Belgium’s Kevin Strijbos was in imperious form at Cadders Hill for round three of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship on Sunday as he took a clean sweep of victories in all three MX1 races, while Bury St Edmunds’ Elliott Banks-Browne claimed two MX2 class wins to move in to second place in the championship standings.

Strijbos made his intentions clear in morning qualifying by setting the pole time to give him the pick of position on the start line for the afternoon’s races, as his title rival Matiss Karro could only manage fourth behind Stephen Sword and Jason Dougan.

When the gate dropped for the opening MX1 encounter it was Strijbos who powered his HM Plant KTM UK machine to the head of the field, with Monster Energy Bike It Yamaha’s Shaun Simpson right in his wheel tracks. The two Grand Prix stars were never more than 20 metres apart throughout the 25 minute race distance, which kept the Bank Holiday crowd on their toes. At the flag it was less than a second separating the duo, with Sword having a fairly lonely race in third on the Tyco Suzuki. Behind him Karro made up for a poor first lap by working his way past Dougan to claim fourth, with Estonian Gert Krestnikov grabbing sixth with the chequered flag in sight.

In the second race Sword forced his 450cc Suzuki to the front as the pack streamed in to the Norfolk countryside. His time in the lead was short lived as both Simpson and Strijbos charged past and resumed their battle for supremacy. It seemed only a matter of time before the Belgian took the initiative and on lap eight of twelve he duly brushed aside the home challenger and went on to extend his advantage to seven seconds by the finish. Former Grand prix winner Marc De Reuver on the Lanes Kawasaki overcame the disappointment of a first race crash to move in to third on lap three and hold the position to the end, while the STR KTM team pairing of Karro and Nathan Parker were fourth and fifth, just ahead of early pacesetter Sword.

The third and final MX1 clash, on the superbly prepared Cadders Hill track, was a gate to flag victory for Strijbos who showed his full world championship pace to win by a massive 20 seconds. Behind him though, things were a little more frenetic. Fast starting Sword held second for two laps before being overtaken by both Karro and Simpson on one corner, as the two embarked on a ferocious battle for the second step on the podium. It was Simpson who cracked first, making a mistake that let through a gaggle of riders including Karro, Sword, De Reuver, and Krestinov. At the flag the luckless Scotsman has barged his way past the Route 77 Energy Honda of Krestinov and Sword for fourth, with Parker once again coming home sixth.

Leaving Lyng, Strijbos has extended his MX1 championship lead to 31 points, with Simpson moving ahead of Karro by just two points, and Sword is a further 37 adrift in fourth.

The first race on the packed afternoon race programme was the MX2 class, which saw Buildbase Honda’s Nicolas Aubin getting the pick of the gate after setting the standard in qualifying, with Banks-Browne, Graeme Irwin and Bryan Mackenzie filling out the top four places.

With the rain doing its best to dampen the proceedings, Banks-Browne kept the local crowd warm by charging in to an unassailable lead in the first MX2 race. He came under early pressure from Steven Lenoir on the Samsung Yamaha before the Frenchman had to give best to his team mate Graeme Irwin who maintained his second place at the finish. Bryan Mackenzie on the Rockstar KTM held a solid third until championship leader Mel Pocock fought his way through the pack after getting caught in the traffic early on. At the end of the race Lenoir had dropped to fourth, with Mackenzie fifth and South African Neville Bradshaw rounding out the top six.

It was handlebar to handlebar action for laps one and two of the second race with Pocock and Banks-Browne giving and asking no quarter. As the two young chargers battled for the lead it was the local rider who tasted the Cadders Hill dirt, before remounting in sixth and forcing his way back to a creditable fifth by the end. Pocock went on to take the win, with Irwin, on his comeback from injury, picking up a tremendous second in front of Mackenzie and Lenoir, with Lewis Tombs capturing sixth when Bradshaw went out on the final lap.

Banks-Browne made no mistakes in race three as he rode his HM Plant KTM UK 250cc machine to a relatively straightforward win by over six seconds ahead of Pocock. The title hunt leader battled through from fourth on the first lap, to pass Lenoir and Mackenzie for a safe second, with Irwin fifth and young Nathan Watson ending his day on high with sixth on his PAR Honda.

Heading for round four Pocock still holds the championship leaders red plate but Banks-Browne is now second in the standings just 15 points shy, with Bradhsaw dropping to third after a poor day by his standards.

Report by Phil Armes
Photo and video by Paul Sewter

More pictures from this event can be found in the Photo Gallery

For those who couldn't make it to the Maxxis ACU British Motocross championship round at Lyng a short video is available below.