Maxxis ACU British Championship Round 7 - Cusses Gorse 2014

The weekend saw a change of venue for the ACU Maxxis Motocross Championship.  It was held for the first time at Cusses Gorse near Salisbury, Wiltshire.  The gorgeous weather on Saturday set a "good feel" aptmosphere around the paddock.  However overnight the tail end of Hurricane Bertha brushed through the race venue, leaving plenty of water behind it!  But the track was prepared well and Sunday morning saw a bone dry race track that was just a tad slippery.

QUALIFYING

The heavens opened as the MX 2 riders approached the line. This made the track slippy and the tacky mud stuck to everything, also plenty of 'flying rocks'.  Matt's speed was there but he struggled to put in a full good lap time and ended up with 23rd gate pick.

RACE 1

Matty was 10th out of the gate but got squeezed back to 20th at the turn of the first bend.  He kept strong for a good few laps until the front end slipped.  Game over!  Back to 31st place.  Matty managed to pull back 4 places and had an exciting few laps whilst doing so.  But finishing 27th left him with no championship points.

RACE 2

An excellent start coming into he first bend in 8th place, but the speed of the top riders soon got the better of Matty and he dropped back to 20th before the end of the first lap. Then a mistake approaching an uphill bend and Matty lost the back end which cost him his race points once again, leaving him finishing in 25th place.

RACE 3

Once again Matty managed to get out of the gate pretty quick but the more experienced pack, with better gate positions, soon pushed him wide and he lost his position near the front.  The narrow track was now very rutted and rough, with very few places to pass.  Matty battled on, stayed on the bike and managed to finished 22nd.  This was a more consistent race but still disappointingly, no points were scored!

OVERALL

Well with no points scored, Matty didn't gain a position for the day but he now sits in 28th position in the championship, despite missing out on Round 2, due to injury.  With just one round left at Foxhills in September, it doesn't leave much of an opportunity to up that position before the end of the season, which is a shame as the team had hoped for a top 20 position if not a top 15!

QUOTE FROM ADRIAN KIRK

The track obviously didn't suit Matty.  He has just returned from 2 weeks of intensive training in Belgium.  We all know that Matty rides better in sand but the hard pack, claggy, rocky and narrow track at Cusses Gorse challenged many a rider and their bikes.  

QUOTE FROM MATHEW CALLAGHAN

I have been training hard over the last few weeks so I'm Disappointed in the results but the  Bike was spot on. The track was just so hard to pass on and hard pack is not my strong point.