Noble heads British MX

RWJ Honda rider James Noble leads the MX1 Maxxis British Motocross Championship after taking 3rd overall at Desertmartin in Northern Ireland for round five of eight in the 2005 campaign.

Factory Red Bull Champ KTM rider Carl Nunn stretched his consecutive run of wins to four and extended his lead in the MX2 competition on June 18.

Leading the MX1 class since the first round at Canada Heights, Multitek Honda’s Paul Cooper returned from a brief sabbatical in South Africa and attempted to defend his advantage despite a less than perfect physical state. The veteran was disappointed with a ranking of 7th overall.

James Noble was 2nd behind runaway double winner Josh Coppins.

The Championship’s first four riders are now split by just 17 points.

Carl Nunn maintained his phenomenal record in the MX2 category (50% moto win ratio and 100% podium streak) even though he crashed at slow speed in the first moto and then stalled his works KTM 250 four-stroke in the second outing.

The championship next heads to the south of England to Landrake, near Plymouth, for round six on July 24.

MX1 Overall result

1. Josh Coppins CASHonda60

2. Jussi Vehvilainen CAS Honda 52

3. James Noble RWJ Honda 48

4. Mark Jones EA / Dirt Bike Store KTM 46

5. Yoshitaka Atsuta Moto Vision Racing Suzuki 40

6. Alex Rach Innovate Racing Honda 38

7. Paul Cooper Multi Tek Sport Honda 29

8. Glen Phillips O’Neal Racing Yamaha 25

9. Tommy Merton Yamaha 20

10. Mark Hucklebridge Innovate Racing Honda 19

MX1 Standings after 5 of 8 rounds:

1. James Noble Honda 251

2. Jussi Vehvilainen Honda 246

3. Paul Cooper Honda 242

4. Josh Coppins Honda 234

5. Yoshitaka Atsuta Suzuki 204

6. Neville Bradshaw Suzuki 153

7. Mark Jones KTM 138

8. Glen Phillips Yamaha 126

9. Alex Rach Honda 114

10. Mark Hucklebridge Honda 100

MX2 Overall result

1. Carl Nunn Champ Red Bull KTM 57

2. Tom Church Molson Racing Kawasaki 50

3. Erik Eggens RWJ Honda 50

4. Shaun Simpson Team Lizard Racing Honda 42

5. Tommy Searle Molson Racing Kawasaki 36

6. Jason Dougan Motovision Racing Suzuki 34

7. Wayne Smith Innovate Racing Honda 34

8. Billy MacKenzie Bike It…Dixon Racing Yamaha 30

9. Ben Saunders KRM Racing Europe Honda 25

10. George Stirk KTM 22

MX2 Standings after 5 of 8 rounds:

1. Carl Nunn KTM 283

2. Tom Church Kawasaki 244

3. Wayne Smith Honda 206

4. Billy MacKenzie Yamaha 198

5. Eric Eggens Honda 184

6. Brad Anderson Yamaha 181

7. Tommy Searle Kawasaki 159

8. Shaun Simpson Honda 108

9. Jason Dougan Suzuki 107

10. Ben Saunders Honda 95