Sunday saw the opening round of the 2014 Maxxis British Sidecarcross championships take place at Culham Park. The weather conditions were ideal with plenty of spring sunshine and the track had been prepared well by the organising club.
With twenty seven teams entered it was now time for all the paddock rumours and gossip about who was going really well during winter practice to cease and racing to begin
Current champions, Stuart Brown / Josh Chamberlain made their intentions quite clear in timed practice when they posted a lap nearly three seconds faster than Daniel and Joe Millard. In third place were Richard Jenkins / Dan Chamberlain with Nick Jarvis / Ryan Humphrey fourth.
When the gate dropped for the first of the three scheduled races Brown got the holeshot with Jarvis close behind and Millard in third place. Brown very soon pulled away from Jarvis who was coming under pressure from Millard. By the half way point Jenkins was now right in the wheel tracks of Millard but it was difficult to overtake and he was unable to get past. Brown went on to win by over twenty seconds from Jarvis with Millard third.
The second race was red flagged following a crash involving Rob Oldfield / Josh Haynes. Josh was unhurt but Rob was very shaken and had damaged his shoulder.
In the re run Brown once again took the holeshot from Millard with Jenkins third and Wilkinson / Kirwin fourth. Jarvis / Humphrey didn’t make it to turn two as they crashed going down the hill. Humphrey fell out and was hit by a number of bikes. Incredibly he got away with no major injuries but his days racing was over. Brown kept the pressure on for a few laps and opened up a gap of about twenty seconds after which he rode comfortably to take his second win of the day. Millard and Jenkins rode their own races to finish second and third. Wilkinson was comfortable in fourth until the last corner when he got tangled up with a back marker losing over twenty seconds in the process. Despite this he didn’t lose fourth place.
In the final race of the day Brown again got the holeshot with Jenkins this time in second, Millard third and Wilkinson fourth. Jarvis with replacement passenger Josh Haynes was in fifth. Brown quickly opened up a significant gap over Jenkins and then never looked back. Jenkins soon came under pressure from Millard but try as they might they couldn’t get past. Brown / Chamberlain rode superbly for the rest of the race and were never in trouble as they went on to complete a clean sweep with win number three. Jenkins was second with Millard third.
After the first three races of the championship Brown has 75 points with Millard second on 62 and Jenkins third on 60.
More:
- Check out our gallery from Culham
- Browse our calendar of Events
- Take a look at our off-road motorcycle range
Report and photo credit: Chris Helm, SMCA Press Officer
