The Rob Hooper Racing Motocross team enjoyed a fruitful trip to the fantastic Desertmartin circuit in Northern Ireland yesterday for the fifth round of the Maxxis British Motocross Championships.
Lone RHR representative Taylor Hammal has been in fine form of late and continued this burst of speed with 6th in MX2 qualifying, his highest of the season.
The early stages of Moto 1 didn’t go to plan, he made a good jump, but on the first bend he got shunted down the order and a lap two fall meant he was on another of his fightback missions, but as always he worked his way through the pack to finish an excellent 8th.
A much-improved start in Race 2 saw Taylor circulate in 12th on the opening laps and quickly set about reeling in the opposition, moving into 6th by lap 3. By the end of Lap 9, he was up into 5th when he put the hammer down and pulled a 47-second gap on the racers behind him to end the race in the number 5 spot, giving him 5th overall and another Expert class win.
“Taylor rode ever so well” enthused Team Boss Rob Hooper, “6th was a good position for him to have in qualifying, and then in the first race, it was a great fightback from him to get back to 8th from nearly last. He never gives up and had an excellent second race. Taylor has the speed and ability to race with the front runners like Walsh, Ostlund and Vaessen if he can make a start. He certainly has the speed to be there with them”.
A happy Taylor said of his weekend “Yeah it was a good day overall. I had my best qualifying with a 6th. In the first race, I had an awful start and then crashed on the second lap, I kept pushing to finish 8th, which I was okay with as I knew I was riding well. In the Second race, I got a better start and passed up to 6th and then finished 5th, for 5th overall. I was really pleased with the second race. I really enjoyed the whole trip; it was a top weekend”.
The team now look forward to a mid-week jaunt down to the West Country to take part in the annual Patchquick Trophy at Little Silver in Devon, an event team Boss Hooper won back in 1978.
