Agueda, Portugal – 12th June 2011 – World Championship
Nicholls maintains course of progress in Portugal
12th June 2011
Jake Nicholls battled some of the roughest track conditions seen so far in the FIM Motocross World Championship to score a fighting 14th place overall at a sunny Agueda for the Grand Prix of Portugal and the sixth round of fifteen on the schedule.
The HM Plant Red Bull KTM UK rider rode to 13th and 11th positions on his 250SX-F across the rough, tough and bumpy terrain that barely permitted a moment’s reprieve for the Grand Prix stars. 13,000 fans lined the shallow undulations of the course but several step-ups, a tricky wave section and some fast open corners saw the intense action of MX1 and MX2 also blighted by crashes for the likes of Roczen, Nagl, Philippaerts, Tonus and more.
Thankfully Nicholls kept his head and worked on raising his race speed after returning to the saddle just five weeks ago since recovering from a broken ankle. The Englishman appears to be gaining form and confidence with every gate-drop through this frantic mini-spell of consecutive GP races.
Jordan Booker was circulating near the points in the first moto with lap-times good enough to see the youngster post his first ‘numerical haul’ of the season but a crash led to an aggravated hip and although he went out to attempt the second moto was in too much pain to make the finish.
After just two events Nicholls is already climbing up the world championship standings and holds 19th position. In other news Graeme Irwin will shortly be discharged from hospital in Belfast whereupon he will be able to commence rehab from his four broken vertebrae.
Round seven of the FIM series will take place at LaBañeza for the Grand Prix of Spain next weekend.
Photos courtesy of Ray Archer
Jake Nicholls:
“Qualifying went really well and I felt good after the short sprint. We had changed the bike completely after practice and it made a massive difference. The track was tricky this weekend and in the first moto I got stuck in a little rhythm and couldn’t shake myself out of it. When someone passes me I usually try to tag on the back to attack again or learn from them but I wasn’t able to do it this time. I was disappointed and a bit fatigued. I gave myself a bit of a talking-to between races and the second one was better. I went with the guys from the beginning and felt faster. Again I had that little dip at mid-race distance – and that is something I need to fix – but it wasn’t too bad and quite solid.”
Roger Magee, Team Principal:
“Another positive weekend for Jake. He just finished outside the top ten in both races but he showed that his fitness is coming back and he now needs to work on his mid-race speed, hold on to the other guys and break into the top ten that we know he is capable of. It was a good weekend for Jordan initially and his times would have brought him into the points but an unfortunate collision with a rider ahead of him left him a bit beaten-up. It was his first time here so it was part of the learning year. Graeme is due to leave Royal Victoria in Belfast tomorrow (Monday) so we wish him all the best with his recovery and a big thanks to all the medical staff who have helped us so far.”
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