Pondo's Blog
Published: 26th August 2008
Author: Pondo
Mark Eastwood and Jonathan Pettitt continued their dominance of the 2008 British two-stroke championships at Blaxhall on Sunday but David Willett was on hand to remind them that they’re not going to have it all handed to them on a plate. With the Suffolk sand track well watered by the elements, just staying on the bike was a challenge but there was no shortage of lines and the racing was excellent.
The 125 A group started off with business as usual in moto one - Pettitt taking victory ahead of Jack Brunell, David Willett and an excellent ride by Brett Wheeler - but it was all change for moto two. Lloyd Morgan and Shaun Stevens were the quickest out of the gate and for once the trio of Pettitt, Willett and Brunell were all a little further down with Pettit baulked by a first lap off for Bradley Howlett.
Morgan tried to gap the field as Stevens showed resilience in second but Willett was on the move, charging through the pack and closing in on the leading duo and taking Jim Davies with him. Pettitt and Brunell both seemed to be struggling to stay on it, with Brunell in particular showing the scars of a heavy crash. With five minutes left on the clock reigning champion Willett caught Morgan for the lead, sweeping around the outside as the young MXY2 star was baulked by a back-marker while Pettitt finally managed to get a rhythm and began his charge through the pack. It looked like Morgan would hang on for second with just a couple of laps left but a fall in the same turn where Willett got by him cost him vital seconds and Pettitt drew alongside just as he got going again and there was only going to be one winner of that contest!
Davies had the pair of them in sight at the flag with Stevens not too far out of touch in fifth after a solid ride - crucially, however, the battle-scarred Brunell would be forced out of the race and would score no points which must give Willett a sniff of second in the championship.
Normal business was resumed in moto three, however, as Pettitt motored off into the distance and left the rest to fight it out among themselves - Jim Davies was with his TM team-mate but a lap one crash left him tangled in the ropes and it took a furious charge to bring him back up through the field into the top 10. Brunnell led early after overcoming another Morgan holeshot and as Pettitt and Willett closed up it looked like we were in for a battle royale but once the championship leader was out front it was game over, as mistakes cost the others time. Willett came out on top in the battle for second with Brunell third ahead of Morgan, Stevens and Christian Taylor.
The first Open A saw Mark Eastwood revelling in the sand. The reigning champion cantered away to win the opener unchallenged a long way ahead of Dave Willett, who had Nathan Rooks, Matt Ridgeway and Lewis Tombs to keep him honest. But Ironman Willett - who had less than half-an-hour’s respite between each of his six brutal motos - made no mistakes in race two, overcoming the early challenge of the fast-starting Tombs and putting in ferocious resistance when Eastwood came up to challenge him.
Eastwood took the lead as the race entered the final third but Willett wasn’t prepared to let him have it and launched a strong counter-attack - it was neck and neck as the duo battled back and forth entering the last lap but when the chequered flag came out Willett took it unopposed. Tombs brought his UTAG Yamaha home for an excellent second place ahead of the quick and consistent wildcard Jordan Booker as everyone looked to see where the number one Honda was. But it was some time before Eastwood appeared, helmet off and pushing the bike through the deep sand to cross the line in fourth, almost two minutes behind Willett after a crash late in the final lap left the MXdN team manager in considerable discomfort.
Mark Eastwood in action at Foxhill earlier this year
Easto was ready to rock for moto three, however, grabbing the holeshot ahead of Tombs, Willett and Alistair Clark and clearing off for the win. Tombs put in a charge that saw him lead Willett as Eastwood cleared off and it took the Ironman some time to fight back and retake second place as the deep sand took its toll. Tombs would take a fine third ahead of Booker and Nathan Rooks as Mike Kock bounced back from mechanical woes in moto two to take an excellent sixth on a 125.
The series returns to Suffolk for round eight in three weeks as the two-stroke revolution heads to Mildenhall on the 14th of September - with just three rounds left, the vast supporting cast will be sure to want to show that it’s not just about Eastwood and Pettitt...