WOTTON-UNDER-EDGE motocross star Lee Dunham is celebrating after becoming the first person to win the IMBA MX2 European Championship and AMCA MX2 British Championship in consecutive years.

The Dursley MX club rider created history in the final European race of the season at Amiriswl in Switzerland, just two weeks after he clinched the British crown in Norley.

Dunham finished second in the first race and fourth in the second race, meaning he needed to finish at least 24th in the final race to seal the title.

The 25-year-old came fourth again, finishing one place higher than closest championship rival and fellow Brit Phil Mercer, to take the title by a margin of 46 points.

Dunham, who rides for the Maxxis Henderson LPE Kawasaki UK team, said: “This year my aim was to do it again because I would be the only person to do the ‘double double’ if you like.

“When the presentation was made people were shouting and cheering but it felt like another presentation.

“It hasn’t sunk in and I haven’t thought about it too much, I have just said thank you to the messages that were left for me.”

The pressure was on Dunham this year and he admitted it was tougher second time around with his rivals raising their game, but that only added to the satisfaction of retaining both titles.

He said: “Last year I raised the bar to what people were doing, but this year everyone upped their game.

“Everyone got faster, they were training more and taking things more seriously so I tried to use everything I used last year to outwit them.”

Dursley MX Club hosted the first British round of the European Championship this year at Nympsfield and Dunham believes the home crowd gave him the boost he needed to take the overall victory on the day and go top of the standings - a position he never relinquished.

He said: “That was a massive turning point because I went into the round knowing I had to do well.

“Being on my home track was mainly an advantage but so much could’ve gone wrong.

“The home crowd were going nuts which made it so good and gave me the boost in confidence that helped me turn the championship around.”

Dunham, who made his Great Britain debut in 2005, is now considering whether to make a move up to 450cc bikes next year or to continue riding 250cc bikes and try and retain his titles once again.