This weekend saw the Phoenix Tools Apico Kawasaki team competing in their local round of the Michelin MX Nationals. The Cornish track of Landrake was in great condition and looking to produce some good racing.
With the Pro reverting to just competing on the Sunday, it was just Sam Atkinson competing on the Saturday and he started the weekend by going 3rd fastest in qualifying.
On the Saturday, Sam rode well in the opening moto and recovered from starting outside the top 10 to claim a 4th place finish at the flag. In the second moto Sam made a better start and was inside the top 5 early on and moved up to 4th at the finish.
The Sunday saw Sam lead the opening moto until the final stages, until he slipped to 3rd at the finish flag. In the final moto of the weekend Sam started in the top 5 and moved up to 2nd at the finish to claim 3rd overall on the weekend.
On the Sunday morning Jason Meara and Carlton Husband both went out for Practice with Carlton going 7th fastest in MX2 and Jason going 9th fastest in the MX1 class.
The opening race saw Carlton manage to avoid the first corner crash but unfortunately Jason wasn’t so lucky. As the race progressed Carlton was looking strong but suffered a crash which dropped him to 7th at the finish, while Jason recovered to finish 10th.
In the second race saw Jason start well in 10th with Carlton just behind him, but Carlton would suffer a crash which dropped him down the pack. As the race went on Jason moved forward and finished in 8th place, while Carlton charged back to take 7th in the MX2 class.
The results saw Carlton claim 5th overall and claw back a few points in the title chase, while Jason claimed 9th overall.
Carlton Husband – Really struggled this weekend. Just didn’t feel myself all weekend. I came away with 7th in both moto’s after crashing in both races. The only positive from the weekend is we got a few points back in the championship, but it could have been a lot more. I’m going to get my head down this week and make things better for the last round next weekend.
Jason Meara – Today was a little bittersweet, I mean I’m super happy with my riding but the results don’t really match how well I rode. I was 10-8 in the moto’s but it could quite easily have been a top 5 overall today if things had of came together but anyway I had fun and look forward to the final round next weekend. Again, huge thank you to my team Phoenix Tools Apico Kawasaki for all their support
Sam Atkinson – Saturday was a rough day for me, I didn’t feel myself on the bike and ended up with two 4th. On Sunday we made some small changes to the bike and I felt much better. I led the third race and had a small crash and finished 3rd before taking 2nd in the final race and felt much better all day on the bike.
Barry Moore – Team Owner – Mixed weekend for the team, Sam notching up yet another National podium with 4 consistent races, Sam was unlucky in race 1 Sunday after leading the race but slipping off and finishing a close 3rd. Jason rode great all weekend and looked super smooth on the rutted technical circuit, just bad luck in the opening race saw Jason go down hard and come from half a lap down to claim a hard fought result. Carlton struggled all weekend to find a good feel with the track but still clawed a few points back in the fight for the championship, it’s all to play for all 3 riders as they look to win a championship or claim a season overall podium in the Michelin MX National series.
Photo Credit – Warren Kee
