The Cornish round of the British MX1 championship was the toughest ask yet for red plate holder Conrad Mewse but he staged two determined rides to once again win both motos. That meant he clinched the overall in Sunday’s British MX1 championship round, maintaining his perfect season.

The Crendon Tru7 Honda set the fastest time in qualifying at the old-school Landrake circuit then wasted no time in getting to the front of the opening moto. Gating in third place, he quickly got past John Adamson and set his sights on race leader and fellow Honda CRF450R rider Josh Gilbert. Local ace Gilbert held Mewse off until the third lap when the lead changed and Mewse pulled away to win by 10 seconds.

The second moto saw Mewse make another good start but was lucky to avoid a first corner dust up between Gilbert and former British champ Adam Sterry. Mewse had to back off and it meant he was passed by lots of his rivals, leaving him tenth. It was then an incredible battle in the hot, dusty conditions as 26-year-old Mewse picked off the men in front while Sterry and Gilbert used the advantage of clear track to make their escape.

By lap two Mewse was fifth, quickly moved into fourth and then third by lap four. He began to hunt down Gilbert. But Triston Purdon, who had been third in the first race, went down and was injured, so waved yellow flags slowed every rider down for several laps which hampered Mewse’s charge. He eventually got by local hero Gilbert then reeled in Sterry who was in no mood for losing. The pair had the large crowd on their toes as Mewse eventually wore down the Welshman and took the lead with two laps remaining. Sterry refused to give up but Mewse held the lead, winning by 1.8 seconds.

Conrad Mewse: “It was a bit of a day to be honest! The first race was good, I was third and made the pass into second on the first lap and then got by Josh for the lead on the next lap. But that second race was not so easy. I actually got a good start but Josh was outside of me and he closed me off , then I got buried around the turn. I made a charge through the pack and came back from tenth and got the win. The track was very technical today was I was just trying to be a bit cautious. I had to work really hard for it and I had a good race with Adam for the lead. And I keep the winning streak alive! But it’s not really about that, it’s s win for myself and the team. The main thing is the championship and winning that. This isn’t my favourite track so I’m happy to win again and I’m feeling good. And I’ll be working hard for the next one.”

In the MX2 class, Jake Nicholls didn’t start the day well by using a tyre choice that wasn’t the best and only managed 15th in qualifying which didn’t give him great gate picks – hampering his race starts.

The 35-year-old was outside the top ten in the first race start but then really dug down and charged. He made some classy passes and set consistently impressive lap times on his way to ninth place.

Second time out his gate pick meant he ended the first lap in 17th place then staged an incredible comeback. He picked off rivals on almost every lap and crossed the line in a well-deserved seventh spot, setting lap times that matched some of the front-runners. That gave him seventh overall and he retains sixth place in the series.

Team manager Ryan Thorpe: “What a day in the MX1 class. Of course, Conrad is an incredible rider and he proved that once more. It was especially good in the second race when he had to work hard for the win, and he did it just right. So many riders were getting caught out on the track as it was so hard, and Conrad played it perfectly to take the win. All credit to him. In the MX2 class, Jake was always on the back foot after qualifying but rode incredibly well on a track he isn’t particularly a massive fan of. He just went quicker as the day went on and was just incredible in that second race to come through. He doesn’t get the chance to ride as much any more as he works full time running the Tru7 Group, so it’s a huge credit that he can still ride so well and so fast.”

The team’s other MX1 rider Jamie Carpenter, who crashed hard at the last round and injured his knee, is still under medical care so couldn’t race but still holds eighth in the series.

Results MX1
1 Conrad Mewse 50
2 Josh Gilbert 42
3 Adam Sterry 38
4 Taylor Hammal 36
5 John Adamson 30
6 Tom Grimshaw 30
7 Dan Thornhill 27
8 Louie Kessel 25
9 Charlie Putnam 21
10 Martin Barr 21

Championship points after five rounds

1 Conrad Mewse 250
2 Adam Sterry 207
3 Josh Gilbert 173
4 Tristan Purdon 149
5 Taylor Hammal 128
6 Martin Barr 113
7 John Adamson 101
8 Jamie Carpenter 97
9 Dan Thornhill 97
10 Carlton Husband 91

MX2:

1 Tommy Searle 47
2 Charlie Heyman 38
3 Oriol Oliver 36
4 Kay Karssemakers 35
5 Billy Askew 34
6 Joe Brookes 28
7 Jake Nicholls 26
8 Ben Mustoe 25
9 Glenn McCormick 22
10 Max Werner 21

Championship points after five rounds

1 Tommy Searle 178
2 Billy Askew 164
3 Charlie Heyman 163
4 Ben Mustoe 150
5 Gyan Doensen 130
6 Jake Nicholls 126
7 Glenn McCormick 121
8 Oriol Oliver 115
9 Ollie Colmer 110
10 Josh Vail 99

Adam Duckworth images and story