British championship starts this weekend.

The 2005 Maxxis British Motocross Championship kick-starts into action this weekend at the Canada Heights circuit near Swanley.

The series is widely recognised as one of the best and most competitive national competitions in Europe and will again draw a generous spread of top-class international stars as well as showcasing the cream of British talent.

The eight round trek across the British Isles begins at the well-liked Canada Heights venue, with the Sidcup and District Motorcycle club upgrading the facility over the winter period and transforming various zones of the lofty course into an entirely new prospect for both riders and spectators.

The rest of the championship visits all four corners of Britain with trips to Northern Ireland, Hereford, Norwich, Whitby and Oxford to follow. Many of the riders in the MX1 and MX2 categories are grand prix regulars and current MX1 defending British Champion, Josh Coppins, finished third in the 2004 FIM MX1 World Championship.

The MX1 contest should see an entertaining tussle between factory backed rider Coppins and former champions Gordon Crockard (Yamaha) and Paul Cooper (Honda) - although Coppins will miss the opening round after dislocating his shoulder last weekend at Hawkstone Park.

The class will also see Japanese representative Yoshitaka Atsuta lining up in Motovision Suzuki colours after signing with the team during the off-season. James Noble, Stuart Flockhart and Mark Jones are also some of the names that will be fighting for podium honours in Kent.

The 2005 championship boasts a cosmopolitan mix of riders from USA, Japan, Holland, France, South Africa and New Zealand nowhere is this more evident than in the MX2 category where America's Mike Brown and Holland's Erik Eggens, both new recruits of the RWJ Honda team, are expected to be among the favourites for success, not only within British shores but also the seventeen-round World Championship.

South Africa's Gareth Swanepoel is one of the bright young prospects in Grand Prix motocross although the Molson Kawasaki rider will be struggling to make the Canada Heights gate after sustaining a winter injury.

MX2, traditionally a little more action-packed and frantic than its bigger brother MX1, also pushes Britain's top riders to the fore with Carl Nunn (KTM), Tom Church (Kawasaki), Jason Dougan (Suzuki) and Billy Mackenzie (Yamaha) all prepared to do battle for the coveted prize that was last year won by Stephen Sword.

The works Kawasaki rider, who last year became the first Briton to win a grand prix since Jamie Dobb in Austria back in 2002, is electing to focus on the World Championship this term but has delighted his many fans by entering the Canada Heights opener as a wild-card.

Sunday's action at Canada Heights starts with practice and qualifying sessions during the morning with the first race of six (two motos for MX1 and MX2 each and two support heats) beginning at 12.30.

2005 Maxxis British Motocross Championship:

13th March Canada Heights Swanley
27th March Pontrilas Hereford
10th April Lyng Norwich
1st May Culham Oxford
18th June Desertmartin Northern Ireland
24th July Landrake Devon
11th September Whitby
9th October Torrington Devon (tbc)