October 11th, 2018.

British QX Championship, Canada Heights, Swanley, Kent, Sunday 7th October 2018.

Pictures: Paul Ervine

Reigning champion Paul Holmes edged closer towards retaining his British QX title with a narrow victory at Sundays’ penultimate round at a muddy Canada Heights in Kent.


Paul Holmes (39) leads the pack from Dafydd Davies (15) and George Callaway (89)

Holmes’ one-point-winning margin over Harry Walker belies the Yamaha man’s dominance of the meeting, which was staged in tricky conditions after heavy rain on the Saturday had left the hillside track very boggy in some key places. Indeed in qualifying many riders only completed the requisite number of laps to ensure they could race with Holmes, who only completed three laps, setting the fastest time.

Then, in the opening two heats, Holmes ensured he got the necessary early lead for the conditions and picked his lines carefully at the front to take relatively comfortable wins and look all set for a clean sweep.

However, in the final heat, when ironically the track was in the best condition it had been all weekend after a day of autumn sunshine, Holmes almost came a cropper when he got stuck in one of the few remaining soft sections on the opening lap, which dropped him from first to stone last. A strong fight back through the field, to take fourth at the flag, ensured that he just nicked the overall win at the death from Walker, who won the moto in fine style.


Murray Graham was out of luck in race one

In the opening heat Holmes was never threatened at the front and eventually won by six seconds. In the early laps his lead was over Welshman, Dafydd Davies and Scotland’s Murray Graham, before Graham’s raced ended in a cloud of steam with a stone holed a radiator hose. Despite his best efforts Davies was eventually hunted down by Walker, to finish third, with Leon Rogers taking fourth. However, the muddy going ruined many a good riders day with Carl Bunce, George Callaway and Dean Dillon, amongst others, all failing to finish because of it!

Race two was a tighter affair. Holmes again got to the front quickly and initially looked to be untouchable, However, former British Champion Mark McLernon, who had not got away well in heat one, had made a much better start and spent much of the moto nibbling away at Holmes’ lead, setting the weekend’s fastest lap in the process. However, in the closing staged, with his lead now down to a couple of seconds, Holmes turned up the wick and pulled clear again, while McLernon in turn was almost caught by a late charge from Walker who was just half a second behind at the flag.


Harry Walker on his way to victory in race three

In the final race history looked to be repeating itself with Holmes’ out of the gate first. However, as he got bogged down, it was Walker who led the pack past him for a lead that he held to the end. Once again though it was McLernon who led the chase and at one point he was within striking distance. However in the second half Walker posted five laps in succession quicker than his chaser to eek out a 27 second winning margin. In third was veteran Justin Reid having his best ride of the day after sixth and fourth in the earlier heats. It was enough to take the Ulsterman to fourth overall and move him up to fourth in the Championship.


Mark McLernon finished in third place overall

In the Willcock Holeformers Under 21 category Walker’s fine form ensured he left with a maximum 75 points, giving him a 26-point cushion over Davies going into the final round.

Davies, who was second overall moved back up to second in the series ahead Graham who could only manage third overall on Sunday following his race one problem.

Third overall in the Under 21s on Sunday was another Scot, Lorne Sinclair, who showed some good form, especially the second race when he finished seventh, his best British Championship result to date.


Dean Dillon’s Honda tackles one of the many big ruts

RESULTS
Overall: 1 Paul Holmes (Yamaha) 68 points, 2 Harry Walker ( ATVs R Us Yamaha) 67, 3 Mark McLernon (Yamaha) 58), 4 Justin Reid (Can-Am) 53, 5 Leon Rogers (WSP) 50, 6 Dafydd Davies (KTM) 50.
Race one: 1 Holmes, 2 Walker, 3 Davies, 4 Rogers, 5 Lindsey Duke (KTM), 6 Reid.
Race two: 1 Holmes, 2 McLernon, 3 Walker, 4 Reid, 5 Rogers, 6 Davies.
Race three: 1 Walker, 2 McLernon, 3 Reid, 4 Holmes, 5 Rogers, 6 Davies.

Championship points: Holmes 291, Walker 251, Rogers 248, Reid 217, Davies 195, Callaway 184
Under 21 overall: 1 Walker 75 points, 2 Davies 68, 3 Lorne Sinclair (Can-Am) 58, 4 Murray Graham (Honda) 52, 5 Dean Dillon (Honda) 52. No other finishers.
Under 21 Championship points: Walker 316, Davies 290, Graham 280, Dillon 254, Sinclair 228, Bevan 163.

Holmes now heads to Sunday’s final round of the Cromwell Trucks-backed championship at Foxhill in Wiltshire with a 40-point lead. With 75 points up for grabs over the three motos, his main title rival is now Walker who moved up to second in the series for the first time this year, thanks to his second overall at Canada Heights with a super-consistent 2-3-1.


Veteran Lindsey Duke on his way to a fine fifth in race one