Cairoli delights his home fans by clinching sixth title triumph

TRUE to form, Antonio Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings clinched the open and 250cc class World Motocross Championships in the Italian Grand Prix at Faenzo.

It was Cairoli's sixth title and he won both races in front of his home supporters from French ace Christoff Pourcell, by 20 and seven seconds respectively. Shaun Simpson was again top Brit, with fifth and tenth-place finishes.

Netherlands teenager Herlings finished half-a-minute in front of Brit Tommy Searle in the first 250cc race and clinched the title with an equally leisurely win in the second race.

The outcome of the South West Premier Motocross series hinge on the final round at Ladram Bay, East Devon, in October after title leader Jamie Skuse's Suzuki developed an electrical fault on the start line in the first of three races at the Little Silver Park circuit, near Exeter.

Switching to a borrowed bike, he was in fourth place when he stalled the engine and finished in tenth, which gave Luke Hill, who took fifth place after a tumble, the opportunity to reduce his deficit in the table.

Despite being in pain from a bruised hip, Hill battled for second place in the second race with Lewis Gregory and Kelvin Townsend.

All three were ten seconds behind 18-year-old Radstock KTM rider Luke Hawkins at the finish.

Hawkins had already won the first race and he completed his hat-trick in a rather processional final race.

Somerton's Gary Marshman netted a six-mark win over Colin Crease in the Frome club's Ron Jefferies Cup trial, staged over three laps of a dozen sections at Manor Farm, Compton Greenfield, near Pilning.

He lost a mark on each lap in the fifth section, which featured a climb from a stream over a steep bank, one in the eighth section in a gully and another in the tenth section on a woodland climb. Crease suffered six single mark debits, but he also had a five-mark debit when he ran over a section marker.

RESULTS

South West Premier Motocross at Little Silver, Exeter – experts championship, first race: 1, L Hawkins (KTM) 2, J Booker (Honda) 3, L Gregory (Suzuki) 4, L Blanchard (Yamaha) 5, L Hill (Honda) 6, T Alba (Kawasaki).

Second race: 1, Hawkins 2, Gregory 3, Hill 4, K Townsend (Suzuki) 5, L Mellows (Suzuki) 6, J Skuse (Suzuki).

Third race: 1, Hawkins 2, Booker 3, Skuse 4, Gregory 5, Hill 6, D Thornhill (Suzuki).

Championship standings: Skuse 1331, Hill 1321, Mellows 1171, Townsend 1002, Blanchard 919.

Junior Championship, first race: 1, B Butler (KTM) 2, R Allen (KTM) 3, D Fircks (Yamaha) 4, R Holyoake (Suzuki) 5, S Kersey (Yamaha) 6, R Blee (Kawasaki).

Second race: 1, Fircks 2, L Maggio (Honda) 3, Holyoake 4, Blee 5, J Stevens (Kawasaki) 6, G Norman (Honda).

Third race: 1, Fircks 2, J Taylor (Suzuki) 3, Butler 4, Holyoake 5, J Owen (Honda) 6, Norman.

Junior B Races: H Mitchell (Yamaha) 2, C Tucker (Honda) 1.

Group C races: S Little (Suzuki) 3.

Over-35 years: G Hancon (Kawasaki) 3.

Over-40 years: D Thompson 3.

Over-50 years: T Lowe (Honda) 3.

Frome MCC trial, Compton Greenfield, Bristol – expert class awards: G Marshman (Gas Gas) 5 marks lost, C Crease (Gas Gas) 11, L Hassall (Gas Gas) 25.

Clubman expert awards: R Scott (Gas Gas) 8, N Pekala (Beta) 18, M Holmes (Gas Gas) 32.

Clubman awards: M Wilmore (Scorpa) 7, B Wilmore (Gas Gas) 12, D Morris (Jotagas) 24.

Over-40 years: T Wheeler (Scorpa) 19, R Elliott (gas Gas) 30, S Redwood (Gas Gas) 30.

Over-50 years: B Shuttleworth (Montesa) 4, J Bliss (Montesa) 6, M Strang (Gas Gas) 6.

Novice awards: A Chivers (Beta) 14, J Jannaway (Gas Gas) 16, C Adams (Montesa) 18.

Youth experts: J Golding (Gas Gas) 51, O Humphris (Beta) 58, I Heycock (Beta) 76.

Youth A class: L Golding (Gas Gas) 5, J Glover (Gas Gas) 15, O Pekala (Beta) 47.

B Class: G Marshman (Gas Gas) 30, J Knight (Gas Gas) 33, B Heycock (Beta) 43.

C Class: H Love-Jones (Beta) 94.