The fourth 2022 Nora British Motocross Motocross Champion we caught up for our Victory Parade feature is Clubman MX2 Champion Chris Corthorn who win his title at the Nora92 Cup at Marshfield back at the beginning of May…
Nora: Coming into the event what were your targets?
Chris: Coming into the event, I set myself a goal of running top 10 all weekend, Staying consistent and potentially coming away with a top 5 overall. Being from the opposite side of the country I didn’t recognise many names on the entry list so honestly had no idea who were the ones to watch out for or a similar speed to myself.
Nora: How did you find the revamped Marshfield track?
Chris: This was my first time riding Marshfield, and I loved it, the tacky soil and fast sweeping layout definitely suited my style as I prefer hard pack fast but technical tracks to the more sandy base ones. I had spoken to a few mates who had ridden there previously, and they mention that it was very rocky and Stoney. After seeing the videos of the stone crusher doing its magic, I knew it was going to be completely different to when they had ridden it. The track even held up perfectly despite the early rain on Saturday morning.
Nora: What was your best race of the weekend?
Chris: For me, it’s hard to pick just one as I had very good Motos all weekend, but if I was pushed to choose id say Moto1 on the Saturday. I almost pulled the holeshot made an early pass on the leader and just put in consistent laps. At the halfway point I had a nice lead and just maintained that gap until the finish. I didn’t want to push too hard and make a mistake but also wanted to save myself for the other three Motos over the weekend.
Nora: What riders did you have the best battles with?
Chris: The best battle I had was with Josh Bond in Moto 3. I happened to have parked next to him on Saturday, It was funny, actually, after Moto1 he came off the track after finishing 3rd and asked his dad who it was he needed to beat next time. His dad then pointed to me and we ended up having a chat. Getting back to the battle we had in Moto 3, I pulled the holeshot and he was 2nd from the very start. I noticed I wasn’t able to pull away like I had done on Saturday and that made me ride more aggressively and really push. Every time I looked he was still there. As we came into the lappers I managed to get through a bit cleaner than Josh did and over the next couple of laps I pulled out a 4 second gap. With 2 laps to go I stalled in a rut behind a lapper and although I got going quickly Josh was right back on me and by that point I had nothing left in the tank. He passed me that lap and ended up winning the race by 7 seconds. Its fair to say I hit the wall. It was made even better that as we pulled off the track his dad and his mechanic were absolutely pumped for him and it was his first ever national race win.
Nora: Give us a rundown of your weekend & your results?
Chris: My weekend was pretty faultless and I ended up going 1,1,2,1 for 1st overall. It started off well in qualifying, which definitely helped as I then had 1st gatepick all weekend which was a huge help. I was top 5 off the gate each race.
Nora: How does it feel to be a Nora British Champion?
Chris: It feels amazing to be the First NORA British MX2 champion. It was also my first national title in 14 years, I ended up having a very big crash as a schoolboy whilst racing and that caused me to have over a decade off the bike. So it was a really good feeling to come back after so long off and prove to myself that I’ve not lost everything when it comes to my riding.
Nora: What did you enjoy most about the Nora92 Cup?
Chris: Overall the thing I enjoyed most was the relaxed atmosphere and the fact that all riders were there to have fun. No one took it seriously, there was no dirty riding or animosity between anyone. The whole organisation was second to none, as was the track. Couldn’t have asked for a better weekend.
Nora: Will you be coming back next year to defend the title?
Chris: Time will tell. Unfortunately with my job I can’t guarantee that I’ll be available next year when the Nora British Cup is on. Regardless of that, I will step up to the Elite cup for next year to push myself against faster riders and ill be aiming for a top 10 if I do end up making the event. Fingers crossed.
I’d just like to finish by saying a huge thank you to Lawson and his team who put on a truly outstanding event and also to all the riders for making the racing so tight and fun. Both to watch and to be involved with.
Picture by Summers Photography