What makes a champion motocrosser? It’s a question many of us mere mortals have asked often.

The five men who star in MOTO 84 all know exactly what it takes to be a winner. Tony Cairoli, Ryan Dungey, Jeffrey Herlings, Mel Pocock and the great Ricky Carmichael were all winners in 2012, all champions, and it these heroes of our sport we salute in MOTO’s Champions special issue.

Exclusively in MOTO we profile, probe and honour these five men who won big this summer, whether first time champ or retired god returning to his amateur roots. Not forgetting the record AMA champ turned Indy car racer turned team owner Jeff Ward, who lays out his forthright views in another exclusive ‘I know this Much’ too.

Bikes new and old take centre stage in MOTO 84 too. Not only does MOTO have the first UK tests of the hotly anticipated new 2013 Honda CRF450 and Suzuki’s flagship RMZ450, but MOTO’s chief test ace Dave Willet also rides the factory Kawasaki bikes of Gautier Paulin and Xavier Boog, whilst MOTO’s own resident star spanner man Doc Wobs recounts his epic efforts to restore five KX500 two-strokes for Team USA legends to race at the Farleigh Castle VMXdN.

With more exclusive enduro content in the shape of an extremely frank interview with David Knight, racing action from the Farleigh Vets race and the Langrish British champs showdown and a whole lot more, MOTO 84 is another packed issue.

And if that wasn’t enough, you also get another entirely free magazine with the issue too – UMX Magazine 2, a packed 82-pages featuring all the 2013 proucts from the likes of Thor, Ogio and Asterisk. Enjoy.

Finally, with autumn storms approaching, the final round of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship was held at Little Silver near Exeter in Devon last weekend. For John Banks Honda-supported rider Lewis Tombs this was crunch time, the time where his final championship position would be determined.

Qualifying on Sunday morning got off to a shocker of a start in which he qualified fourth-fastest, surprising not just himself, but much of his class as well. Super-pole however relegated him to tenth, nonetheless a good enough position to secure a good gate pick.

Buoyed by his qualifying session, Tombs went to the start with the intention to make the best of the clearly prime conditions. Through the start like a shot, he soon was in third. A cat-and-mouse game with not only championship contenders Elliott Banks-Browne and Mel Pocock, but also close friend and rival James Cottrell ensued, lasting throughout the race and earning him another stunning fourth place.

The second race did not go as smoothly as the first. A mid-pack start after a crash meant a hard slog up the pack, but Tombs proved that this was not a problem as he returned to thirteenth by mid-race, making things very difficult for Luke Remmer and succeeding in moving into twelfth with the one-lap board out.

The seventh overall put Tombs in the middle of the super-final, in which the MX1 and MX2 classes race together. The addition of the more powerful 450cc bikes made it very challenging for Tombs indeed. Out of the gate just outside the top ten, he soon found himself progressively relegated to twentieth and then out of the points altogether, not helped by a small mechanical issue and a mistake that cost him three places. Nonetheless, he ended the race as the thirteenth MX2 rider, ending the day in eighth and the championship in ninth.

Commented Tombs: “In qualifying I was fourth but in super-pole I just didn’t put a lap together and dropped down to tenth, which was a bit disappointing, but I still had a good gate pick. In the first race I had a blinding start, was about fifth, and passed James on the first lap. I got to fourth and just rode my own race really, there was a lot of pressure from behind but I felt really good on the track. Graeme passed me but Mel blew up so I ended the race in fourth. I was really pleased with that.

“In the second race I wanted to do the same thing, but had a terrible start and crashed in the second corner. I just chipped away, passed a few people, and then half-way I got caught up behind Remmer really bad, but ended up twelfth which was ok. Then the super-final race again, had a good start, was twelfth, and then the throttle tube started sticking. I played it steady, tried to race for points, but eventually dropped out altogether. I think I ended up twenty-sixth. It’s a shame to end the year on a downer but I’m really pleased with that fourth in the first race.”

The 2012 Maxxis British championship came to an exciting conclusion on Sunday past.
For Team MBO Sport the day ended how the season started with Graeme Irwin finishing on the podium in an overall 3rd position. And topping out the final championship table in a creditable 4th place.

Graeme Irwin – MX1
“I qualified in 3rd and then 2nd in super pole. I had a solid day finishing 3rd in each race for third overall. I felt my speed and fitness was really good and it’s awesome to finish the season on the podium. Thank you to MBO Multitek Yamaha and to my personal sponsors Scarlett DIY.com and JRM Pallet Solutions.”

Jon Giffard – Team Manager
“Today was a good day for the team, Graeme was strong from the word go and was unlucky not to take a race win. He suffered with starts in all races and against world championship riders you need a solid start to stay in contention, but saying that Graeme showed exceptional speed and was very unlucky not to finish the year in 3rd place in the British championship.
In 2013 Graeme will definitely be one of the title challengers once again.

Our MX1 rider Jake Shipton finished the season on a high and just missed out on a top 10 finish, Jake has a lot more to come and with a solid winter behind him, a top 10 finish is likely throughout 2013.

The team would like to congratulate both Elliott and Kevin on their titles.”

MX2 Maxxis British Championship Overall Standings
1 EBB
2 Mel Pocock
3 Bryan Mackenzie
4 Graeme Irwin
5 Neville Bradshaw

Tyco Suzuki British MX1 rider Martin Barr reflects…
“I have to say I was really fired up for a strong end to the season at Little Silver on the Tyco Suzuki RM-Z450 last weekend, but unfortunately it all didn’t go quite to plan for me. I’ve had five no scoring finishes in the last six British Championship MX1 motos, which is not what you need to be challenging for a championship – and I’ve finished the season in sixth place.

The best part of the meeting at Little Silver was first qualifying where I ended up second fastest. Superpole was then going really good until the front end washed out on me, leaving me twelfth gate for the race starts.

I ripped the holeshot in the opening race, was feeling really good and actually started to pull away from the pack. My RM-Z450 was working great. Unfortunately I had a bad lap or two, which allowed Strijbos to close the gap on me, and both he and Simpson eventually got past.

I was confident I could get back on them, but the bike developed a little ‘miss’ and eventually lost power and we ended up having to retire from what looked like being a very strong result.
In race two I was inside the top eight and put my head down to force myself up to fifth. With five minutes to go I was closing in on Anderson and Dougan and feeling really good and comfortable, until the front end washed out again on me and I crashed on the face of a jump.

It was a pretty big crash and I’ve injured my shoulder a bit. That was the end of my day and the end of the British season for me. I’m really disappointed, as I wanted to end the season on a high with Tyco Suzuki. I have shown good speed this year on the RM-Z450 and proved that it wasn’t just luck with a number of strong finishes. I’d just like to thank Philip Neill, Adam Lyons and all the Tyco Suzuki boys for their support this year after a rocky start to my season. It was very enjoyable.”

With the MXY2 championship wrapped up, and one Maxxis British Motocross Championship round to go, Lanes Kawasaki promoted MXY2 rider James Harrison to the MX2 class for the grand final at Little Silver in Exeter this past weekend. Harrison did not disappoint either, stepping up to the mark with a fantastic debut.

Qualifying on Sunday morning went smoothly; although Harrison had tough competition and a slippery track to deal with, he qualified in twenty-third. His first race also started off mid-pack, but with his usual determination, Harrison soon made quick progress, rejoining the top twenty a third of the way in. Attacking more seasoned rivals in front of him earned him three more places, ending the first race in seventeenth.

Buoyed by his first race performance, Harrison turned up the intensity one more notch in race two and succeeded in making a stunning start in eleventh. The run up front turned into a battle for survival as other rivals slower off the gate forced their way past, relegating Harrison first to fifteenth, and then finally to seventeenth.

Two seventeenth places gave him enough points to be considered for the super-final race at the end of the day. Here both MX1 and MX2 classes race together, and in this race, Harrison again showed early promise. Moving into twenty-third place early on, he again had to contend with not only his MX2 rivals but tough MX1 competition as well. After thirty long minutes, Harrison ended the race in a combined twenty-ninth place, or sixteenth in the MX2 class for an eighteenth place overall on the day.

Commented team principal Dean Lane: “When James first spoke about riding the MX2 class at Little Silver, I wasn’t sure it was the best move. It’s a big step up from the MXY2 which he’s rode all year. But he was out to prove me wrong. And that he did! After qualifying we went into the first race thinking anywhere in the top 27-30 would be a good result. But no, he surprised us with a 17th. He rode a solid race and wasn’t worried at all with the competition around him. Another 17th in the second race put him into the super-pole at the end of the day. So yeah, he surprised us all really.

“We’re very proud of him, and I’d like to thank him for all the hard work he’s put in all year! He’s our Lone Ranger! Riders have come and gone this year, and James has been there consistently, bringing us great results!!”

James Harrison (#153): Two seventeenths and in the super-final a twenty-ninth, I’m happy!

Tension was at an all time high at the hillside track of Little Silver, Exter. Usually seen at the beginning of the season, the fast and technical track saw the Championship come together for an epic finale.

In the first MX2 start …

To read the full report and results on the Bike It Cosworth Yamaha website, visit:

http://www.yamaha-mx.co.uk/results.php?race=124

To say that it’s been eventful for Evotech Stevens Honda in the last month is an understatement. After three tough weeks, team rider Neville Bradshaw returned to the the final round of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship circuit to defend his championship positions. Injured in an unfortunate practice incident before the Motocross of Nations, Bradshaw was not sure how his shoulder injury would hold up on the day, but decided to try anyway.

Qualifying in the morning was difficult, with the track moist and slippery in places, but Bradshaw nonetheless put together a lap fast enough to qualify for the super-pole, in which he ended eighth.

In the first race, a mid-pack start developed into a race to the front. By mid-race, Bradshaw found himself in tenth and much to his frustration, unable to progress much further. With the chequered flag out, he ended the race in tenth. The second race was very much a repeat of the first, with Bradshaw unable to execute his trademark fast starts. A last-minute pass from fellow Honda rider Nathan Watson dropped him back one place to end in tenth again.

With two tenths, Bradshaw safely qualified for the super-final at the end of the day, but it was here where the day unravelled for the South African. After a restart and a crash, he found himself in the back of the pack and again worked relentlessly to move up. By mid-race, he found himself unable to hang on any longer and was forced to pull in, ending the day overall in eleventh.

Commented team principal Matt Hutchins: “Today was going to be difficult with Neville with the shoulder dislocation he recently suffered, he did the best job he could but he suffered a crash in the last race and ended up losing a few places and had to retire from the race. These things happen with injuries, and as much as it is disappointing that we couldn’t keep our third place in the Maxxis, we’ve nonetheless had a good run. We won the British Supercross and the Red Bull Pro National championships and that’s a good end for us.”

Neville Bradshaw (#272): I’m bummed on losing third in the championship, but I’m pumped on the holeshot in race three. I’m seeing the specialist about my shoulder this week and then we’ll get ready for 2013.

In a script that couldn’t have been written, Mel Pocock put all his effort into trying to clinch the Maxxis British MX2 Championship. Despite all his efforts Mel was unable to beat Elliot, but still took the runner up position in the championship. Mel’s teammate Shaun Simpson put on his best performance and took the overall win after coming 2nd to Strijbos in the MX1 championship.

Bleary-eyed from a tough weekend at the 66th Motocross of Nations at Lommel, Route77energy MVR-D Honda made the last trek of the year to Little Silver just outside Exeter this past weekend. Although harsh weather was forecast, things changed in time to leave the hillside venue with perfect conditions for one last chance to make up some more points for both MX1 riders of the team.

Qualifying on Sunday morning saw Jason Dougan qualify in sixth with team-mate Gert Krestinov in eighth, positions that were unchanged after the super-pole.

Dougan’s first race was a roller-coaster ride. Downed at the start, he soon found himself just outside the points, but issues stemming from several more crashes needed a pitstop to rectify, which in turn dropped him back into the back of the pack. Determined to finish the race in the points, Dougan put everything he had into the race and leap-frogged his way to twentieth, then to sixteenth where he was unable to quite reach his rival in fifteenth as the chequered flag waved.

In the second race, order was restored with a great start in fifth. From here, Dougan found himself embroiled in a battle with returned class rival Brad Anderson, reeling him in but time once again running out for a fourth in the race. With the first two races tallied up, Dougan was still ninth overall, putting him through into the super-final race at the end of the day. But here things ended in disaster. First down in the first corner, and then, after a restart, caught up in a crash fest after the second corner, Dougan was forced to retire with a severely bruised hand, ending his race before he’d even gotten started, leaving him in twelfth overall on the day. All was not lost as Dougan moved up to eleventh in the championship.

For Krestinov, the day’s proceedings were entirely the opposite. Off the first race start in front of the majority of the pack, he was forced to settle into a steady rhythm, keeping at bay KTM’s Jamie Law for much of the race. A small opening cost him a position, ending the race in eighth. In the second race, a mid-pack start was soon followed up by a fast and furious chase during which rival after rival was picked off. With a third of the race to go, Krestinov re-entered the top ten, continuing to pick off rivals as he went, ending the second race in seventh for a comfortable seventh start in the super-final.

The super-final’s format and the restart set Krestinov up perfectly for a great start. Eighth around the first lap, he soon settled into a good rhythm and displaced Alex Snow for fourth, wedged between MX1 class champion Kevin Strijbos and MX2 title contender Mel Pocock. The fourth gained in this race together with the other two race results gave Krestinov a fourth overall on the day, confirming his third place in the championship.

Commented team principal Mark Chamberlain: “It’s been so-so in all honesty, but I’m glad everyone’s come through it ok, Gert secured third in the championship so he’s done his job, which we are really pleased about. Thank you to him and the team, the mechanics and everyone else who’s been involved. That’s been a solid year for him. And it’s been a mixed day for Jason, he’s been up and down, had a good second race but crashed out of the last one. He’s ok and in one piece, that’s the main thing. Now we just put our head down for 2013.”

Gert Krestinov (#37): I was eighth in practice, and in the first race I had some trouble with my goggles and I couldn’t see anything, so the goggles came off and I had to settle for eighth. The second race wasn’t all that special and I got a seventh. In the last race I got a really good start, had really good lines and was able to make some passes and get a fourth. I’m sad I didn’t get to pass Strijbos on the last lap, I had him in sight but he passed me back, but fourth was good enough and fourth overall as well. I’m really happy with the season.

Jason Dougan (#17): I went down a couple of times in the first moto and had to make a pit stop, but managed to salvage some points for sixteenth. I had an average start in the second race but came through to fourth and was happy with the way I was riding. In the last moto got wiped out in turn two and bashed myself and the bike up, so DNF. It’s definitely not what I hoped for today, roll on 2013!

Sunday saw the Maxxis Henderson LPE Kawasaki team make the long trip town to Exeter for the final round of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship. For the final round of the year the LPE team went into the event with a four rider line up. With the recent bad weather in the South West the team were surprised to find the track in superb condition ready for racing.

Sunday started with the MX2 qualifying session and guest rider for the team Steven Lenoir produced a solid lap time to progress into the Superpole session. Returning rider David Goosen was making his first Maxxis appearance of the season and posted a 27th fastest time. In the Superpole Lenoir was able to improve his time and move into 6th place. In the MX1 class, young Connor Walkley was making his second appearance on the 450f alongside Gordon Crockard who would be testing the new 2013 machine for the team. Both riders produced solid lap times to finish in 14th and 15th for Crockard and Walkley.

After the lunch break it was time for the first race of the day and both Lenoir and Goosen suffered with poor starts and had to work forward. Lenoir quickly battled his way into the points and went on to finish in 11th. For Goosen it was to challenging race as he worked his way up to as high as 22nd before finishing in 27th.

The first MX1 race of the day saw both riders make mid pack starts, Walkley quickly moved into the points and set about closing in on the top 10, for Crockard it was to be a slower progress as he made it into the points for 19th place. Walkley eventually went on the finish in 12th place in his first British Championship race in MX1.

The second MX2 race of the day saw Lenoir make a better start to the race and was quickly into the top 10. Lenoir continued to push forward and finished in 7th place. Goosen had another tough race after a poor start left him with a lot of work to do. Goosen eventually finished in 31st place and missed out on Super Final at the end of the day.

The second MX1 race of the day again saw the pair make average starts, but Walkley quickly made a number of moves on the first lap and was into 15th place. Walkley was looking good in 15th and was making moves forward towards the top ten until a crash on the 3rd lap left Walkley a lap down and with a lot work to do. Crockard again had a steady race and finished in 19th place, while Walkley recovered to 27th place.

The final race of the season would be the mixed race, with both Lenoir and Walkley in the race. The race suffered a false start and a red flag after another rider hit the gate. After a 30 minute delay the race was restarted and Walkley produced his best start of the day and rounded the first corner just outside of the top 12. For Lenoir things didn’t go as well as a crash on the opening lap left the French rider at the back of the field and with a lot of work to do. As the race went on Walkley was able to settle down and finish in 13th place in the race and 9th MX1 rider for 14th overall on the day from two race results. Lenoir would eventually finish in 21st place in the race and 9th MX2 rider just outside the points and take 9th overall on the day and 6th in the Championship standings.

Gordon Crockard
I gained a lot of valuable technical information from racing the new 2013 KXF450 in full standard trim. I used the event as a test to contribute to part of the preparation programme for next season’s championship attack from the team. Putting the bike through the race weekend gave great feedback and had many positive benefits. My personal results were irrelevant and I can take the 19th place finishes in my stride without embarrassment. I will have more chances to race for podium finishes in the future.

Connor Walkley
I’ve had a lot of fun day today and scored some good points in my first Maxxis MX1 race despite crashing and not scoring points in race two. I still managed a top 15 overall, so I’m happy with that. I’d just like to say a huge thanks to Steve and everyone else for all there help along the way.

David Goosen
Today has been pretty good, I had a problem with the back brake on my race bike in practice and had to use my spare. In the first race I rode pretty good and kept the same pace all race and then towards the end I got a little bit of arm pump and lost a couple of places. Then in the second race it was a lot rougher and I struggled a lot and never got into my groove. I’ve got a lot of work to do before next year but I’m glad to be back after my knee injury.

Steven Lenoir
Today was my first time on the Kawasaki bike and it was good, the track was ok but I never managed to get a good jump out of the gate. The first race I got a poor start and came back to 11th which was ok, then in the second race I got a better start and rode good and finished in 7th. In the Superfinal I got a really good start and then it was red flagged and in the restart I crashed in the opening corners. I finished in 21st and outside the points; I’d like to say a big thanks to Steve at LPE and the whole team.

Steve James
Today’s been a good day and a good end to what has been a very tough and challenging year. In MX2 today it was David Goosen’s second race back from his knee injury, David looked good on the bike but struggled a bit with bike fitness and pace over the duration of the races, but it was good to see him out there and he finished both races which is a step forward in his recovery. As a guest rider in MX2 we had French rider Steven Lenoir, Steven struggled a bit with bike set up to begin with but that was to be expected as qualifying today was the first time he had ridden the bike. But he qualified well in 6th place during Superpole. In the races Steven suffered with bad starts but we made a few changes to the bike throughout the day which helped him to charge hard through the pack to finish in 9th overall. In MX1 we again had Connor riding the 450f and he proved again that he is more suited to the bigger bike. In the first race he had a 12th place finish and then in the second race he was 13th before a crash left him at the back of the field and having to recover the 27th. He made it into the Grand final and finished 13th in the race and was the 9th MX1 bike home, to finish in the top 10 of a MX1 race at the first attempt is a mega result. Gordon rode the new 2013 KXF 450 for us this weekend as a race test to get some data ready for next season, he had two point scoring rides and in doing so we gained some very good feedback, it has been a pleasure to have Gordon on the team riding our bike in the last four races to fill in for the injured Ray Rowson and I would like the thank him for the valuable feedback he has given us during testing and the races.. Finally I’d like to thank Kawasaki UK, Maxxis, Henderson Insurance, Links Plant and Equipment Ltd, Truck Links, Pro Circuit, Apico, Spiral GFX, Renthal UK, CI Sport and all the rest of the teams many loyal sponsors each and everyone of them are so very important to me and without them it just wouldn’t be possible to run the team, Also I want to thank all the team personnel and everybody involved on the team, the mechanics the truck drivers and all the team helpers for everything they have done this season, it’s been a tough year but thanks to everyone involved we got through it and ended the season with a smile on our faces looking forward to 2013.