Round 2 of the AMCA British Championships done and dusted and another roller coaster day of excitement, highs, lows and a full spectrum of emotions for Team Apex KTM UK.
Have to say Ian Jesson and the rest of the Wrekin MXC put in a vast amount of time and work into the track and it payed dividends with an absolutely prime Long Lane venue. The Shropshire sandy going proved yet again to be a brutal and truly challenging test of bike and rider alike. The trend we witnessed last year with the clubs going the extra mile and putting on some amazing Championship rounds is definitely continuing this year with the first 2 round being utterly first class. It’s such a shame that spectators are still not aloud at these Championship rounds as they are proving to be nail biting affairs in all classes with some very fast racing and plenty of different race winners in the mix.
All three of our team members rode their hearts out with varying levels of success but each of them had to deal with lady luck along the way.
Damon Damo Strydom #55 – MX1 (125 for Championship)
Damo had a storming first race with a decent 5th place start and managing to fight his way forward to take the lead with 2 laps to go and managing to deposit his first race win in his newly opened AMCA Championship account. Race 2 however saw a change of fortune with a recorded 37th place on lap 1 Damo got his head down and fought hard putting on an impressive display fighting his way through the pack to eventually finish 8th but still well in contention for an overall podium. A mediocre start in his final outing Damo rode strong again from 13th to 5th but a small tumble on the penultimate lap dropped him back to 6th which was enough to grant Damo his inaugural overall podium with 3rd on the day and moving up to 3rd in the series keeping his championship aspirations alive.
Henry Williams #15 – MX2
Setting pole in timed qualifying was a good indicator of Henry’s pace around the demanding Long Lane circuit and a good day ahead. A 9th place start in moto 1 meant Henry already had his work cut out to get near the front of a very fast field of riders but he stunned everyone by literally carving his way through to second place within the first 2 laps and then continuing pound out consistently strong laps to take a very well deserved 2nd place. Race 2 saw a bit of a “bobble” with a couple of crashes,where Henry dropped back to 20th place on lap 2 making things difficult to pull places back as the rest of the rest of the pack stretched out ahead, resulting in a meagre 13th place. The final moto Henry was 2nd off the start but lost a couple of places to fall back to 5th at the flag to take 6th overall on the day and retaining his 5th place in the series standings.
Corey Hockey #541 – MX1
Already carrying a knee injury from a race at Brookthorpe the previous week Corey was always going to be up against it from the beginning on the brutally rough sand track. A rear suspension issue in race 2 compounded the knee issue and unfortunately he ended the day in 23rd place overall and dropping back to 15th in the Championship, which is most definitely not indicative of the speed and commitment that we all aware of. If you’ve ever met Corey and his Dad, Rich, you will be fully aware of the infectious passion this pairing have for our great sport and you will then understand how disappointed they will be with the days events at Long Lane. As a team we are acutely aware of how anyone’s fortunes can change in the blink of an eye in this most demanding of sports and we are so very proud of the determination Corey displayed in even attempting to compete on such a tough track with his injury, he now needs to rest up that knee and give it a chance to heal sufficiently before his next outing.
A huge thank you again to our dedicated and truly loyal families, sponsors and supporters, you really are sincerely appreciated as we couldn’t do this without all of you. Now looking ahead to quick turn around then onto Warmingham Lane on Sunday.
Photo Credit – Scorch Images
