brad Swinbank took the 250cc Standard 2011 title. It was a similar story in the 50cc modified class as Marcus Sprason won on the day with George Oliver doing enough to win the championship.

Results overall on the day:
British Championship: 1 Paul Holmes (Yamaha) 25 + 16 + 25 =66, 2 Carl Bunce (Suzuki) 22 + 22 + 22=66, 3 John Mitchell (Yamaha) 16 + 25 + 20 =61, 4 Stefan Murphy (Honda) 20 + 18 + 15=53, 5 Oliver Sansom (Yamaha) 14 + 14 + 18 =46, 6 Conner Smith (KTM) 15 + 10 + 12 =37

British U21 Championship: 1 Stefan Murphy (Honda) 25 + 22 + 25 =72, 2 Conner Smith (KTM) 20 + 18 + 20 =58, 3 Luke Cooper (KTM) 0 + 20 + 22 =42, 4 George Callaway (Yamaha) 22 + 15 + 0 =37, 5 James Hellewell (KTM) 0 + 25 + 0 =25, 6 David Cowan (Yamaha) 0 + 16 + 0=16

Masters (+35): 1 Paul Harkness (Honda) 22 + 25 + 25 =72, 2 Antony Barrett (Suzuki) 25 + 22 + 22 =69, 3 Darren Bridge (Yamaha) 18 +20 + 20 =58, 4 Chris Murphy (Honda) 16 + 16 + 18 =50, 5 Steve Bean (Suzuki) 15 + 15 + 15 =45, 6 Andrew Wilcock (Honda) 14 + 13 + 14 =41

Support: 1 David Coatsworth (Suzuki) 25 + 25 + 25, 2 Chris King (Yamaha) 22 + 22 + 18 =62, 3 Sam Payne (Honda) 18 + 20 + 20 =58, 4 Darren Jukes (Honda) 20 + 15 + 16=51, 5 Tom Charlesworth (Honda) 0 + 14 + 22 =36, 6 Phil Munday (Suzuki) 16 + 18 + - =34

250cc Open: 1 Leon Rogers (Kawasaki) 25 + 25 + 25 =75, 2 Scott Pounder (Honda) 22 + 22 + 20 =64, 3 Harry Moore (Yamaha) 20 + 18 + 18 =56, 4 Callum Bates (Yamaha) 0 + 20 + 22 =42, 5 James Swinbank (Honda) 18 + 15 + - =33, 6 Taylor Gibb (KTM) 16 + 16 + 0 =32

250cc Modified: 1 Frazer McFadden (Yamaha) 18 + 25 +25 =68, 2 Conner McKenna (Yamaha) 20 + 20 + 22 =62, 3 Jamie Morgan (Yamaha) 25 + 22 + - =47, 4 Murray Graham (Yamaha) 22 + - + - =22, 5 Adam James (Yamaha) 0 + 18 + - =18 (No other finishers)

250cc Stock: 1 Anna Dawson (Yamaha) 25 points (No other finishers)

250 Standard: 1 Jordan Harris (Yamaha) 15 + 22 + 25 =62, 2 Luke Davis (Yamaha) 22 +25 + 15 =62, 3 Brad Swinbank (Yamaha) 25 + 14 + 22 =61, 4 Jack Naylor (Yamaha) 20 + 20 + 18 =58, 5 Joe Ruby (Yamaha) 18 + 18 + 16 =52, 6 Tommy Pittaway (Yamaha) 12 + 16 + 20 =48

100cc Geared: 1 Bailey Edwards (Honda) 22 + 25 + 25 =72, 2 Harry Walker (Honda) 25 + 22 + 22 =69, 3 Harry Carmichael (RM) 20 + 20 + 20 =60, 4 Ryan Spratt-Wyatt (Cobra) 15 + 16 + 16 =50, 5 Ben Charlesworth (Cobra) 16 + 14 + 15 =45, 6 Conner Reece-Paxton (KTM) - + 18 + 18 =36

100cc Modified: 1 Dafydd Davies (Apache) 25 + 25 + 25 =75, 2 Ayrton Knowles (Cobra) 22 + 22 + 22 =66, 3 Connor Fitzgerald (Apache) 20 + 20 + 18 =58, 4 Declan McKenna (Cobra) 18 + 18 + 20 =56, 5 Thomas Chell (Pro Shark) 16 + 16 + 16 =48

100cc Standard: 1 James Rawlins (Pro Shark) 25 +22 + 25 =72, 2 Josh Birch (Apache) 22 + 25 + 22 =69, 3 Joeseph Jukes (Apache) 20 + 20 + 18 =58, 4 Vanessa Wilcock (Apache) 15 + 18 + 16 =49, 5 Nathan Penrose (Pro Shark) 18 + 16 + 14 =48, 6 Georgia Atkinson (Apache) 16 + 15 + 15 =46

50cc Modified: 1 Marcus Sprason (Pro Shark) 22 + 22 + 25 =69, 2 George Oliver (Cobra) 25 + 25 + 16 =66, 3 Shelly Smart (Pro Shark) 20 + 20 + 18 =62, 4 Alfie Joe Walker (Lawn Flight) 18 + 18 + 18 =54, 5 Dylan McKenna (Cobra) 16 + 16 + 20 =52 (No other finishers)

50cc Standard: 1 Jonty Wright(Apache) 25 + 25 + 25 =75, 2 Woody Jackson (Apache) 20 + 22 + 20 =62, 3 Brad Hopps (Lawn Flight) 22 + 15 + 22 =59, 4 Ewan Williams (Apache) 18 + 20 + 18 =56, 5 Joshua Talent (Apache) 15 + 18 + 16 =49, 6 Charlie Teale (Pro Shark) 14 + 16 + 15 =45

Masters of quad. Mitchell and Winrow

{Paul Winrow hands over the British Championship number one plate - Click for high resolution image}

» Categories: Quad News

Mitchell Wins British Championship at Milton Park

Other Recent Articles