The second stop of the HSBC UK | National BMX Series hit Gosport last weekend, where the 586 entries were treated to awesome weather conditions, producing super-hot action on track.
The buzz around the track was electric from Friday night practice and as race day rolled in you could feel the anticipation in the pits. The heat would be a big factor over the weekend as temperatures soared into the 30s, and hydration was key for the riders.
With the GBCT guys on their way to Tokyo, it was just Quillan Isidore from the squad out on track and the championship classes were wide open for the taking.
Round 1
There were just seven Championship women on the gate and every race counted. Markella Houli kicked off the day with the first two moto wins, but Emily Hutt came on strong in the second half of the day and wrapped up her first Championship class win.
Oliver Cope got the weekend running where he left off at Cyclopark and went unbeaten through the day to the Junior men class win. The final was a nail biter with Jos Marnham looking to strike in 2nd, just 0.15 seconds back
The Superclass was tight all day and Quillan Isidore was favourite after a clean sheet of moto wins. Off the gate Isidore had the drop, but it was his Pure bikes team mate Matt Hutt who had the pull and lead them out. Hutt pulled a gap on the pack and took his first Superclass win ahead of Isidore and Cal Strickland.
After the finals, we caught up with the Hutt siblings “I kept things pretty consistent and tried to keep cool in the heat.” Said Matt “I pulled out a good gate for the final and just did what I could to put it all together and get the win. Just to say thank you to all of my sponsors for all of their support”. Emily added “I got out the gate as fast as possible to attack that first straight. I had two 2nds going into the third moto and knew I had to win the next two races to win overall. Winning the third moto gave me hope for the final. Very happy to take my first elite women final win alongside my brothers first big win too!”
Championship Women
1st Emily Hutt
2nd Markella Houli
3rd Emily Green
Junior Men
1st Oliver Cope
2nd Jos Marnham
3rd Ben Curling
Superclass
1st Matt Hutt
2nd Quilllan Isidore
3rd Cal Strickland
Round 2
The heat didn’t relent for day two and the on track action matched the soaring temperatures.
The Championship Women’s Podium went the same as day one with Hutt, Houli and Emily Green taking the top spots. Hutt takes over the national points standing in the class.
Oliver Cope took the top step of the Junior Men’s podium and made it four wins out of four races for the season openers. Alexander Talbott battled his way through to 2nd and Jos Marnham wrapped up his weekend with a podium finish in 3rd.
A fitting end to the race weekend was the Superclass final and it was Quillan Isidore who stomped his authority on the final from the gate drop. As they hit the second straight Cal Strickland slipped into 2nd. The pack barrelled through turn two, and Matt Hutt made his move into 3rd. Keeping his sights on the sharp end, Hutt carried momentum and made a last straight pass to claim 2nd from Strickland in 3rd.
Summing up the weekend, Isidore said “It was great to be back racing a national again. It’s been 9 years since I raced Gosport and I really love the new track. Racing was fun with Matt keeping me on my toes!! Thanks to everyone involved with putting the race on.
Championship Women
1st Emily Hutt
2nd Markella Houli
3rd Emily Green
Junior Men
1st Oliver Cope
2nd Alexander Talbott
3rd Spencer Gibson
Superclass
1st Quillan Isidore
2nd Matt Hutt
3rd Cal Strickland
