It was a mixed day for New Zealand’s Scotty Columb at the latest round of the British Motocross Championships.

The Suzuki star from Queenstown finished 8th and 14th in his two MX1 outings at Foxhill in Wiltshire, round six of the series.

Columb is sixth in the series standings, not far behind Tom Church.

Honda rider Brad Anderson wrapped up the MX1 overall on Sunday with solid 2-2 results, while South African Gareth Swanepoel and Britain’s Carl Nunn scored the moto wins.

The consistent Anderson has a huge lead in the series points and is well on target to be crowned British champion.

Meanwhile, (Jake Nicholls KTM) won the MX2 class at the weekend.

Nicholls scored 2-1 results and got lucky when race one winner Stephen Sword could only manage two points in the second moto. Frenchman Pascal Leuret was second overall, while American Zach Osborne made his comeback to racing with third overall in the MX2 class.

New Zealand’s Mike Phillips (Honda) marked his comeback to the series following injury by clocking 15th and 10th placings in his two MX2 races.

Phillips, from Rotorua, is 15th in the championships standings, and this is despite his injury forcing him out of the previous two rounds.

“It’s been two and a half months since the crash that put me in hospital for seven days and out of two rounds of the British Championship but it was time to make a return,” said Phillips.

“There wasn’t a better place to do that than Foxhills, the track I had crashed on two and a half months ago and the track that one year ago today sent me back to NZ with a broken arm.

“Some had asked me why I was riding this track and I also asked myself that a few time but in the end it was a fun track and I felt fit and ready to get back into racing.

“Qualifying went alright but still feeling a little rusty and I could only manage 15th but I was happy.

“The first moto I got a little boxed in on the first turn and came out in around 9th. I made a little mistake on the first lap and came together with another rider and I went down. I lost a few places but got back up and into the race. I passed only a few riders and managed to put together a consistent moto finishing 15th.

“Moto two I decided to step it up. I got a ripper start and came around in 4th. I battled my way around the first lap but had forgotten how intense the racing was at the front.

“I made a few little mistakes on the first lap and settled into 6th. I battled with Kawasaki rider Elliott Banks Brown for a few laps and managed to pull away but a few laps later I had Honda rider Scott Elderfield on my back wheel. By this time I was feeling a little second hand and he got passed me. On the same lap I washed the front wheel and went down. I picked it up in 9th place but on the last lap a lapper got in my way and it was a fight to the finish with KTM rider Graeme Irwin. I lost out and finished 10th.

“I finished 13th overall on the day and am now 15th in the series

“I was happy to leave Foxhills in one piece, with some points and with out a new scare. I wasn’t really expecting much as I hadn’t been on the bike that long and my second moto showed. I’m looking forward to the next few weeks working on moto fitness and getting back into the swing of things.”

MX1 Overall:

1 Brad Anderson 44 22 22

2 Carl Nunn 43 18 25

3 Gareth Swanepoel 43 25 18

4  Tom Church 36 16 20

5 Jason Dougan 36 20 16

6 Bryan MacKenzie 28 13 15

7  James Noble 27 15 12

8 Scott Columb 22 8 14

9 Gordon Crockard 22 9 13

10 Stuart Edmonds 22 12 10

MX2 Overall:

1 Jake Nicholls 47 22 25

2 Pascal Leuret 42 20 22

3 Zach Osbourne 34 14 20

4 Martin Barr 34 16 18

5 Neville Bradshaw 33 18 15

6 Scott Elderfield 31 15 16

7 Stephen Sword 27 25 2

8 Mel Pocock 26 13 13

9 Wayne Smith 25 11 14

10 Graeme Irwin 24 12 12

MX2 Championship points:

1 Stephen Sword 252

2 Jake Nicholls 208

3 Neville Bradshaw 203

4 Martin Barr 173

5 Mattis Karro 159

6 Scott Elderfield 156

7 Wayne Smith 144 108

8 Graeme Irwin 137

9 Pascal Leuret 135

10 Shane Carless 126

MX1 Championship points:

1 Brad Anderson 264

2 Gareth Swanepoel 215

3  Carl Nunn 203

4 James Noble 201

5 Tom Church 160

6 Scott Columb 143

7 Jason Dougan 138

8 Billy MacKenzie 127

9 Bryan MacKenzie 105

10 Alex Snow 97

Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com