FAB-Racing finale sees Championship go down to the wire

The Red Lodge Circuit in Suffolk hosted the final round of the FAB-Racing Minibike British Championships

MK-GP70

Going into the weekend there was only 15 points splitting championship leader Lucas Brown, and second place man Johnny Garness. With 75 points on offer at the final round, everything was to play for.

It was Garness who was starting from pole position as Saturday’s rain-soaked Race 1 got underway. Brown quickly took the lead on the first lap, determined to get ahead of his championship rival. But it was a charging Harrison Mackay who carved his way through the field, diving through on both Garness and Brown to take the lead lap 2. Mackay proceeded to break away at the front leaving an enthralling 6 rider battle for 2nd place between Brown, Garness, Clayton Edmunds, Mason Foster, Alfie Davidson, and Hollie Harris. Garness and Brown continued to swap positions at the front of the group, making lunges, banging bars, and showing how much each wanted the championship. The 6-rider battle then became 4 as Alfie Davidson crashed out, and Harris dropped off the back of the group. Mackay proceeded to win the race by 4 seconds, and it was Brown who extended his championship lead by 19 points taking 2nd place ahead of Garness, Foster, Edmunds, and Harris.

FAB-Racing, Round 7

Just 50 points left on offer as they went into Sunday with only two races of the season left. Mason Foster took the holeshot in a very wet race 1, with a determined Brown swooping around the outside of poleman Garness to slot into 2nd place. Foster proceeded to run away at the front, ahead of race 1 winner Harrison Mackay in a lonely second with Garness and Edmunds swapping positions for 3rd. Championship leader Brown watched from a distance as he dropped back, not able to stick with Garness and Edmunds.  However, it quickly became a battle for 2nd as Mackay in front suffered from a massive high-side crash on the exit of turn 8.  Foster went on to win the race by 4.6 seconds ahead of Edmunds who got the better of Garness to take 2nd place. Brown fended off Davidson and Ted Wilkinson to take 4th place, meaning that the battle for championship was back down to 16 points.

The championship went right down to the final race of the year and it was Garness who needed to outscore Brown by at least 16 points to become champion. Another wet race saw Foster take the holeshot once more ahead of Johnny Garness.   Brown found himself dropping down the 5th place with Mackay and Edmunds slotting in front of the number 29. It was a front two breakaway with Foster and Garness extending their lead on the rest of the field. Likewise, Edmunds and Mackay were involved in their own battle for the final podium place. Brown was a distant 5th leading a group containing Davidson, Wilkinson, Harris, and Greg Marshall.  Half race distance and Garness began to drop back from Mason Foster, with Mason extending a 4 second lead and Garness falling into the clutches of Clayton Edmunds and Harrison Mackay and dropping down 4th place.  Foster went on to win by 6.8 seconds ahead of Edmunds, Mackay, Garness nursing his bike home in 4th, and Lucas Brown taking 5th place and becoming the 2020 FAB-Racing MK-GP70 Champion.

MK-GP50

Going into the final weekend of the year, it was Ethan Sparks who had a 36-point lead in the championship ahead of Ronnie Harris with three races to go.

Championship leader Sparks started a soaked race 1 from pole position and took the holeshot as they barrelled into turn 1. Olly Horner slotted himself into 2nd position with Sparks’ championship rival Ronnie Harris climbing up into 3rd. A lap later Harris had made his way through on Horner and had his sights set on Sparks. However, it wasn’t long before a charging Clayton Edmunds carved his way through Blake Wilson, Horner, and Harris to find himself in 2nd position after a brilliant move around the outside of Harris. It wasn’t long before Edmunds had bridged the gap to Sparks making it a two-rider battle for the win, and leaving Harris to defend 3rd spot from Blake Wilson, Filip Surowiak, and Harrison Mackay. Sparks fended off Edmunds to take the win with Wilson taking 3rd away from Harris in the closing stages.

Sparks took the holeshot again as the GP50 riders were faced with a rain-soaked race 2. With 50 points up for grabs and Sparks with a 48-point lead over Harris, Sparks only needed to finish in front of Harris to be crowned 2020 champion. Clayton Edmunds was on an early charge yet again climbing up to 2nd place on the first lap from 7th place on the grid. It wasn’t long before Edmunds made his way past Sparks and breaking away. Blake Wilson found himself in a distant 3rd position with Harrison Mackay and Ronnie Harris battling it out for 4th.    Edmunds controlled the race from start to finish, picking up a fantastic win ahead of Sparks with 2nd place making him the 2020 FAB-Racing MK-GP50 British Champion. Wilson took 3rd place fending off Ronnie Harris and Harrison Mackay. Casey Sparey also picked up a brilliant 6th place ahead of Olly Horner, Samuel Munson, and Ollie Sims.

The final race of the year was wet once again and it was a similar story to race 2 with 2020 Champion Sparks taking the holeshot again ahead of Wilson and Harris. Race 2 winner Edmunds was on a charge once more, quickly slotting himself into 2nd place early on. After half race distance, it was a 4-rider battle for the win between Sparks, Edmunds, Wilson, and Mackay, with Harris dropping off the group in a lonely 5th. In the closing stages of the race, it became two groups of two with Sparks and Edmunds left to battle it out at the front with Wilson and Mackay dropping back in a battle for 3rd.    Edmunds proceeded to break away at the front with Wilson and Mackay catching Sparks - putting them in contention for 2nd place. Disaster then struck for Wilson as he crashed out of a podium position leaving Sparks and Mackay to battle it out for 2nd. It was Edmunds that took the final win of the year ahead of Sparks and Mackay.

 

Minimotos

It was all to play for in the LC40 Elite category with Ryan Hitchcock and Charlie Huntingford battling it out for the championship heading into the final round.

A wet race 1 went to Ryan Hitchcock, with Charlie Huntingford finishing 13 seconds behind in 2nd place with Archie O’Brien beating Sam Munson to the final spot on the podium further back. Bailey Lawrence rounded out the top 5, beating Austin Johnson and Byron Johnson for the top spots. Hitchcock took the spoils again in race 2, fending off a late charge from Munson. Casey Sparey clinched 3rd ahead of Archie Gibbs. It was a big race for the championship, with championship leader Charlie Huntingford crashing and re-joining the race twice to finish down the order in 11th place, meaning there were only 4 points between them heading into the final race. Hitchcock became the 2020 LC40ELITE champion by only 1 point after winning the final race, taking 3 wins from 3, and beating his championship rival in a race-long battle in the final race.

The AC40 PRO champion was crowned before the weekend even began, with Ethan Sparks 95 points ahead of anyone else going into the weekend. Thorley Trevorrow picked up his maiden victory in race 1 with a 4-rider battle for the win including champion Sparks in 2nd, Marco Holt in 3rd, and Joshua Williams in 4th 17 seconds in front of Bill Harris in 5th. Sparks took the final win of the weekend by 4 seconds ahead of Archie Gibbs with Marco Holt rounding out the final podium of 2020.

FAB-Racing, Round 7

Oliver Hall picked up 3 wins from 3 in the AC40 Rookies finishing off a strong first season of racing for the youngster. Lewis Hull enjoyed a successful weekend picking up two 2nd places and a 3rd, with Valentino Kimmi Kirk beating Hull to 2nd place in race 2 after a 3rd place finish in race 1.   Travis Shaw rounded out the final podium of the year.

With 7 rounds in just over 10 weeks, the FAB-Racing Minibikes British Championships has completed more rounds than any other circuit Championship in the UK!!   Planning for 2021 now begins.

 

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