AS3 Performance Support Rider Spotlight: Chris Conduit
We started supporting Chris last season, where he raced in the 125 class. This season, he was riding a Yamaha YZ 250 F, competing as a Senior in the 250 class for the first time. Chris took part in AMCA Regional, Northern and National events throughout the 2022 season, as well as the Skegness Beach Race at the start of November.
AMCA regional championships
Sunday 13th March 2022, Walsall MXC at Hobs Hole Lane.
This was Chris's first Senior race. He described the track as rutty and technical with conditions being wet in the morning but dried out in the afternoon. He managed 8th overall from three races which included a DNF and a 1st place! A great result considering it was Chris's first senior race and he had the DNF in race 2!
"For my first senior race and first race on the 250 F, I rode very tense and cautions in the morning as I struggled to get to grips with the intensity compared to junior racing. Halfway through the first race I started to find my groove and started closing in on the leaders but I’d already had a poor start and poor opening few laps so only managed to make my way to 9th from around 15th. Second race I had a rock smash my kill switch button which caused bike to randomly cut out every so often and eventually wouldn’t start because of it so that was a DNF. Last race I managed to get the holeshot and lead every lap with some reasonably consistent lap times to open up a small gap and then managed to ease off a little to see out the win to round out the day and end on a high".
Chris on the way to winning race 3 on his YZ 250 F (Ph. photosloth_9)
Sunday 27th March 2022, Coalville MXC at Coleorton Park.
Track conditions were dry and fast with lots of small, sharp, harsh braking bumps. In the 3 races Chris finished 4th, 7th and 7th for joint 5th overall, a decent result for the 2nd round of the season.
"First race I managed to get the holeshot but gradually faded back to 4th, second race I got an average start and lost a few places on the first few laps but managed to make them back before the end of the race. In the last race I got a good start in the top 3 but then the leader crashed in front of me and I got stuck but managed to get going and ride my way up to 7th place".
Sunday 1st May and Monday 2nd May 2022, AMCA Middlewich at Warmingham Lane
Track conditions were dry, slick, dusty and one lined. Chris finished 21st, 16th and 15th for 18th overall on the Sunday and 7th, 9th and 8th for 7th overall on the Monday.
"Probably my worst weekend racing ever. First race on Sunday I hit the gate and was pushing too hard to try and make passes. I ended up losing all my time and felt unsafe on the track all day which didn’t help my results. Lack of confidence from the first race set the tone for the next 2 races, although I did improve each race and my lap times got faster throughout the day despite the track being rougher.
Just had a bit of an off weekend I think, looking to bounce back at my next race in two weeks with a solid result and keep the ball rolling throughout the rest of the season".
Chris Conduit racing in the Senior 250 class AMCA Middlewich 2022
Sunday 15th May 2022, Ollerton MXC at Bevercotes.
Track conditions were dusty and dry and got rough through the day so was very hard to pass on. Chris went 7, 7, 7 for 7th overall. This was also Chris's local club event so he marshalled for part of the day too.
"They’d put MX2 Seniors with MX2 Experts so it was a mixed gate. The first race I got a good start and was battling with some experts throughout which was good but eventually dropped back. After a mid pack start in the second race the dust was so bad you couldn’t see ahead of you and I didn’t want to risk too much so I rode carefully for 7th again in my class, and a similar story for the last race. Felt great on the bike and felt like I managed the intensity well just struggled with the confidence in the dust".
Sunday 10th July, Oakham at Sproxton.
Track conditions were nice and tacky, lots of grip and lots of lines. Chris went 4, 3, 3 for 3rd overall."One of the best prepped tracks I’ve ridden for a while, it turned out near enough perfect, first race I got an okay start and made my way past a few riders, but it was quite intense as the track was fast and everyone was running similar lap times. My second race and third race were rather average and uneventful, but it was nice being able to tone down the intensity with it being so hot!".
AMCA Northern Area Championship
Sunday 17th April 2022, Bevercotes.
Track conditions were dry and dusty, fast but technical. Chris went 5th, 6th and 17th for 8th overall.
"In the first two races I managed to grab the holeshot and managed to battle within the top 3 for a few laps but faded back as my arms began to pump up from riding too tense. In the last race I got an okay start around 4th place but made a mistake coming out the second corner which led to my feet coming off before the first jump and I was going to come a little short but the rider behind me had nowhere to go and we collided in mid air but both managed to finish the race. I rode at a steady pace to try and get as many points for the championship and managed to make my way from 20th to 16th, but then got passed by the other rider who I crashed with, to end up finishing 17th, which I was happy with due to being in quite a lot of pain in my arm, hip and back. Luckily we were both okay".
Chris at the 1st round of the AMCA Northern Area Championships 2022 (Ph. Martin Janes).
Sunday 29th May 2022, Northern Area Championship Round 2 at Long Lane.
Track conditions were sandy, got rough and technical with some deep ruts, drizzled all morning so was wet, but it led to a great track for racing on rather than being a mud bath. Chris went 9, 5, 6 for 5th overall.
Chris's comments on the weekend:
Sunday 12th June, AMCA Northern Area Championship Rd 3 at Barnoldswick.
Track conditions were dry and fast. Chris went 5, 5, 5 for 5th overall again.
Sunday 28th August 2022 AMCA Northern Area Championship Rd 4 at Warmingham Lane.
Track Conditions on Sunday were dry and dusty. This was the final round of the Championship and Chris went 6, 7, 5 for 5th overall on the day and 3rd overall for the Championship! A great result and great first season for Chris in the Senior class!
Chris's comments on the weekend: "I really struggled to find a rhythm. I started the first race by grabbing the holeshot, led the race for a bit but eventually finished 6th. Second race average start, had some good battles with riders and finished in 7th. Last race was loads better, I made my way up to 3rd but ended up fading back to 5th at the end. 5th overall on the Sunday, and managed to secure 3rd overall in the championship so I look forward to getting my trophy at the presentation".
Chris came 3rd overall for the season in the 2022 AMCA Northern Area Champs (Ph. Emma Wisedale)
AMCA British Championship
Saturday 2nd July, AMCA at Hawkstone Park.
Track conditions were wet in the morning but dried out and got better as the day went on. It became very rough however. Chris went 12, 14, 9 for 10th overall. That was a really good result as it was a very fast class with some AMCA 125 British riders in his race due to the championship being there the next day.
"I really struggled on the concrete start so all 3 races I had poor starts, but I had 3 really fun races where I made lots and lots of passes (started outside the top 20 in all the races) and set consistent lap times. All 3 races were pretty similar but I pulled through the pack well and in the last race I felt much better on the rougher track and managed to make more passes than in the other races. I felt like I rode great all weekend just need to sort this start situation so I can be at the front from the get go, rather than having to use all my energy to catch up".
Skegness Beach Race 2022
Chris gave his comments on the event: "It was my first time completing the 3 hour main race, I started off around 70th place, and managed to make my way up inside the top 50 and set some very consistent laps before stopping for fuel and fresh goggles just over an hour in. I went back out and had lost my rhythm and ended up crashing most laps, until my next pitstop on the second hour. Went back out in 54th place and managed to pick off riders gradually until the race finished, ending up 44th overall in the elite class, which left me 10th in the clubman". A great effort for Chris's first time competing in the main race and this gave him good experience for next year's event.
Chris at Skegness Beach Race 2022 (Ph. Mike Wood)
Chris's feedback on the AS3 Performance parts he ran in 2022:
"The parts I have used have all been hard wearing and fitted perfect. We’ve has no issues with any of them all season. The skid plate fitted a lot snugger to the bike than my previous one which made it look a lot cleaner and it also offered more protection. The blue anodised parts made the bike stand out and gave the bike an extra bit of bling. Parts have always arrived fast too which has been helpful for getting back on track for the next weekend". Chris also ran our holeshot device and seat cover.
To view the parts featured on Chris's Yamaha YZ 250 F, click the link below for the Yamaha parts page on our website.
We look forward to continuing our support for Chris into 2023 and look forward to seeing how he gets on in his planned races.
