Sunday 8th April will see the Maxxis British Motocross Championship visit the county of Norfolk, and more specifically the famous Cadders Hill circuit on the outskirts of the village of Lyng. The grass valley has been a regular stop on the domestic tour, for as long as any of you may wish to remember and is a classic example of a traditional and natural scramble circuit that has evolved to suit the modern era of the sport.
Norwich Vikings have been running meetings at the sand based track for over seventy years, although it was through hosting the televised trophy scrambles back in the 60's that the circuit firmly established itself on the off road map. Back in the days when the Grand Prix calendar was run on a totally separate class basis, the club hosted a round of the 125cc World Championship in 1993, and is one of two tracks on the 2007 tour that can boast GP status.
The 1.82 km track opened the 2006 Championship with the CAS Honda pairing of Ken De Dycker and Josh Coppins each winning a moto apiece in the MX1 category. Having won both of the opening rounds of this year's series, De Dycker will arrive in Norfolk as the favourite, but is sure to once again come under severe pressure from a rejuvenated Gordon Crockard - PAR Honda and the hard charging Scot Billy Mackenzie - De Groot Kawasaki. James Noble - Multitek Honda, Brad Anderson - Pioneer Yamaha and Mark Eastwood - Wiseco Pistons Honda are three other riders who just may upset the leading trio when the action shifts to the East of England.
Marc De Reuver dominated both MX2 races at Lyng in 2006, but it will be Shaun Simpson - Wulfsport Kawasaki, Tommy Searle - KTM UK or Mike Brown - CAS Honda who will be the men to beat this time around. However these three current front runners are sure not to have it all their own way with the likes of Gareth Swanepoel and Tom Church both from the Molson Kawasaki team, plus Sean Hamblin - Swift Suzuki all looking to take their first overall wins of the year. Hamblin more than most will be looking to produce a very special performance, with this being the home round for the Suffolk based, newly formed team.
The Cadders Hill track is situated one mile North of the A1067 Norwich to Fakenham Road, or three miles from the A47 Norwich to King's Lynn Road and is signposted from these major roads on the day of the event. As per last year, two entrances and exits will be used to assist with traffic flow in and out of the venue. If you are using GPS Navigation Systems, the track is located at postcode NR9 5AL.
If the first two rounds are anything to go by, then a trip to Lyng is a real must for all off road fans. 9.30am will see the first action on the track with the sound of the small thumpers in the MX2 class breaking the morning silencer as they go about their business of setting a qualifying time. The first support race kicks off at thirty minutes past mid day with the gate dropping on the first championship race at 1.05pm.
Full event info can be found on the club's own website which is linked to the www.mxgb.co.uk site., where you can also buy discounted advance tickets. Prices on the gate will be £20 for adults, £10 for kids / OAPs, whilst accompanied children under fourteen years old will be free of charge.