AMCA Championship Preview

All roads lead to the AMCA owned circuit at Nympsfield in Gloucestershire this weekend as the Dursley MXC stage the opening round of the 2013 MX1 and MX2 Championships.And,what a series it promises to be as virtually all of last season’s main protagonists will again be in action including the 2012 Kings,Lee Payne(MX1) and Jack Cox(MX2).

Lewis Belfield

Riding on his home circuit,2012 runner-up Lee Dunham will certainly be one of the favourites to start the new campaign with a big Championship points haul and possible podium placing in MX1.Current Champion Payne though is always a very tough nut to crack and you can be sure he intends to keep a firm grip on that AMCA MX1 title trophy.Other riders to look out for in the big 450F opening battle should be current IMBA team members Clinton Barrs,Shaun Pearce,Lewis Belfield,Michael Reynolds and Luke Meredith along with the likes of Stephen Tillotson, Chad Yarranton,Elliot Barrs,Scott Bates and Jamie Dobson.Making the move across from 250F to MX1 are the 2011 AMCA MX2 Champion Shane Holmes and regular top five and IMBA rider Sean Frayne.Expect both of these lads to also be right in the mix.

What a contest the race for the 2013 AMCA MX2 crown promises to be!!.Leading the entry is the immaculate 2012 Champion,Midlander Jack Cox,but after missing out on the crown by just seven points in the final round of last year’s series at Hawkstone,two-stroke KTM pilot Ben Saunders will be desperate for revenge!!.When you also throw right into the mix some seriously fast young guns,Paul Neale,Ryan Crowder,Adam Wells,Joseph Del-Busso and Ryan Morris to name but a few,the MX2 chase should be red hot.

Also looking to climb a couple of rungs further up the AMCA MX2 Championship ladder and going in search of title glory is Scott Mathia(5th in 2012) and Carl Benjamin(8th in 2012).During the Winter,Carl has switched over to KTM machinery following a long association with Kawasaki and will be desperate to fire his new mount to a podium placing with Nympsfield being his home club circuit.Joining Carl in action will be his brothers Brandon and Mitchell.Also in MX2 keep your eyes on the likes of Ryan Jones,Martin Jones and the very experienced James Lane.

With the early season Championship qualifiers cancelled due to inclement weather,the possible new threats to the dominance of the established stars in both MX1 and MX2 is at this stage unknown but the picture will become clearer after Sunday’s opener.However having moved across from MX1,Richard Cannings should prove to be a major threat in the 2013 MX2 contest.Other riders of note and making their Championship debuts at Nympsfield are current AMCA Ladies Champion Leonie Smith and Zac Stealey a regular top performer in the British Masters,both also going in the MX2 class and keen to make a big,early impression.

So after a tough Winter of training programmes and practising,it’s time for the talking to stop and the racing to start.Get along to Tinkley Lane,Nympsfield in Gloucestershire on Sunday 7th April for some serious AMCA Championship action!!.

Source: http://moto.mpora.com/race-reports/amca-championship-preview.html

Connor McGechan Jeremy McGrath Andrew McFarlane Brett Metcalfe Heikki Mikkola