Denver, USA – 26th Sept 2010 – Motocross of Nations

Dramatic Motocross of Nations debut for Nicholls

HM Plant Red Bull KTM UK’s Jake Nicholls went through a roller-coaster of emotions at a hot and demanding weekend of work at Thunder Valley in Denver for the 64th Motocross of Nations. The 20 year old filled a spot in the three man British team at the biggest annual off-road motorcycle race meeting for the first time in his career and came so close to assisting the Brits to a podium position, finally taking fourth overall.

The jumps and hills of Thunder Valley housed a hard-pack terrain that became bumpier and rougher as the weekend went on and 32,000 spectators from various countries defied the threat of sun-burn to cheer on the three best racers under their respective flags.

Nicholls rode the KTM 350SX-F for the first time and entered the MX1 class for his country while Dean Wilson ran in MX2 and Brad Anderson in MX Open. Saturday’s qualification was positive with a decent 9th place earned. The first nervy moto on Sunday was fraught and short-lived when the Englishman’s motorcycle developed a problem with the sub-frame, forcing entry to the pits and a hefty loss of time and therefore 37th position (thus 37 points with the Nations’ scoring system reversed rewarding low scoring teams). Nicholls was determined to do his best in the final race of 30 minutes and 2 laps and started brightly to run in and around the fringe of the top ten for almost all the distance. Fatigue bit in the final stages and his result of 12th was entirely creditable but sadly Britain missed their first podium this century by just two points.

HM Plant Red Bull KTM UK will finish their 2010 season with the final round of the Maxxis British Championship at Hawkstone Park this coming weekend where Nicholls is still in contention to deliver the team’s third consecutive MX2 title.

Jake Nicholls:

“It all started yesterday when Dean had some trouble in his qualification heat and we didn’t know for a while there if we would even be in the A-Final but Brad got us in. I had a good start in the first race but then we had a blameless and quite a freak problem with the bike. I was three or four laps down when I re-entered and I pushed as hard as I could to take 37th. I started well again in the second race on the 350 and rode my heart out for 20 minutes until I hit a wall with five minutes to go. I am really gutted for that to have happened but I came here to do my best and I did that; it was just a shame we came up short for the podium. It was a new experience with the 350 but now I want to get back on my 250 and think about Hawkstone and the chance to finish the British championship with a good result. Anything can still happen with regards to the title.”

Results

Moto1 (MX1 and MX2)

1. Ryan Dungey (USA, Suzuki), 35:56.436; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:05.598; 3. Brett Metcalfe (AUS, Honda), +0:22.000; 4. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Kawasaki), +0:25.704; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:32.917; 6. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), +0:39.361; 7. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), +0:43.201; 8. Dean Wilson (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:47.329; 9. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +1:15.068; 10. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), +1:22.218; 37. Jake Nicholls (GBR, HM Plant Red Bull KTM UK)

Moto2 (MX2 and MX Open)

1. Ben Townley (NZL, Honda), 36:11.627; 2. Kyle Regal (PUR, Honda), +0:06.246; 3. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), +0:07.235; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:30.171; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:37.809; 6. Dean Wilson (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:41.751; 7. Trey Canard (USA, Honda), +0:56.298; 8. Brad Anderson (GBR, Honda), +0:58.070; 9. Manuel Monni (ITA, Yamaha), +1:20.316; 10. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +1:25.010;

Moto3 (MX Open and MX1)

1. Ryan Dungey (USA, Suzuki), 36:41.709; 2. Andrew Short (USA, Honda), +0:10.230; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:17.577; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:22.593; 5. Brett Metcalfe (AUS, Honda), +0:27.187; 6. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), +0:29.778; 7. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:31.946; 8. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Suzuki), +0:33.135; 9. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:58.530; 10. Jay Marmont (AUS, Yamaha), +1:05.494; 12. Jake Nicholls (GBR, HM Plant Red Bull KTM UK)

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