Disappointing end to Isle of Man Centre motocross championship

Liam Smith retained the Isle of Man motocross No.1 plate in what was an anti-climax to the Centre championship at Knock Froy on Sunday.

With arch-rivals Beau Brown and Liam Crellin sitting it out, along with Gav Hunt, and numbers also hit by the Sprintcard Enduro class the same day, the starting line for Group A was a meagre five riders.

Danny McCanney won all three at a canter as Smith merely had to register a finish to make sure of the title.

Ryan Christian moved up to second overall with fourth place on the day behind Tommy Lee. Only four riders completed all six rounds.

Fifty-something Graeme Saunders secured the non-expert title with third place on the day behind Josh Blackley and Martin Corkish.

Jacob Wilson won all three ‘senior schoolboy’ races on his 250cc four-stroke Honda to take the class overall from Harry Beattie and Marley Meechan.

Abe Cain rode well on the day to keep Riley Faragher at bay in the 85cc big-wheel class, while Thomas Clague scored a similar clean sweep in the concurrently-run small-wheel category over Elijah Corrin. Both also won their respective class titles.

The 65cc class went to the very last race of the series with Leo Harrison edging it from Blayze Turner.

Alex McCanney was beaten to the line by newcomer James Corlett in the first automatic-gear race, but Alex won the remaining two. He already has the overall title sewn up.

Adult Group A: 1, Danny McCanney 135 points; 2, Liam Smith 126; 3, Tommy Lee 120; 4, Ryan Christian 113; 4, Harry Shand 106. Adult Group B: 1, Josh Blackley 135; 2, Martin Corkish 120; 3, Graeme Saunders 120; 4, Aaron Watson 120; 5, Adrian Smith 114; 6, Kyle Batty 108; 7, Aaron Kirk 105; 8, Frankie Sansbury 102; 9, James Smith 99; 10, Sam Hetherington 96; 11, Phil Blair 93. 125/250F: 1, 1, Jacob Wilson 135; 2, Harry Beattie 126; 3, Marley Meechan 118; 4, Callum Christian 116; 5, Leo Gray 111; 6, Olly Runge 107; 7, Logan Muncaster 106. Big-wheel 85cc: 1, Abe Cain 135; 2, Riley Faragher 126; 3, Jason Keig 120; 4, Maverick Meechan 114; 5, Isaac Artus 111. 85 Small-wheel: 1, Thomas Clague 135; 2, Elijah Corrin 126; 3, Ronnie Briars 120. 65cc: 1, Leo Harrison 132; 2, Blayze Turner 129; 3, Seb Inman 116; 4, Stanley Cain 114; 5, Antony Millward 78; 6, Archie Blair 73. Autos: 1, Alex McCanney 132; 2, James Corlett 129; 3, April Kelly 120; 4, Oakley Turner 114; 5, Malin Kelly 111; 6, Charlie Clague 72.

Centre championship - final positions: Group A - 1, L. Smith 742 points; 2, R. Christian 618; 3, Beau Brown 594; 4, H. Shand 557; 5, T. Lee 521; 6, Liam Crellin 465; 7, Ethan Blackley 465; 8, Gav Hunt 438; 9, D. McCanney 400; 10, Dave Curtis 390. Non-expert: 1, G. Saunders 681; 2, Aaron Watson 665; 3, A. Smith 615. 125/250F: 1, J. Wilson 780; 2, H. Beattie 766; 3, C. Christian 716. 85cc Big-wheel: 1, A. Cain 780; 2, R. Faragher 766; 3, J. Keig 716. Small-wheel: 1, T. Clague 788; 2, E. Corrin 763; 3, Bradley Thompson 135. 65cc: 1, L. Harrison 775; 2, B. Turner 77; 3, S. Cain 575. Autos: 1, A. McCCanney 774; 2, A. Blair 252; 3, J. Corlett 129.