Duns – 23rd August 2009 – British Championship

Riding on home soil in Scotland Stephen Sword wraps up the 2009 Maxxis MX2 British motocross championship with a solid ride at Duns on the Red Bull KTM UK 250 SX-F. Sword manages to steer home his mud-caked machine to second place in the super-slippery conditions of the day’s opening – and only moto – before the race meeting is cancelled due to the terrible weather that batters the hillside circuit.

There’s double delight for KTM as reigning British Champion Shaun Simpson makes an amazing comeback from injury on his factory 250 SX-F to claim a well deserved victory. Simpson takes the holeshot and leads from the off only to make a couple of mistakes mid-moto which enables Sword to power past and into the lead. But by keeping a cool head Shaun is able to snatch the lead back as Sword concentrates on his championship quest rather than getting embroiled in a bar-to-bar battle over the moto win. Crossing the line first and second some 30 seconds ahead of the third placed rider Simpson and Sword show just how resilient KTM race equipment is when the going gets tough in a race that only sees 25 out of 35 riders reach the chequered flag.

Coming into the seventh round of the Maxxis series Jake Nicholls was Sword’s closest competitor in the championship chase but suffering the ill effects of a mid-week get off and some bad opening lap luck, The Reverend is only able to battle to 14th place in the day’s only moto after crashing on the opening lap. Slipping to third in the series Jake will be looking to make amends at the eighth and final round of the domestic series that will be held at Landrake in Cornwall on September 27.

Also finding the going tough in Scotland is Red Bull KTM UK team rookie Graeme Irwin who after making a promising start slips back down the leader board from sixth to 11th. Despite having a disappointing day by his own high standards Graeme still sits in an impressive eighth place in the series standings.

Another rider to maintain his position in the points chase is the team’s MX1 rider Alex Snow despite being a no-show in Scotland. The current Under-21 champion misses the Duns round due to injury but still sits 10th in the championship chase with his 450 SX-F.

Team Red Bull KTM UK’s next outing will be at the Grand Prix of The Netherlands which will be held in the power sapping sand of Lierop where Sword and Nicholls will be looking to continue their run of great form in the world championship.

Quotes
Roger Magee – Team Manager
“With Stephen wrapping up the MX2 title a round early that’s three championship victories in three years now and we’re still very much in with a shot of taking the Under-21 title with Graham so I’m a very happy man indeed. It’s sad that we didn’t get to actually race for it today but I’m quite sure that Swordy would have taken it anyway. Hopefully Jake can bounce back at the last round to make it a Red Bull KTM UK 1-2 in the championship. We’re already looking forward to 2010 now and hopefully it will be as successful as this year has been if not even more so.”

Shaun Simpson – MX2 1-
“It’s good to be back racing again after almost four months off with my injury, it’s just a shame the conditions weren’t better as that would have made racing here so much more enjoyable. To be fair the race almost went to plan – I took the holeshot which was definitely part of the plan and then after that I just wanted to stay upright. That part didn’t pan out so well and although I didn’t really go down I did spin out a couple of times, I jumped off the track and I almost went over the handlebars. Stephen was able to pass me but I managed to get him back easily enough – I was feeling a bit more ragged than normal but I got the job done and that’s all that matters.”

Stephen Sword – MX2 2-
“Today went well from the off. I got pole position this morning and got a great start in the opening moto – second just behind Shaun. We were running a good pace and I was happy enough sat behind him because my main goal today was just to get good points. Then he made a mistake which allowed me to get the lead but he came back by and then we swapped places for a while. I didn’t need to win the race and Wayne had already put that Jake was 14th on the pit board so I concentrated on making it to the finish. It’s great to win the championship again and especially here on home soil with a lot of the people who have helped me over the years here watching. The team has done an awesome job this year to help me to my fourth title and I have to thank them a lot as well as Jodie and my family too.”

Jake Nicholls – MX2 14-
“I got a good start and was third around the first turn but I was kind of caught sleeping a little bit – I had a big crash mid-week and hurt my neck and head a so wasn’t feeling the best coming in here – and I lost a few positions on the first lap and then I lost the front end while trying to make a pass on Bradshaw. It took me a while to start the bike and I was last by the time I got going again but I was able to fight back through to 14th. I feel like I rode okay, I’m just really annoyed with the crash. It’s a shame they cancelled the second race because it limits my chances a little bit but I guess it’s the same for everyone.”

Graeme Irwin – MX2 11-
“I got an average start in around 10th place but I was able to make up some good positions in the first couple of laps and I was running sixth. I thought I’d be able to go for it because it’s typical Northern Irish conditions – wet and slippery – but I ended up dropping back a few places instead as the bike got heavier with the mud and then I had trouble with my goggles. I’m a bit annoyed I couldn’t put up more of a fight today but I’ll keep working and hopefully I’ll get there.”

Results

MX2 1 Stephen Sword (Red Bull KTM UK) 274 points, 2 Neville Bradshaw (Honda) 219, 3 Jake Nicholls (Red Bull KTM UK) 215, 4 Martin Barr (Suzuki) 193, 5 Scott Elderfield (Honda) 171, 6 Mattis Karro (Suzuki) 170, 7 Wayne Smith (Yamaha) 156, 8 Graeme Irwin (Red Bull KTM UK) 147, 9 Pascal Leuret (Honda) 135, 10 Mel Pocock (Yamaha) 134

MX1 1 Brad Anderson (Honda) 289, 2 Gareth Swanepoel (Kawasaki) 231, 3 Carl Nunn (Suzuki) 203, 4 James Noble (Honda) 201, 5 Tom Church (CCM) 178, 6 Scott Columb (Suzuki) 152, 7 Jason Dougan (CCM) 150, 8 Billy MacKenzie (Honda) 147, 9 Bryan MacKenzie (Honda) 113, 10 Alex Snow (Red Bull KTM UK) 97

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