Matti Seistola Crowned 2013 BSEC Champion

The 2013 Husqvarna British Sprint Enduro Championship is brought to a thrilling close as Matti Seistola is crowned champion at Chacombe, near Banbury.

The final two rounds of the Husqvarna ACU British Sprint Enduro Championship, rounds seven and eight, at Chacombe saw the crowning of all of this year’s champions. With the series moving to a new venue, the season finale would see competitors tested with a fast and flowing course. Greeted with the last of the summer sun, the added heat ensured riders would have no easy run to the finish line.

Elite

With the Elite class championship still up for grabs, all eyes were set on Matti Seistola (Husqvarna), Jamie McCanney (Husaberg) and Danny McCanney (Gas Gas) to see who would emerge as champion. Holding a slender lead in the points race Seistola entered Chacombe as favourite but with Jamie McCanney on winning form last time out at Sheffield, the title was set to go down to the wire.

Fast out of the blocks, Jamie McCanney claimed an early lead at round seven. And with Seistola appearing to struggle, McCanney seemed on course for victory. Fighting back to win tests four and five, Seistola closed in on his rival. But despite going on to top the final two tests of the day, he was unable to close the gap to McCanney and had to settle for the runner-up result. Benefitting from a costly time penalty incurred by Danny McCanney, Honda’s Jamie Lewis ended his day in third position.

Returning from injury, KTM’s Daryl Bolter grabbed fourth with McCanney pushed back to fifth. KTM’s Jonny Walker completed the top six.

Determined to lead from the off, Seistola posted the fastest time on the opening special test. Upping his pace further, he steadily extended his lead as the day progressed. Topping all seven of the day’s special tests, the Finn claimed the final win of the season to secure the title. Unable to repeat his winning performance from the previous day, McCanney could do nothing to stop his rival. Forced to settle for second, he also ended the championship as runner-up. Making amends from his previous day’s misfortune, Danny McCanney bounced back to end round eight in third overall. Producing another solid performance, Lewis ended his day in fourth with Bolter taking fifth. Walker completed the top six.

Under 23

In the Under 23 class, the outcome of the championship looked set to be decided between Husqvarna’s Jack Rowland and KTM’s Steve Holcombe. Needing a double win to stand a chance of being crowned champion, Holcombe immediately took the fight to Rowland. Tied on time on the opening special test, the KTM rider then edged away from Rowland throughout the day to claim victory at round seven. With Rowland placing as runner-up, TM’s James Dent finished behind the duo in third. Split by just one-tenth of a second, KTM’s Ben Murphy edged out Max Varney (Yamaha) for fourth.

With the championship still to play for, Holcombe’s hopes took a serious dent when he crashed on the opening special test and hurt his thumb. Bouncing back to win the following test, he set about limiting the damage to Rowland, who was holding the lead. Fighting back, Rowland claimed the final two special tests of the day to wrap up the Under 23 championship with victory. With Holcombe ending his day as runner-up, Dent again placed third. Improving on his previous day’s result, Neil Chatham (KTM) finished just two seconds behind Dent in fourth with Varney completing the top five.

Under 19

Delivering his best performance of the season, Kawasaki’s Joe Wootton claimed a dominant win in the Under 19 category. Leading his class from the outset, Wotton ended his day almost one-minute clear of runner-up Rob Johnson (Husqvarna). Settling for second overall, Johnson also clinched the Under 19 title. Placing 13 seconds behind Johnson, TM’s Josh Gotts took third. Completing the top five, Sherco mounted Jon Hunt and Andrew Bull (KTM) took fourth and fifth respectively.Continuing his winning form at round eight, Wootton again topped the Under 19 class with Johnson finishing as runner-up. In the battle for third position, Gotts held off Hunt to claim the final step of the podium. With Hunt fourth, Charlie Frost (KTM) rounded out the top five.

125 Youth

With the 125 Youth title already decided at round six, KTM’s Brad Freeman was intent on ending his season on a high. With a perfect season still up for grabs, Freeman positioned himself at the head of his class at the end of the opening test. Easing his way to victory, Freeman won round seven. Backing it up with another flawless performance at round eight, which included the fourth fastest outright time on the final test, Freeman remained unbeaten in the BSEC for 2013. Behind Freeman it was newcomer Jack Edmondson (KTM) that ended round seven as runner-up with Lee Sealey (Husaberg) in third. At round eight Lee Sealey chased Freeman home for second with Jack Staines (KTM) in third.

Expert

At round seven, Richard Ely (KTM) secured a start to finish win to claim the 2013 Expert BSEC championship. Behind him Jamie Paget (Husaberg) held off Brad King (Kawasaki) for second. Dan Beaven (KTM) and Jeremy Callow (KTM) completed the top five. At round eight a new winner emerged when Ely crashed out of contention early on. Battling with King, Paget bettered the Kawasaki rider by five seconds to claim his first win of the season. With King second, Sherco’s Scott Austin improved to third. Beaven ended his day in fourth while James Burroughs (Husqvarna) rounded out the top five.

Vets

Claiming two wins, Andrew Reeves wrapped up the Expert Vets class in winning style with Neil Bowker (KTM) placing second. In the Clubman Vets, Tim Cotton (Husaberg) placed first and second to clinch the title. Second at round seven, Dai Beer (KTM) won round eight. Placing third both days, Keith Jones (KTM) cemented his position of third overall in the championship.

Clubman

In the Clubman class the fight for overall honours was played out between Mark Denslow (KTM) and Jesse Say (Husaberg). At round seven, Say fended off the attacks from Denslow to claim a crucial one-second margin of victory while Nick Sims (Sherco) placed third. At round eight Denslow upped his pace and pushed hard to win. Beating Say by four seconds, Denslow was crowned the 2013 Clubman BSEC champion. With Say placing as the runner-up, Richard Holmes (KTM) completed the top three.

Women

In the Women’s class a double win ensured Husaberg’s Jane Daniels successfully defended her title. With two second place results, Katie Walker claimed the runner-up result with Hannah Styles rounding out the top three.