Matterley Basin - Its history

Matterley Basin is known as a circuit that not only produces great racing, but also has amazing atmosphere. Built by Johnny Douglas Hamilton and promoted by Steve Dixon this facility is everything motocross should be and more. Despite it not even being a decade old Matterley Basin has seen some great battles and has quite a story-line of its own.

It was back in 2006 that Matterley Basin came alive as Stefan Everts and David Philippaerts won their respective classes at the first ever British Grand Prix held at the circuit.

In the MX2 class on that day two other Matterley favorites Antonio Cairoli and Tommy Searle finished second and third overall. Cairoli scored 40pts and won his first ever moto at the circuit.

A few months later the best riders in the world returned to Matterley as the Motocross of Nations was held. This time it was Team USA (James Stewart, Ryan Villopoto and Ivan Tedesco) who went home with the victory, but nobody will ever forget the battles between Stefan Everts and James Stewart in the MX1 class and Ryan Villopoto and Antonio Cairoli in the MX2 class.

Everts went 1-1 in front of one of the biggest motocross crowds ever seen for the MXoN, and RV scored 2-3 results for the MX2 overall, but it was Cairoli who scored his second moto victory at Matterley Basin for his second overall in the class.

After a handful of other circuits held the British Grand Prix from 2007 until 2010, Matterley Basin returned back to the GP scene in 2011, and again Cairoli took a moto win as he scored victory in the MX1 class. Young German rider Ken Roczen won the MX2 class with 1-1 scores.

A year later in 2012 that man Cairoli goes 1-1 in the MX1 class, taking his fourth and fifth moto wins at the circuit on his way to a dominant performance. In the MX2 class Tommy Searle and Jeffrey Herlings went to war as they battled for the small bike honors. Searle scored 1-1 results as Herlings crashed out of one moto while on the back wheel of the Brit. The huge crowd went wild as the home boy handed the world champion defeat.

2013 and while Cairoli was able to pick up another moto win, but it was Clement Desalle who won the MX1 overall with 2-1 results. In the MX2 class a classic GP was held as a handful of riders fought for the GP victory. With world MX2 champion Jeffrey Herlings out of the GP due to injury it was his countryman Glenn Coldenhoff who took the win.

Last year Cairoli went 1-2 for the MXGP overall victory and in doing so scored his seventh moto win from 12 starts. No doubt the last 10 years has seen Cairoli as the most decorated rider at the beautiful circuit build in a valley. In the MX2 class in 2014 the Dutchman Jeffrey Herlings finally scored his first GP victory at the circuit.

Now in 2015 we return to this magnificent circuit, King Cairoli coming off his victory in Spain last weekend, and a long list of riders wanting to cancel out his love-affair with the circuit. A betting man would bet on Cairoli, but as we have seen so many times already this season anything is possible.