All three riders in the Crendon Tru7 Honda team climbed up the British championship tables after gritty and determined rides in often tough circumstances at round three in Lyng on Sunday. Conrad Mewse pulled off a monumental start-to-finish win in the first MX1 moto as he moved up a place to second in the series, while Jamie Carpenter bounced back from a series of crashes to move up a spot to sixth.

Adam Duckworth Story and Image

And in MX2, rookie Charlie Richmond had the best moto finish of his professional adult career with a fourth as he leapfrogged from ninth to sixth in the championship. For the first time, all three riders are in the top six in their respective championships.

The whole day was a story of mixed fortunes for all three riders, which started in qualifying. Mewse led the way to set the fastest time in qualifying, riding full of confidence after his recent double win the British Masters round and a podium finish in a French International just two days earlier, won by fellow Honda rider Jeffrey Herlings.

But Carpenter, riding well despite being battered from a recent crash in testing, crashed hard and was lucky to escape without serious injury. He eventually remounted and still managed to put in a respectable lap to take 15th fastest time.

Race one was a stunner for both riders, as Mewse used the power of the CRF450R to take the holeshot and he pulled away every lap to win by 19 seconds, going two seconds a lap faster than anyone else. Carpenter gated fourth and despite the discomfort, only lost a single place in the first seven laps. As the pain crept in, he lost another spot to Honda rider Tom Grimshaw but finished a fine sixth place.

But as soon as the gate dropped for race two, there were problems for Mewse as another rider swerved over dramatically towards him which forced him to shut off to avoid being wiped out. It meant he entered the first corner right at the back of the pack, as title rival Ben Watson led the way.

As Mewse regrouped and began to move forward on the first lap, Carpenter was in a solid top ten position but got involved in a tussle and clipped another rider’s bike, and he went down. He remounted and by the end of the first lap, Mewse held ninth with his team-mate 19th.

Mewse carried on his incredible push forward, and by the end of lap three he was up to fourth place. On the next lap he put in a time four seconds quicker than leader Watson - two seconds faster than anyone else managed all race. Maestro Mewse was simply incredible as he worked hard at reducing the buffer the leading trio had managed to build up. By the eighth lap, he managed to catch and pass fourth place Taylor Hammal and then reeled in the leading duo of Watson and Oriol Oliver with a handful of laps to go.

As the punishing track was at it roughest, Mewse gave it his all but couldn’t squeeze past as the trio showed true world-class speed. Despite champion Mewse setting faster laps than both his rivals on the final three laps, he took third which gave him second overall. And it moved him up a place to second in the series.

Carpenter also rode with focus as he made consistent passes after his first lap spill to get up to 13th. Then trouble came once again as he crashed for a second time, and spend the rest of the moto charging bast past the riders he’d already overtaken once. He got back up to 15th at the flag, which gave him 12th overall but it moved him up a place to sixth in the championship.

Conrad Mewse: “I started really well today - fastest in qualifying then a holeshot and a clear win the first race. The second race started with the opposite of a holeshot as I was pretty much last! I didn’t get the jump off the gate like I did in the first then got closed off by another rider off the gate. I had to come from the back which made it a very tough race. I gave it my all and did my very best on a track that’s very difficult to pass. I passed a lot of people right through the race. I’m proud of my effort but gutted about the overall result as I felt today could have been a great day for me - not just for the championship but after everything I’ve gone through. I was desperate for the overall win this weekend so I’m gutted I didn’t get it. I’ll take it on the chin and try again at the next round.”

Jamie Carpenter: “I had a pretty big off on the first lap of qualifying. But in the first race I got a good start and put on a good shift. I held on for sixth which I was happy with, and was looking to do the same again race two. But I had a slip off on the first lap after a little incident with another rider. I got through to 13th then crashed again. This track isn’t somewhere you want to crash once, so do it twice is one race is not ideal! After that, it was riding just to salvage as many points as I could. I’ve taken a few knocks a last couple of weeks so it’s time to regroup and come back fit and strong for the next round at Landrake.”

In the MX2 class, the opening moto was one to remember for CRF250R rider Charlie Richmond as he made a terrific start against far more experienced, world-class competition and held third place for two laps. He couldn’t hold off hard-charging Ben Mustoe so dropped to fourth then got involved in a battle to hold off Billy Askew and Joe Brookes.

The race was red-flagged as fellow Honda rider Jamie Keith was assisted by medics, and it meant Richmond was credited with a memorable fourth place.

Second time out Richmond didn’t get the same start and was crowded out by the pack as he charged up Lyng’s long start straight. By the end of the first lap he’d worked up to tenth place then spent the rest of the moto in scraps to hold off rivals. He crossed the line in 11th place, but this meant he finished sixth overall – equalling his best ride of the British championship season so far. It meant he moved up three places to sixth in the standings.

Charlie Richmond: “It felt so good to get a good start and run up front. The bike was great and it was a great feeling. But the second moto was tough after a not-so-good start. But sixth overall and moving up in the championship is a decent result. What’s especially good is I’m really happy with the progress made in the last few weeks. And am excited we’ll be moving to some hard pack tracks now for the next rounds of the series.”

Team manager Ryan Thorpe: “It’s been a difficult day at times but all three riders put on great performances which is a credit to them all. “Conrad was clearly the fastest rider here, as he proved in qualifying and the first race where he was in a class of his own. In the second race he could have been taken down when a rival rider came right across him at the start. His ride through the pack was incredible, and you can see he was the fastest rider by far. His lap times were so much faster. He’s obviously disappointed not to win but he rode like a true professional and is now second in the series. “Jamie had a tough day after his big qualifying crash, and rode with heart to get a great result in the first race and bring the bike home for points in race two. And a best ever fourth for Charlie in MX2 was just fantastic. A great start and he rode like an experienced pro to be up at the front. He was disappointed after the second race when he didn’t get a great start but it’s all about learning – and he’s learning very quickly.”

MX1

1 Ben Watson 47
2 Conrad Mewse 45
3 Oriol Oliver 42
4 Taylor Hammal 36
5 Tom Grimshaw 31
6 Triston Purdon 26
7 Cameron Durow 26
8 Jason Maera 26
9 Bobby Bruce 23
10 Carlton Husband 23
12 Jamie Carpenter 26

Championship points after 3 rounds

1 Ben Watson 132
2 Conrad Mewse 127
3 Oriol Oliver 127
4 Taylor Hammal 105
5 Tristan Purdon 69
6 Jamie Carpenter 69
7 Bobby Bruce 65
8 Ben Edwards 65
9 Adam Sterry 63
10 Tom Grimshaw 56

MX2

1 Charlie Heyman 50
2 Billy Askew 36
3 Ben Mustoe 36
4 David Braceras 36
5 Joe Brookes 33
6 Charlie Richmond 28
7 Joel Rizzo 25
8 Gyan Doensen 24
9 Tommy Searle 22
10 Josh Vail 19

Championship points after 3 rounds

1 Charlie Heyman 131
2 Gyan Doensen 99
3 Tommy Searle 91
4 Ben Mustoe 90
5 Joe Brookes 88
6 Charlie Richmond 73
7 Josh Vail 72
8 Billy Askew 71
9 Joel Rizzi 67
10 Jamie Keith 55