Maxxis ACU British Championship Round 7 - Preston Docks 2016

The Maxxis British Championship was at our local track this weekend, Preston Docks and Team Verde were expecting good results. Preston is a sand track which both riders favour. A home crowd always goes down a storm. The track had been prepared excellently and despite the sudden turn in the weather it held the water and dried out almost immediately.

QUALIFYING:

MX2:

Jake got in an excellent first lap and looked like he was going for a good time.  But smoke was coming from the bike and he had to pull in and swap to his spare bike to complete his qualifying session. The bikes were identical but to Jake it didn't feel quite the same.  Jake finished with 16th gate pick. The team sorted a slight oil leak and the race bike was hunky dory for moto 1.

MX1:

Brad got a good lap in early on and soon slotted into 2nd place.  But it was a stacked group with Shaun Simpson, Tommy Searle and Jake Nichols it was hard to retain this spot. Brad slotted another good lap in on the fourth lap and managed to secure 6th fastest time in the stacked MX1 qualifying class.

RACE 1:

MX2:

An excellent start for Jake Millward, out in the front pack in 6th position.  It was a stacked class of riders.  Adam Sterry, Mel Pocock and Stephen Clarke. Jake was close up behind Brad Todd and tried to make a pass on more than one occasion.  But the track is narrow and Brad was quick in the deep sand, where Jake was quicker over the jumps.  Jake ended with 6th place MX2 Moto 2, which was a pretty good result.

MX1:

An excellent jump out the gate for Brad Anderson, 3rd behind Jake Nichols and Shaun Simpson.  It was a rough track and Brad held his position well. Then Tommy Searle (who hadn't gotten as good a start), caught Brad and moved into 3rd, pushing Brad down to 4th.  With just 2 laps to go, Leok started to close on Brad. They battled it out then it all went wrong for Brad. The bike went in the air and spat Brad off, landing down on him hard.  Not too good.  But Brad is a fighter, he got up, brushed himself down, pulled into the pits to straighten the bars and went on to finish then race.  Not the result he and expected, but points were scored and he came home 18th.

RACE 2:

MX2:

Fantastic start for Jake Millward. The best ever.  A clear hole shot and he led the race for a good couple of laps, until Sterry made his move. Jake chased hard for another good few laps before Martin Barr managed to find a way through. Jake now in third, Clarke chasing him hard.  Jake managed to hold off Clarke for a good few laps before Jake move down into forth. Then with just two laps to go, Bryn McKenzie started to gain and battle. Mixed in with the back markers, McKenzie got the better of Jake and made his move.  Jake ended up finishing an excellent 5th place on moto 2, which gave him a 6th overall for the day.

MX1:

Fabulous start for Brad Anderson.  2nd round the first bend and holding on to this position for the best part of the first lap, before dropping down to forth as Searle, Simpson and Nichols made their passes.  But Brad was sore.  He was in extreme pain from his off in the first race. He made a small mistake and the pain from his fall kicked in big time.  Brad battled on regardless but soon found it impossible to give it his all.  Points are important so he finished the race but dropped back 10 places to 14th.

OVERALL:

MX2:

Two good races but a few riders close on points. Jake ended up with a 6-5, giving him a 6th overall for the day, but only 2 points off 4th place.  This moved him back up a position in the championship, putting him back into 6th place with just 13 points left to catch Liam Knight and move into in to 4th place in the championship.

MX1:

What could have been an excellent day for Brad Anderson, with 2 mega starts, turned out to be disastrous.  Brads points had been hit with his fall and subsequent injuries.  He obtained a few points which helped to retain his 6th place position in the championship.  Now very few points off Whatley, Brad sees 5th overall a realistic target

QUOTE FROM JAKE MILLWARD:

6-5 to take 6th overall. Got some good starts.  Happy With that.  Enjoyed riding today.

QUOTE FROM BRAD ANDERSON:

Excellent starts today and thought it was going be a good one.  Then a big off messed it all up. I scored points but was disappointed that I couldn't have shown what I am capable of around a track like Preston Docks.

QUOTE FROM TEAM MANAGER ADRIAN KIRK:

A solid days riding with some excellent starts and results.  I hope Brad is ok.  It was a nasty off.  But he a fighter and was determined to score points. We now have both riders sitting in 6th place in the championship with one round to go!