The Judd KTM British Youth Championship travelled over the Yorkshire moors last weekend to visit Whitby for round two of the 2019 championship.
With the original round two date at Pontrilas being cancelled last month it feels like a long time since the BYC mob last took to the track.
This break in the calendar gave the riders a bit more time to get used to their new rides for 2019 and also allowed some of those that started out the season with injuries a chance to recuperate.
The RHL crew and track staff had a tough decision to make on Friday afternoon. They knew that wet weather was inbound, so the choice was made to keep the track sealed overnight, a tactic which worked out well, as tough track conditions on Saturday gave way to a perfect race circuit for the main block of racing on Sunday.
As constant drizzle saturated the track on Saturday and conditions were very tough for the BYCās youngest riders, but thankfully the sun came out to play on Sunday and the track was much more enjoyable for the Auto pilots.
One young star who seemed to be enjoying himself no matter what mother nature threw his way was āThe Rocketā Robbie Daly who won in the rain on Saturday and in the sunshine on Sunday.
The Judd Orange Brigade rider took all five race wins at Whitby to continue his perfect season.
He did have some new company at the front of the pack, though, as newcomer George Cherry set fastest time in qualifying to grab pole position heading into the points-paying races.
He wasnāt able to best Daly again for the rest of the weekend, but Cherry rode some great races, fighting through the pack to earn two thirds and three second places for second overall. The ever-consistent Lucas Lee swapped positions with Cherry throughout the weekend, ultimately ending two points behind the new kid to finish on the third step of the podium.
Tommie Perfect improved as the weekend wore on and by the final race of the weekend he was mixing it with the top three and went home with fourth overall. An honourable mention must go to
Riley Ray Barrow. The fast-starting Judd Orange Brigade rider was one of the most improved riders of the weekend, running in second place behind his team-mate on Saturday before a huge crash over the biggest jump on the track knocked him out of podium contention.
But in an awesome effort he got back up after the nasty get-off and continued as normal. The doors were blown wide open in the 65 class as championship leader Max Harris was forced to sit it out due to injury.
SJP Husqvarna pilot Reece Jones took full advantage, looking stylish and composed as he took four wins from five races. The fight for the remaining podium spots behind Jones was fiercely contested, with the likes of Kayden Smith, Archie-Jay Girdham, Charlie Richmond, Brandon Buckley and Freddie Gardiner all landing on the podium at some point over the weekend.
Richmond surprised a lot of people, including Reece Jones, by nicking the win in race two but an eighth place in race three meant he just missed out on an overall podium spot. Brandon Buckley fought hard all weekend, battling through the pack on multiple occasions for a well-earned third overall.
Freddie Gardiner was the next most consistent rider behind Jones and three visits to the podium earned him second overall. The stylish Tyla Hooley was on a mission in the Small-Wheel class with a perfect day on Saturday as he claimed both race wins in less than ideal conditions.
Sunday started off a little pear-shaped though as a crash in race three left him down in 22nd to put a big dent in his overall chances. After initially struggling with the tough conditions on Saturday Finley Evans looked much more like himself on Sunday and he capitalised on Hooleyās misfortune to take the win in race three.
The SJP Husqvarna rider backed that up with a third place in race four and runner-up in race five to claim the overall win by two points over Hooley,
extending his championship lead in the process.
McKenzie Marshall claimed the third step on the overall podium as the Judd Orange Brigade rider impressed with three podium finishes and the win in moto four.
Billy Askew also rode really well at Whitby, showing great improvement since round one although a slight bike issue in race two stopped him finishing any higher than seventh overall. The Big-Wheels 85 class was one of the hardest-fought battles of the weekend at Whitby.
These lads provided some of the best racing of the season so far and four front runners have and established themselves as the ones to beat. Class rookies Bailey Johnston and Ollie Colmer continue to impress as they battle with their older rivals Charlie Heyman and Sam Atkinson and the four fought tooth and nail for the podium positions.
Heyman and Atkinson pushed hard for the flag in every race, allowing them to pull away from Colmer and Johnston.
Atkinson took both wins ahead of Heyman on Saturday but Charlie bounced back strongly on Sunday and made some aggressive passes to run away with the opening race. The SJP Husqvarna rider tried to use the same tactic in races four and five but Atkinson was ready and took both races wins to make it four from five for the weekend.
Colmer and Johnston both suffered from bad starts, small crashes and bike gremlins and the consistent Charlie Palmer took advantage to claim the final podium spot. The Open and 125 classes raced together and the two-strokes battled hard against their four-stroke foes although the 125s and 250fs were scored separately.
In the 125 class Jack Grayshon found himself in a Judd KTM sandwich as he battled with Louie Kessell and Preston Williams. Grayshon drew first blood but Williams bounced back strongly, transferring his downhill mountain bikes skills onto the motocross track to take wins in races two and three.
Grayshon had a nightmare start to race three and despite fighting hard to work his way through the pack he could only make it back to fifth place, which really hurt his overall chances.
He regrouped to take race four 125 win ahead of Williams but Preston was determined to finish the weekend strongly and was leading the 125 pack in the final moto before a red flag in the closing stages of the race brought the weekend to a finish.
Williams took a well-earned overall in front of Grayshon, with Louie Kessell joining them on the podium. Three riders have emerged to battle it out for Open class honours but last yearās 125 champion Drew Anderson had a tough weekend.
He was hampered by goggle issues on Saturday and a crash early on in race three meant he had to fight through the pack.
The battle for the overall was between Dominic Lancett and Max Ingham, who took the win in race one as Lancett struggled in the slick conditions. Lancett bounced back to take victories in races two, three, four and five, with Ingham battling him all the way as the pair took the top two places on the podium, joined by Anderson.
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