After the dominance of round one the Hitachi KTM team riders Jake Nicholls and Ben Watson didn’t have things quite their own way at round two of the ACU British Motocross Championships at the old school track of Cadders Hill at Lyng in Norfolk.
After the dominance of round one the Hitachi KTM team riders Jake Nicholls and Ben Watson didn’t have things quite their own way at round two of the ACU British Motocross Championships at the old school track of Cadders Hill at Lyng in Norfolk.
Jake got the holeshot at the start of the first race and was followed around the opening lap by Frenchman Steven Lenoir who had Graeme Irwin, Elliot Banks-Browne and Brad Anderson all lined up behind him waiting for a chance to slip by and snatch an all-important higher place finish with the extra championship points it would bring. With the track that only had one racing line it was hard to effect a pass and the leaders stayed in that order till with two laps to go Irwin found away past Lenoir but it was all too late to stop Jake taking the win.
Gert Krestinov got the holeshot at the start of the second race from Irwin, Jake and Ashley Wild but by the end of the lap Lenoir passed Wild for fourth place and with overtaking at a premium the four fast riders crossed the finish line in that order. Jakes win and third place gave him the overall by one point from Irwin and Krestinov with Lenoir fourth and in the championship standing Jake increased his lead in the championship to thirteen points over Irwin with Lenoir third.
In the MX2 races Ben suffered at his own hands as after leading the pack into turn one followed by Martin Barr, Lewis Tombs and Harri Kullas he held the lead till just past the halfway point when a crash let the flying Kullas through to take the first race win. Race two was very much like the first with Ben once again getting the holeshot and controlling the race as second place man Kullas struggled to hold Ben’s fast pace. But with the race looking like it was in the bag Ben made another mistake and fell with just three laps to go allowing Kullas take his second win of the day. Overall in the MX2’s it was Kullas who was six points clear of Ben with Mel Pocock a distant third but in the championship standings after two round Ben holds a nine-point advantage over Kullas and Bar. Ben’s Hitachi KTM team mate, Josiah Natzke struggled with the track and only managed to score nine points in race one and failed to finish the second race.
The teams next out will be the MXGP of Europe at Valkenswaard in Holland on the 23rd of this month.
Jake Nicholls 45 – MX1 overall winner.
“The second place in race two wasn’t what I wanted from today, but the way I rode today was a bit disappointing as I was just struggling. I had damaged my hand last week at the GP in Mexico and it was very hard just to hold on to the bars today added to that I think I am still suffering a bit of jet lag as I have been tired all week and didn’t sleep very well at all last night. I think my head is still in a different time zone over the Atlantic. We did struggle a bit with set up as at the GP’s on the man-made tracks they seem to go from a big jump into a tight turn and the dirt is really gripy and you can really stiffen the suspension up to take full advantage of those conditions but come here on the great “old school” track it really needed to be softened up. So with a stiff bike and with my hand hurting it was an uphill battle and made it hard for ourselves. Also I was lucky to even finish the first race for as I went into turn two and with the bike laid over I caught the radiator on a small post which gave the bike a small leak which got worse as the race went on but luckily didn’t run out of coolant. But I can’t complain as I came away with the overall win and have extended my lead in the championship race, and that’s what we came here for, but it just wasn’t the performance I was looking for.”
Ben Watson 919 – MX2 overall second.
“The day’s racing didn’t really go the way I would have wanted as after getting two holeshots I would have expected to go on to two wins’ but I have just been making too many silly mistakes and it’s costing. I went through the fence at the work area in the first race and fell off in the second race while in the lead with two laps to go. I know I was quicker then Harri (Kullas) because even after crashing I managed to chase him down and cross the finish line in his wheel tracks. It’s annoying and frustrating to make those silly mistakes but it’s got me fired up for the next round now. I will put all this behind me and focus on the next round.”
Words: Press Release Photos: © Alicia Presa Photography
