What a weekend. From the stunning riverbeds of Portugal to the sandy hillsides of Lyng and the iconic Landrake Moto Parc, Plews Tyres supported riders were racing across continents and multiple championships simultaneously. James Moore climbed to the top of the podium at Extreme XL Lagares, Charlie Heyman put in one of the performances of the season so far in MX2, and the youth riders came out swinging at the British Nora Cup opener. There was drama, dominance and a few hard luck stories along the way, here's the full breakdown:
Extreme XL Lagares Hard Enduro
Round 2 of the Hard Enduro World Championship headed to Portugal for the Extreme XL Lagares hard enduro race. This was a brilliant race that truly gave riders and fans the hard enduro experience. A combination of dense bush terrain, open clear areas with beautiful views and of course we can’t forget the forests and seemingly never-ending riverbeds.
The format of the event was over 3 days. Day 1 was an unexpectedly challenging 60km route with 3 point up for grabs. Day 2 was a much longer and more demanding 120km route with 10 points on the line and a final day 3 consisted of a 5km multi lap race with a maximum of 20 points. We have a number of Plews supported riders in both the pro and junior championship as well as the youth cup. The following is a summary of their races and results.
Pro Championship
Mario Roman shared that it was a super tough 3 days of racing but he is very happy with the results. He ended up sitting within the top 5 in all three races with two podiums. Mario finished the prologue in 3rd as well as the sprint race gaining essential championship points. In the main race Mario was racing up until the final lap for a podium position. He had some technical issues affecting one of the sensors that slowed the pace a bit but he pushed hard and was passed on the final lap. Overall Mario leaves the weekend in 5th in the championship class. Reflecting on his performance he believes that he can improve moving forward and excited for the next round in the US.
@Macphotos
Matthew Green is one of our original Plews supported riders. In the prologue Matt made a strategic decision to pull out of the race as only the top 3 riders were up for points so he could save energy for race day 2. The sprint race was a long day in the saddle and Matt did a great job sliding into the top with a P9 finish and taking 2 points towards the championship. The final race was a tough push and while he raced well and push hard he just wasn’t able to keep up with the extreme pace. He was still able to secure 2 points with a P14 finish and left the weekend in P11 overall. Reflecting on the weekend he mentioned that they were raced with some of the most slippery riverbeds but it was great riding in Portugal. He was very happy with his Plews tyre choices which was the soft in the front, it helped him with traction in the rivers and the Tough One Extreme in the rear.
@Macphotos
Fransesc Moret started his race weekend with a great result in the prologue with a P6 finish. Unfortunately not getting any points towards the championship but he would follow up this performance with a P3 finish in the night race setting himself up for a good starting position for race day 2. On the second day he finished in P16. Heading into the main race day it was clear he was feeling good as he had a great race pace and was riding brilliantly. He crossed the line in 13th securing 3 points towards the championship.
@Macphotos
Radford Chugg is our Plews supported wit the biggest personality in addition to his impressive riding skills. Starting off with the prologue, Radford found it quite challenging and pushed hard but pulled out after checkpoint 6 to save energy for race day 2. The sprint race was a long day with the thumb throttle where he finished P21. Look at at the main race Radford could be found singing on track and enjoying the beautiful terrain and views. To finish his weekend Radford completed 7 laps of the 5km track with a fast pace and consistent riding. He crosses the line in P24.
@Macphotos
Junior Championship
James Moore is our reigning Junior world champion and went into this round with an extra sense of fire after coming 2nd in the previous round. Starting the weekend James came P9 overall in the prologue and P3 in the junior class. The sprint race was where we could see him pick up the pace finishing P6 overall and taking his first win in the junior class. Heading into the final race James shared that he expected a lot of riders on the track so good passes would be essential. His goal was to keep it smooth and make as few mistakes as possible. He had a really good start and was sitting in second for a while with great battles with Mitch. He stayed in 3rd for a while and found the last few laps where a big challenge due to the high intensity. He crossed the line in P6 in the pro category and P1 in the juniors. He stand on the top of the podium for XL Lagares.
@Macphotos
Toby Shaw entered this race sitting in 3rd in the junior championship behind James with 25 points. He raced phenomenally over the weekend which is not a surprise coming from a Junior Super Enduro Champion but considering that hard enduro is not the style of racing he has much experience in he is proving that he is going to be a rider to keep an eye on this season. In the prologue Toby finished 11th not taking any points to wards the championship. In the Sprint race he crossed the line in 4th which was a great result getting him 7 points. The final race was fascinating to watch, he had some great racing against Luke Walker all the way to the finish. Toby managed to slip into 3rd position and took home 15 points. Overall he finished the weekend in 3rd overall in the Junior Championship class.
@Macphotos
Youth Cup
Damon Garrell is racing on a 125 bike which he shared is a big challenge especially on some of the hardest tracks in the world. He is a South African rider who’s part of the Trademore Sherco team. He had some brilliant results over the weekend taking the top spot in all three races. He finished the weekend top of the box in the Youth Cup. Reflecting on the terrain, Damon shared that the riverbeds were quite similar to where he rides in SA and that he felt he had great traction from the Plews Tyres in the race. Kyle Gianotti is an Italian rider who also had some great results from the weekend. He finished all three races in 3rd position and rounded out the podium in the Youth Cup.
@Macphotos
MXGB
Round 3 of the MXGB Championship took place at Lyng. This is a sand based track on a natural hillside without too many man made obstacles. A spectacular track and one enjoyed by many but still quite physically demanding for riders.
MX1 Class
Charlie Putnam, an SC Sporthomes Husqvarna rider had a solid qualifying session in P13. A couple of crashes in race 1 meant he had to work hard through the field to finish P19, before a much better start in race 2 saw him running inside the top 6 and coming home in P16. Syd Putnam who is another SC Sporthomes team rider, also had another solid weekend as he continues to get more comfortable on the 450. Finishing both motos in P22, he showed more progress throughout the day and came close to scoring points, making it another positive step forward.
|
Rider |
Race 1 |
Race 2 |
Overall |
|
Charlie Putnam |
P19 |
P16 |
P18 |
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Syd Putnam |
P22 |
P22 |
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@TMS
@TMS
MX2 Class
In the MX2 class there were some big successes to take away from the weekend. Charlie Heyman from the SC Sporthomes Husqvarna team had a perfect day. After qualifying P1, he went on to take 1-1 in both races with two confident rides, two holeshots, and every lap led across the weekend. A dominant performance sees him keep hold of the red plate going into Round 4, now with a 32-point lead in the championship. Another SC Sporthomes rider is Sotirios Fotakis who put together two solid motos, making good passes and continuing to show his potential. With P36 and P31 finishes, there were plenty of positives to take away and a lot to build on heading into the next round.
Jamie Keith referred to his weekend as a scary day in the office. He had a decent P7 result in qualifying and was off to a solid start for race 1 sitting top 5 off the start. He had an unfortunate altercation with another rider who took out his front wheel and left him dead last needing to push hard to catch up. He made it to P17 before another serious crash left him with an injured collarbone and out of race 2. Ryan Waggot had some great results over the weekend with a P18 in race 1 and a P27 in race 2. He will be looking to keep improving on these in the next round.
|
Rider |
Race 1 |
Race 2 |
Overall |
|
Charlie Heyman |
P1 |
P1 |
P1 |
|
Ryan Waggot |
P18 |
P27 |
P21 |
|
Sotirios Fotakis |
P36 |
P31 |
/ |
@TMS
@TMS
125 Class
Joel Winstanley - Dawson had some consistent racing over the weekend in the 125 class. In race 1 he finished in P7 and in race 2 his result was P8. Those gave him an overall position of P7 which is a brilliant result. Chad Prince is another SC Sporthome Husqvarna rider who qualified P18. A crash in race 1 meant he had to fight his way back through the field to finish P23. A much better start in race 2, along with a strong ride, saw him bring home P14. This is his best result of the season so far.
|
Rider |
Race 1 |
Race 2 |
Overall |
|
Joel Winstanley - Dawson |
P7 |
P8 |
P7 |
|
Chad Prince |
P23 |
P14 |
P17 |
@TMS
Be sure to follow our Plews Behind The Brand Youtube series. In episode 3 we shine light on Charlie Heyman from the SC Sporthomes Husqvarna team - Charlie Heyman perfect day 1-1-1 Behind The Brand Vlog MXGB Motocross Championship
British Nora Cup
The opening round of the British Nora Cup took place at the iconic Landrake Moto Parc over the weekend.
Big Wheel 85
Great weekend for Charlie Mitchell who qualified in 1st and got the holeshot prize. He shared that race one was very muddy but he managed to get his head down for the race win. Race 2 saw another holeshot and he managed to pull a good lead for P1. Monday’s first race started with another holeshot and a race win but by the time race two came around the track had gotten quite rough. He knew he had to try and be in the top 3 to win and managed a 2nd place which puts him top of the podium in 1st.
Small Wheel 85cc
Ronan Watson put down some impressive riding after not being on hard pack in over a year. He qualified in P4 and had an unfortunate situation running off the track but this did not affect the rest of his racing. He finished 1st in 3 out of the 4 races with a P8 in race three due to a small crash and a red flag. Overall Ronan stands in 2nd on the podium.
65cc
Jenson King had very good results at round one of the championship. P4, P4, P1 and P3. To walk away from the weekend with a win is a big bonus and to add a couple holeshots was extra cool. Jenson even lost his seat in race 3 but managed to still persevere and cross the line in 3rd. Overall he stands in 2nd on the podium.
Cohen Llewellyn raced very consistently over all four races on the weekend and came home with brilliant results being P3, P5 , P2 and another P2. Overall he stands 3rd on the podium securing good points for the championship.
Freddie Budgen is another Plews supported rider who raced in the 65cc class with great results. He felt a bit slow to begin with and it took time to become familiar with the track layout but he picked up the pace each race. He crashed a couple times but bounced back to finish with good results P5, P6, P4, P4. He leaves Landrake in 4th overall just missing the podium.
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Autos
Austin Senior impressed many with his racing over the weekend. He seemed to really enjoy the track and took maximum points after winning all four raced and standing on the top of the podium.
Ben Matthews had a great weekend of racing coming P3 in the first three races and improving that with a P2 in race four. Overall he stands in 3rd on the podium in the Auto class. Ben had some technical issues with his bike after the qualifying but received support from the community to get back racing.
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