May 9th, 2019.

Nora-MX QX Championship, rounds 2 & 3, Sunday 5th & Monday 6th May, Grittenham, Wiltshire

The second and third rounds of the 2019 Nora-MX Championship were hosted at the super-fast and popular Grittenham track in Wiltshire. The club welcomed an impressive 160-plus riders to the first of the two-day racing weekend and the superbly prepared track made for close racing across all classes. Many new faces, exciting action, competitors from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and as much fun off the track as on, with plenty of eating, drinking, games and an impromptu talent show were the order of the weekend.


Pros - #15 Davies #69 Callaway #919 McLernon

Day one saw Mark McLernon in the Pro class, Jack Norris Pro Am/U21, Alfie Walker 250 Open, Michael Haydon Clubman, Ed Davies Masters A and Novice Myles Mott all keeping a clean sheet against tough opposition in their individual classes, taking three wins from three starts apiece.

In the Pro/Pro Am Class, Dayfydd Davies grabbed the holeshot in the opening race and led until passed by McLernon on lap eight, who went on to win the moto ahead of Davies. Luke Cooper was second away but DNF’d by lap three. George Day was away in fourth, in third by the end of the first lap and held it to the finish line. Harry Walker made short work of his eighth start, to grab fourth. George Callaway, 15th off the line, went downhill by a couple of places but made a rapid rise to seventh by lap seven, moving to a final finish of sixth. Oli Samson held a solid fifth position until the closing stages of the race, finishing in seventh. The second moto saw Davies away in first again, but McLernon was through at the end of the first lap, a position he held to the chequered flag. Calloway was again well down off the start but stormed through to second, whilst U-21 rider Tom Day finished third. Race three saw Luke Cooper shoot off the line, only to be passed by McLernon, followed by George Day; both positions were held to the flag. Callaway again made it difficult for himself with a ninth off the line, however, pulled through to third with Cooper fourth, Davies fifth and Walker in sixth.

It was the Robbie Wood/Walker show in the 250s. Wood blasted away from the line first in all three races and led the second and third motos right up until the closing stages of the race. Walker got the better of him each time though to win all three, with Wood a close runner up. Dylan McKenna went third to third in the opening race with Luke Berlyn doing a great job in race two to pull up from ninth to third, and held a steady third in the final race.


Novice group - #14 Lent #91 Lomas

The Masters was all about the masterful Davies with three wins; the first of which saw him down the field in ninth on the first lap of the first race. He worked through the pack to take the win, and then the next two with ease. He was followed across the finish line in all three races by Johnathan McKnight.

Gary Atkinson won the overall on the day in Clubman Elite with Haydon taking three straight wins in the Clubman class. In the Novice group, Mott took three straight wins ahead of Reece Swann with a trio of seconds, and Bradley Goddard third in class. However, it was a different story on track as the winning ladies were right up there in the mix of the Novice leading pack with Ameelie Miller third in the first and second races and Catrin Davies second in race two and third in race three. In the ACU Ladies class itself, Miller claimed a first and two seconds, whilst Davies took a second and two wins.

The 100cc group mixes auto and open with the 50cc racers. Alfie North took a flag to flag win in race one, DNF’d race two and then won race three. Overall winner, Connor Yates, took the second race win ahead of Frank Marston and Louie Holt. Yates and Marston finished second and third in the final moto. Malaky McKenna was the top 50cc rider.


100cc combined with 50cc #11 Bedding #14 Robe #13 Smith

ROUND TWO RESULTS

PRO
1. Mark McLernon 120, 2. George Day 101, 3. George Callaway 101, 4. Dafydd Davies 101, 5. Harry Walker 93, 6. Tom Day 89

PRO AM
1. Jack Norris 120, 2. Iestyn Rowlands 105 , 3. Ayrton Knowles 98

250 OPEN
1. Alfie Walker 120, 2. Robbie Wood 111, 3. Luke Berlyn 103

250 AIR-COOLED
1. Aled Davies 114, 2. Josh McKnight 107, 3. Iestyn Rees 103

CLUBMAN ELITE
1. Gary Atkinson 117, 2. Thomas Yates 105, 3. Ryan Walters 101

CLUBMAN
1. Michael Haydon 120, 2. Jamie Bone 105, 3. Marcus Sprason 102

MASTERS A
1. Edward Davies 120, 2. Johnathan McKnight 111, 3. Greg Fisher 103

MASTERS B
1. Gary Jones 72, 2. Matthew Kirk 71, 3. Richard Clark 68

NOVICE
1. Myles Mott 120, 2. Reece Swann 111, 3. Bradley Goddard 105

ACU LADIES
1. Catrin Davies 117, 2. Ameelie Miller 114, 3. Georgia Lent 103

100cc OPEN
1. Connor Yates 114, 2. Alfie North 109, 3. Frank Marston 105

100cc AUTO
1. Brooke Bunce 112, 2. Charlie Eaton 109, 3. Brodie North 105

50cc
1. Malaky McKenna 117, 2. Ella Robe 112, 3. Morgan Humphreys 107

In the bank holiday Monday’s third round, McLernon’s winning charge was halted in the opening moto when Walker pulled through from fifth off the line to second, and then into the lead by half race distance. Tom Day, who was out front until lap five when passed by Walker, finished fifth, whilst Oli Sansom, who had followed Day out of the gate, finished ninth. McLernon pulled up from a fourth place start to second and George Day was third. Sansom took the second race holeshot but McLernon was quick to take the lead on lap four and made it stick. Off the line in sixth, Callaway made good, and held the lead briefly, finishing second ahead of Walker who had recovered from a bad start to take third. McLernon clearly meant business in the final Pro moto of the weekend, taking the holeshot and win ahead of George Day in a race-long second, and Callaway who finished third.


Pros - #3 Sansom #39 Tom Day

The ever-consistent Wood, made it three out of three in the 250 class with straight wins. Walker was a little low on the luck front with a sixth, DNF and then dead-last to fourth in the third race. Berlyn put in three great second-place performances with McKenna third in the first, and Chad Beever taking third in races two and three.

Davies once again reigned supreme in the Masters with McKnight taking three seconds, although he almost upset the Davies applecart in the third race which he led right up until the final couple of laps. Greg Fisher took the final podium position in third.

Scotland’s Gary Atkinson took Clubman Elite honours and Marcus Sprason took his first overall in the Clubman class. The combined Novice/ACU Ladies again saw the fast Davies and Miller in the leading on-track pack, with Mott taking the first two Novice wins and Goddard the third. Iwan Jones and Gavin Roach were second and third overall in-class. Davies and Miller shared the Ladies spoils with Davies taking race one and two wins, and Miller taking the last moto win. Shelley Smart finished third on the day.


Novice class - #213 Myles Mott

Riley Honor’s second, third and win were enough to give him the overall in the 100cc Open, with Brooke Bunce taking all three wins in the Auto. Ella Robe won the first race in the 50cc sub class, and leads the championship, but McKenna made short work of the next two to win both. Back for her second Nora-MX visit, Harriet Mewse collected a trophy for third place on day two, whilst new-to-Nora-MX 50cc competitors Bea Drinkwater, Jacob Baker, Elise Plank and William Harden all put in sound performances to collect valuable points.


Combined 100s/50s - #55 Kellaway #7 Stott #141 Eaton

ROUND THREE RESULTS

PRO
1. Mark McLernon 117
2. Harry Walker 108
3. George Day 105
4. George Callaway 105
5. Dafydd Davies 89
6. Tom Day 89

PRO AM
1. Jack Norris 109
2. Jamie Morgan 105
3. Iestyn Rowlands 101

250 OPEN
1. Robbie Wood 120
2. Luke Berlyn 111
3. Dylan Mckenna 105

250 AIR-COOLED
1. Iestyn Rees 120
2. Josh McKnight 109
3. Aled Davies 107

CLUBMAN ELITE
1. Gary Atkinson 117
2. Samuel Holmes 105
3. Craig Fisher 99

CLUBMAN
1. Marcus Sprason 115
2. Sonney Ward 109
3. Michael Haydon 103

MASTERS A
1. Edward Davies 120
2. Johnathan McKnight 111
3. Greg Fisher 105

MASTERS B
1. Richard Clark 117
2. Gary Jones114
3. John Hall 101

NOVICE
1. Bradley Goddard 114
2. Iwan Jones 103
3. Gavin Roach 103

ACU LADIES
1. Catrin Davies 117
2. Ameelie Miller 114
3. Shelley Smart 105

100cc OPEN
1. Riley Honor 112
2. Connor Yates 109
3. Frank Marston 99

100cc AUTO
1. Brooke Bunce 120
2. Ellie Stott 109
3. Ethan Legg 97

50cc
1. Malaky McKenna 117
2. Ella Robe 114
3. Harriet Mewse 105

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 3

PRO/PRO AM
1. Mark McLernon 329, 2. George Callaway 321, 3. Harry Walker 310, 4. George Day 297, 5. Dafydd Davies 271, 6. Tom Day 246

250
1. Robbie Wood 342, 2. Luke Berlyn 319, 3. Dylan Mckenna 301, 4. Alfie Walker 300, 5. Chad Beevers 289, 6. Lewis Humphris 258

CLUBMAN
1. Samuel Holmes 288, 2. Thomas Yates 274, 3. Ryan Walters 247, 4. Craig Fisher 242, 5. Lewis Rowles 235, 6. Gary Atkinson 234

MASTERS
1. Edward Davies 360, 2. Greg Fisher 317, 3. Johnathan McKnight 294, 4. Darren Bridge 267, 5. David Marriott 250, 6. Mark Stepney 247

NOVICE
1. Catrin Davies 315, 2. Myles Mott 314, 3. Bradley Goddard 308, 4. Gavin Roach 259, 5. Shelley Smart 255, 6. Cameron Wildman 245

100cc
1. Connor Yates 337, 2. Frank Marston 305, 3. Riley Honor 303, 4. Alfie North 293, 5. Louie Holt 293, 6. Ellie Stott 229

50cc
1. Ella Robe 346, 2. Malaky McKenna 333, 3. Harriet Mewse 309, 4. Morgan Humphreys 251, 5. Bea Drinkwater 188, 6. Elise Plank 60


A start-line incident in the last race of day one eventually resulted in an emergency sprint to Swindon hospital for Ayrton Knowles. The former Youth champ got back on his quad and finished the race, however, clearly to those around him, was struggling as he crossed the line. A ruptured spleen will keep the popular 18-year-old out of action for a while but news from the hospital is that he’s doing as well as can be expected. The whole team at Nora-MX wishes him a speedy recovery. Image: Georgia Leggett

Round four of the Nora-MX Championship will be held at the popular West Meon track in Hampshire on Sunday the 19th of May. Entries now open – Clubman class filling up quickly. www.nora-mx.co.uk

Report images: John Cook