Maxxis ACU British Championship Round 8 - Foxhills 2016

Qualifying:

The track was very slippery especially on the corners during practice, making it hard to put in a safe fast lap.  But both classes had top line ups, and points were very close for taking both the MX1 and MX2 championship trophies.

MX2:

Jake’s speed was spot on but he struggled big time on the slippery track.  He kept washing out and spinning round on the corners making it difficult to put in a solid fast complete lap.  He did managed to get 9^th fastest MX2, but still this gave him a limited choice on the gate.

MX1:

Brad also didn’t take to this track in practice.  It was very slippy, slidy and not enjoyable.  Lap times were very similar for a number of riders and Brad slotted into 8^th fastest MX1, which wasn’t the best gate pick, but a lot better than it could have been.

Race 1:

MX2:

Jake got a terrible jump out the gate and had to cut in tight on the first bend and scoot down the pit line to pass a few riders to move him into 7^th.  He was on it until he had a coming together with another rider on the uphill, leaving Jake on the floor with bent bars and having to come through the pack from the very back.  It was tough but he picked them off one at a time and finally managed to move into the points, finishing 19^th and scoring 2 points.

MX1:

A terrible start for Brad.  He got boxed in coming down the start straight and had to cut in tight on the first bend to get past everybody.  Then throttle back and a few more down the pit lane, pulling him in to 12^th place.  By the end of the first lap, Brad had passed more again and moved into 8^th.  Then Edmonds got stuck in a rut right in front of Brad, leaving him nowhere to go and loosing 3 places, pushing him back to 11^th.  Lenior got in the way a couple of times, but Brad pushed on through taking him, Harrison and Coulon.  He then lost quite a bit of time trying to pass Alex Snow on the narrow Foxhill track, who kept blocking Brad’s passes.  On the last lap Brad took him on one of the long uphill’s moving Brad into 7^th place, with the 4^th fastest lap time of the moto.  Not sufficient time left to catch Nicholls, Krestinov and Leok meant Brad settled for a 7^th place finish in moto 1.

Race 2:

MX2:

Jake Millward got the hole shot in the second moto.  He was way out up front.  One fabulous start to the race.  It took a couple of laps to settle into a rhythm as Jake wasn’t used to being out up front on a hard pack track.  Brian McKenzie and Steven Clarke got passed before Jake managed to settle, as did Luke Norris (a hardened hard pack rider) and before long Martin Barr made his move too.  Jake settled into a comfortable 5^th place and the group of 5 moved away from the rest of the riders.  Jake started to close on Norris but couldn’t quite find a way past on this narrow track.  So it was Clarke from Barr, McKenzie from Norris, then Jake Millward coming home 5^th place MX2.  He was chuffed to bits. 

MX1:

Brad didn’t get a fantastic start again, coming round the first bend in around 9th position.  It didn’t take long for Brad to find his speed and he soon powered past Jake Nicholls and 2 other riders, moving him into 6^th place.  Brad looked comfortable, fast and stylish over the jumps (not a word commonly associated with Ando #60).  His speed was there and he rode well, closing in on Lenior on more than one occasion, but he couldn’t quite get close enough to make his pass.  It was a good race and Brad finished 6^th ahead of Krestinov, Nicholls, Snow and Wilde.  This gave Brad 6th overall for the day and just 1 point off 5^th place Krestinov.

Overall:

MX2:

Due to Jakes unfortunate luck in race one, his overall for the day didn’t really reflect on his speed and performance on a track not usually suited to his riding style.  So Jake got 13^th overall for the day and took a hit in the championship standing, leaving Jake 7^th in the final MX2 British Championship standings, just 5 points shy of Brad Todd.

MX1:

A 7^th and 6^th place finish today gave Brad a total of 29 points, sealing 6^th place in the MX1 British Championship.  However just 1 more point would have seen Brad pass Tanol Leok into 5^th place.   Brad had a slow start to the Championship with his good results only really coming together part way through the season. Getting better results early on may have seen him even higher up the finishing Championship table.

Quote from Jake Millward:

A crash on the first lap of the first race left me with only a 19^th in moto 1.  Moto 2 was a different story.  Pulled the hole shot of the year and came home with a happy 5^th position.

Was happy with how I rode all day just was a shame about the first moto crash. My speed has started to show over that last few weeks it’s just a shame the seasons over so soon.  Can’t express how much I appreciate all the hard work put in by the whole team all season long and all the ‘Jacksons’ for their support Adrian Kirk, Niki Hessey, Matt Hunt, Chrish Muir, Arran Kirk, Tom Duddle, Sean Radlcliffe aka batman and Steve Clitheroe. Thanks also to my personal sponsor #CS2 tranpsort for all their support. 

Best get my ass into gear for next season and start getting up on that box! 

Quote from Anderson:

Last round of the Maxxis British championship yesterday and I didn't know how my shoulder was going to be.  First race I got bad start was coming through but got stuck with a rider that crashed in front of me! Got going again.  Passed another 3 riders and finished up to 7^th.  Had good lap times and the speed was there.  In the second race I got another bad start but got through to finish 6^th.  I will have to practise my starts this winter! Thanks to team Verde sports KTM, top team and all my sponsors for 2016.  Couldn't of done it without you lot Adrian Kirk, Niki Hessey, Hunt, Arran Kirk, Chris Muir, Steve Clitheroe, Phillip Anderson, Hayley Ruth Anderson, RJS builders, RG rentals, Planet Suspension, ASA scaffolding, MRS, Judith Rochford, Michael Rochford, 100% Bob Buchanan, Andrew Redford and Stephen Murphy. 

Till next year thanks again.

Quote from Team Manager Adrian Kirk: