Brad Todd Crowned 2011 UK Xtreme Academy Champion

The UK Honda Xtreme Academy drew to a close yesterday at Milton Park, Northampton with Brad Todd fighting hard to be crowned the 2011 UK Honda Xtreme Academy Champion.

Going into the weekend Todd had a healthy lead, but needed fourth overall to clinch the Xtreme Academy title over fellow competitor, Jack Gardner. The youngster, who was also fighting for the BYMX overall title aboard his CRF150R, rode nervously in Saturday’s races but ended Sunday with a strong and calculated race win to take the Xtreme Academy championship after seven rounds.

In the BYMX big wheel class Todd went into the final round with a lead of the smallest margins, as just six points separated the top three. Fellow Honda rider and rival Jack Gardner romped to one victory and two second places on on the Saturday to Todd’s 5-3-3 scorecard. Although Todd fought back on Sunday, they ended the weekend on equal points and Gardner, who finished runner-up in th e Xtreme Academy series, was awarded the championship due to winning more races throughout the season.

With four Honda machines in the top six it’s certainly been another good year for the Xtreme Academy riders in the UK. Last year’s BYMX and Xtreme Academy champion, Adam Sterry, has also enjoyed a strong season as he graduated into the BYMX Youth and MXY2 class aboard a CRF 250R, finishing runner-up in each.

This year’s Xtreme Academy top four, Todd, Gardner, Robert Davidson and Matthew Callaghan, who was also awarded an Xtreme Academy Performance Award for his vast improvement in the second half of the season, were all awarded with an abundance of prizes from sponsors One Industries, Vans, Airoh helmets, Renthal, Polisport, Racebikebitz and No-Toil as well as a total prize fund of £1,750.

“To win the Honda Xtreme Academy championship is just as good as winning the BYMX series for me and it was something I real ly wanted. I’m so happy and the prizes are great; it’s been my best season so far and to come out with this championship and runner-up in Great Britain is really special to me. I finished 14th in the BYMX series last year, but switching to Honda has been a massive boost for me and to be battling for the title has been great. I was really nervous on Saturday and I struggled a bit because I was trying to stay calm and not crash, but to come away with this is just awesome. It was also good to come here after the training school with Brian Jorgensen, as the tracks are quite similar and we definitely learned a lot to help us. So I’d like to say thankyou to the Honda Xtreme Academy, my family and everyone who has supported me to get me here. I am absolutely made up and the prizes as well as the money from Honda is certainly going to help us out for next year,” said Honda Xtreme Academy champion, Brad Todd.


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