44 Racing - Nps 4x Round 5 + National Champs - South West Extreme

44Racing NPS4X Round 5 & National Champs Race Report

44Racing landed at South West Extreme in Devon to continue to dominate the 2010 NPS4X series and to take home some stripes from the National 4X Championship. With the series race on Saturday and the champs on Sunday the riders and fans were in for a busy weekend of excitement.

Report inside,The new track, built by elite racer Will Evans, starts with a huge, 4 metre high, start hill. From here the riders tackle the long first straight leading to a step up into log drops before meeting the first two corners. The second straight features two tables and ends with an open flat corner allowing plenty of overtaking room. The main challenge for the racers follows with a sharp rock garden. The rough, rocky, nature of the track caused numerous problems with many people suffering punctures. Out of the rocks riders go over a steep quad before getting to choose between the smaller line of tables and the pro line, featuring three huge doubles. For the third time this year the racers awoke on Saturday morning to hear heavy rain coming down on their tents. This, along with traffic delays on the M5, caused a lot more problems than first thought and practice was delayed by an hour. By eleven and after a few cans of the new Rockstar Recovery, the rain had passed and the track soon dried out once the bikes got onto it.



First rider out on track was Connor Hudson racing in the Juvenile category. Despite taking a crash in his second moto Connor was still able to win his fourth moto with a very big lead. With some very unlucky results Connor failed to make it through to the B finals but, finishing 9th, had shown just how fast he is and he was now looking forward to the following days racing to try and show this with a convincing result.



After missing Round 4 at PORC Jono Jones was looking to pull himself back up into a podium position in the series overall. By stealing moto wins away from the dominant force of Isaac Mundy, Jones showed he was back and ready to start winning! Coming into the A final alongside Mundy, Barden and Stupple, Jono was confident a podium would occur. Jones didn’t disappoint following Isaac closely throughout the race and, making an attempt on the win, the Rockstar athlete finished in 2nd.


While out racing at the Welsh 4x champs at Afan Junior star Jake Ward suffered a huge crash injuring his knee. This put Jake out of the racing over the weekend and left the racing in Junior up to Jack Hudson. Jack got off to a good start in racing finishing 2nd in his first moto and 3rd in the next and it looked like Jack might make his first final of the year. This thought quickly vanished when Hudson punctured while leading his fourth moto ending up finishing in last. Despite this Jack still made his first top ten of the year.


Racing in the senior category Mop Head got off to a fantastic start winning his first two motos. With the senior category having 18 competitors they went straight to semi finals. This proved well for Mop meaning he made it through to Semi’s, qualifying the pirate to race 4X at World Cup level. This has been a result he has aimed for all season and the entire team were pleased to see it accomplished. Going into the B final Mop lined up against series leader Davi Roberts. Fighting the whole way down the track Mop finished in 2nd putting him into 6th overall at Round 5.



With some impressive moto results team manager Christian Hatcher cruised through to the A final where he met close rival Martin Ogden. With both riders getting a good snap Oggy led from the inside gate. This didn’t increase his lead by much with Hatch staying very close. Although he made attempts at taking the lead, Hatcher was forced to settle for 2nd just behind the former elite rider. With this fantastic result here at round 5, Hatch has guaranteed himself 2nd in the overall championship.


With three riders making it through to the finals 44Racing have once again increased their lead in the overall standings.

After the day's racing, the majority of the team headed over to the Hatcher estate for a play on Hatch’s super pimp Rockstar pit bike. This was good fun and allowed the riders to relax before the national champs the following day.


As with the previous morning the riders awoke to the sound of rain. This didn’t last long and the clouds quickly cleared in time for the Senior Men and Ladies to get out and do their qualifying runs. With Mop Head being the only 44Racing rider in Senior the rest of the team were able to relax with a can of Rockstar while they supported him. With Elites mixed in with Seniors, Mop Head once again impressed with a 15th place qualifying position. Going through the first round with a 2nd place things were looking good for Mop Head. Sadly, due to a mistake with the results system, Mop was never informed he had advanced, so he did not make it through any further.


Hoping for a better result than the day before Connor Hudson got off to a strong start leading his first moto. With a huge lead things were looking very good for Connor. Things quickly changed when the Juvenile racer punctured in the rock garden. This spell of bad luck forced him into the B final. Getting the snap from the inside lane Connor led into turn one, where he made a large amount of contact with Dylan Grell Delsol, forcing both riders to the floor. Connor was left to settle for 8th overall.



The run of Hudson bad luck continued into the Junior category. While leading his first moto Jack punctured in the same spot as Connor. He then continued to do this in the next two motos, but still managed to pedal his broken bike across the line to take a 2nd and a 3rd. Before the last race the team was struggling to get his bike ready so Team manager Hatch gallantly lent Jack his bike for the race. With all bikes running Funn components it wasn’t hard for Jack to adjust allowing him to take a 3rd place – sending him through to the Junior B final where he went on to take 7th place overall.



Throughout the motos Jono Jones picked up a number of wins and continued to pressure last year’s champion Isaac Mundy. Winning all four motos Jono cruised through to the A final where he faced the exact same competition as the previous day. Staying with Isaac all the way down the track Jono was able to attempt a move on Mundy down the final straight. With both riders sprinting for the line Jono took his Last Rufus to 2nd place clinching the silver medal.


Favourite to win the stripes in Masters was 44Racing manager Hatch. Winning motos, Hatch advanced to the semi finals where he met close friend Paul Branton and rival Dom Bent. Getting the snap out of the gate Hatch led the race into the first corner. Coming over the big step up Hatch caught his front wheel on the landing sending him straight over the bars and into the B final. Despite this disappointment Hatch was still able to take a convincing win in the B final putting him into 5th.


Well Done to Alex Metcalfe, Will Longden and Katy Curd for winning the Junior and Senior national champs!


44Racing will be attending this season’s final 4X NPS race at Chicksands on the 12th of September.


44Racing is proudly sponsored by...
Last Bikes / Funn Components / Rockstar Energy Drink / www.freestylextreme.com / Fox Racing Europe / Kuwahara BMX / Funn Brakes / 2026 Distribution / English Bay Photography

To see news, photos and more race reports from the team have a look at our Facebook page...
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Find out more on the new Rockstar Recovery drink on their website…

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National 4X Champs 2010
4X
official ranking
Rank Bib. Name UCI Code Qualifying

Final
1 5 Longden Will GBR19741123 38.47
2 54 Roberts Scott GBR19910704 37.19
3 24 Parsons Nathan GBR19850611 42.22
4 1 Beaumont Scott GBR 19780602 37.07

Small final
5 12 Dowie Tom GBR19900204 38.75
6 4 Campbell-Jenner Pat GBR19890403 43.95
7 199 Taylor Steve GBR19810807 38.78
8 3 Ferris Duncan GBR19830202 37.99