The ninth outing of seventeen on the motocross calendar travelled back to Maggiora; a memorable venue in the sport’s folklore and now in the international spotlight for the first time this century and with a renovated facility. The sweeping hills and turns of the circuit drew a massive 38,000 crowd and created yet another superb Grand Prix atmosphere as the sun cooked the paddock and the fans all weekend long.

The layout and terrain itself was difficult to judge. The MX2 class benefitted from track maintenance before both of their motos on Sunday meaning that they did not suffer the worst of the hard-pack ruts but still faced a bumpy and slippery surface, particularly after watering.

EBB was 13th in the final ranking for the Grand Prix. The British Champion worked hard through the motos to classify 14-13 in the two 35 minute and 2 lap outings. The overall result meant 15 points, only bettered by the 17 he totalled at Qatar for the championship opener. EBB holds 20th in the MX2 standings after an inconsistent campaign so far but enters the second half of the season with renewed purpose.

Natalie Kane is third in the FIM Women’s World Championship by just one point after toasting her second podium of the year with her 250SX-F. The Irishwoman improved on 6th place in the first moto to record 2nd position later on (after a long fight with former world champ Steffi Laier) and was able to taste champagne once more. Kane will face four more events in Croatia, Slovakia, Britain and Czech Republic.

HM Plant KTM UK will travel back to the UK and prepare to face the next round of the Maxxis British Championship which will take place in the loose terrain of Desertmartin in Northern Ireland. A three round expedition of the FIM Motocross World Championship will then follow with Grands Prix in Sweden, Latvia and Finland.

Elliot Banks Browne:
“A lot better this weekend. I finished both races and I felt pretty good. My position could have been better but my speed was really good today. At least we have something to work on now, we know where we need to be now we just need to work on a few things and keep racing and bring my speed up. Looking forward to the next Grand Prix and hopefully we can improve on what we’ve done today.”

Roger Magee, Team Owner:
“It’s been a good Grand Prix for the HM Plant KTM UK team today; Elliot has shown what he formerly had at all the Maxxis and British Championship meeting this year. His lap times were really good, he has certainly improved and the times were actually enough to be among the top ten. So we’re looking forward to the next round of the British championship next week and hopefully we can carry on like this in the three GPs we have in a row – Sweden, Latvia and Finland. The team was also pleased to see Natalie Kane finishing on the podium and she is third in the championship just one point behind the Australian Megan Rutledge but also Steffy Laier is coming up behind us; it is very close.”

Results

MX2 Moto1:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 39:45.247; 2. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:06.950; 3. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:10.783; 4. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:14.889; 5. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +0:17.447; 6. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +0:30.400; 7. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), +0:35.588; 8. Mel Pocock (GBR, Yamaha), +0:39.139; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:42.273;  14. Elliott Banks-Browne (GBR, KTM), +0:55.989.

MX2 Moto2:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 39:21.192; 2. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +0:04.411; 3. Alexander Tonkov (RUS, Honda), +0:05.591; 4. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:05.835; 5. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:11.703; 6. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +0:14.386; 7. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), +0:34.128; 8. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:39.106; 9. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), +0:44.669; 13. Elliott Banks-Browne (GBR, KTM), +1:05.347.

GP de Italia:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 38 p.; 3. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), 37 p.; 4. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 36 p. 13. Elliott Banks-Browne (GBR, KTM), 15 p.

MX2 World Championship:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 447 points; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 323 p.; 3. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 285 p.; 4. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), 261 p.;  20. Elliott Banks-Browne (GBR, KTM), 62 p.

WMX Italy:

Overall:

1. Chiara Fontanesi (ITA, Yamaha), 50 points; 2. Stephanie Laier (GER, Kawasaki), 40 p.; 3. Natalie Kane (IRL, KTM), 37 p.; 4. Meghan Kat Rutledge (AUS, Kawasaki), 34 p.; 5. Francesca Nocera (ITA, Suzuki), 31 p.

World Championship:

1. Chiara Fontanesi (ITA, Yamaha), 150 points; 2. Meghan Kat Rutledge (AUS, Kawasaki), 118 p.; 3. Natalie Kane (IRL, KTM), 117 p.; 4. Stephanie Laier (GER, Kawasaki), 116 p.; 5. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, Yamaha), 82 p.

Event Gallery

 The Grand Prix of France at Ernee for the eighth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship was not one for the memory books when a reflection on HM Plant KTM UK’s 2013 racing campaign comes to pass. British Champion Elliott Banks Browne suffered a spate of crashes across the weekend as he partially struggled with the rocky and slippery terrain. He would only grasp three points by the end of the two 35 minute and 2 lap motos for 22nd position overall in the MX2 class.

A 39,000 attendance (weekend figure) created a buzzing atmosphere at Ernee in northwest France and even if the temperatures plunged on Sunday compared to balmy conditions for practice and qualification, the crowd’s enthusiasm still created one of the most exciting events of the season so far.

Back in action after missing the Brazilian round two weeks previously the team hoped for a good run in the MX2 division but EBB was overlooked by lady luck. A good start in the first race was ruined when he almost clattered Dean Ferris on the second corner. Two crashes in a turbulent outing dispelled any chance of scaling higher than eighteenth by the chequered flag.
A mediocre start for race-two limited any potential on a course that was narrow and complicated for overtaking. Another spill would lead to an injured ankle but Elliott was at least able to make the finish although it was outside the top twenty and the points zone.

Steven Clarke classified eighth in the second round of the European EMX250 category – the stepping stone competition to MX2 Grand Prix racing – but the team’s theme of ill-fortune even stretched all the way to Slovenia where Natalie Kane finished fourth in the second outing in the FIM Women’s World Championship but tied on points for second place on the podium. The Irishwoman was denied a spray of champagne purely on the second moto ranking.

Kane will join EBB in the Grand Prix paddock next week as round nine takes place at Maggiora for the second visit to Italy this year. She holds 3rd in the standings, 20 points behind reigning champion Kiara Fontanesi.

Elliott Banks Browne: “I had another bad weekend. In the first race I got a really good start, I think I was around fifth but Ferris nearly crashed in front of me and I lost a few places. I was riding good in the first laps but I could not see a big rock while I was very close to Tonkov and I crashed. I got back to twentieth position and somebody crashed and took me out of the track. I was miles behind last place and I came back through to eighteenth and was doing pretty good by the end of the race. In the second moto I did not have such a good start, but I was doing alright when I lost the front end after one of the jumps. I fought back but caught my ankle in a rut going down one of the hills and I twisted it, so I rode with a lot of pain until the end.”

Results

MX2 GP France:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), 44 p.; 3. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), 32 p.; 4. Alexander Tonkov (RUS, Honda), 31 p.; 5. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 31 p.; 6. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 30 p.; 7. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 29 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 23 p.; 9. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), 21 p.; 10. Max Anstie (GBR, Suzuki), 21 p.; 11. Maxime Desprey (FRA, Yamaha), 17 p.; 12. Ja 22. Elliott Banks-Browne (GBR, KTM), 3 p.

MX2 World Championship:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 397 points; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 287 p.; 3. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 247 p.; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 237 p.; 5. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), 230 p.; 6. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), 197 p.; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, Suzuki), 193 p.; 8. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 181 p.; 9. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), 162 p.;  20. Elliott Banks-Browne (GBR, KTM), 47 p.

1. France:

1. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 25 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), 22 p.; 3. Ceriel Klein Kromhof (NED, KTM), 20 p.; 4. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 18 p.; 5. Magne Klingsheim (NOR, Yamaha), 16 p.; 6. Killian Auberson (SUI, KTM), 15 p.; 7. Arnaud Aubin (FRA, KTM), 14 p.; 8. Steven Clarke (GBR, KTM), 13 p.; 9. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Husqvarna), 12 p.;  17. Nathan Watson (GBR, KTM), 4 p.

MX2 World Championship:

1. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 50 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), 42 p.; 3. Ceriel Klein Kromhof (NED, KTM), 38 p.; 4. Damon Graulus (BEL, KTM), 32 p.; 5. Magne Klingsheim (NOR, Yamaha), 27 p.; 6. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Husqvarna), 26 p.; 7. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 22 p.; 8. Jordan Booker (GBR, Kawasaki), 21 p.; 13. Steven Clarke (GBR, KTM), 13 p.;  25. Nathan Watson (GBR, KTM), 4 p.

1. Chiara Fontanesi (ITA, Yamaha), 50 points; 2. Stephanie Laier (GER, Kawasaki), 40 p.; 3. Meghan Kat Rutledge (AUS, Kawasaki), 40 p.; 4. Natalie Kane (IRL, KTM), 40 p.; 5. Francesca Nocera (ITA, Suzuki), 32 p.

MX2 World Championship:

1. Chiara Fontanesi (ITA, Yamaha), 100 points; 2. Meghan Kat Rutledge (AUS, Kawasaki), 84 p.; 3. Natalie Kane (IRL, KTM), 80 p.; 4. Stephanie Laier (GER, Kawasaki), 76 p.; 5. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, KTM), 56 p.

Event Gallery

MX2 qualifying goes on a well-watered track which makes things somewhat slippery; Elliott Banks-Browne takes pole in the qualifying session, slipping to fourth in the super-pole and firing him up for the race. Steven Clarke ends super-pole in third while the elder of the Watson brothers, Nathan, ends tenth. Ben Watson and James Dunn tag-team and end in twenty-fourth and twenty-third respectively.

It turns out to be a tough day for the team as a whole. Although the first race goes swimmingly for Elliott with him taking the win by several seconds, the second race of the day is not in his favour. A crash disables his clutch and he has to limp across the finish line in eleventh. In the mixed-class super-final race, he returns to form, ending sixth for the final podium spot overall on the day.

For Steven, it’s a similar tale. In the first race he finds himself in a heated battle for fifth, in which he has to concede the position to end a place down in sixth. In the second race, he is properly fired up and finds himself in the lead with just minutes on the clock, collecting his maiden Maxxis win at the chequered flag. In the final race it’s over before the race really gets started. Punted into the fence in the second corner, he assesses the situation and calls it a day, ending the round in fourth, a mere point behind Elliott.

Nathan has a terrible first race start, but he soon makes short thrift of the competition and, with just a few laps remaining, returns to thirteenth place, his finishing position. His second race is much more consistent; a good start puts him inside the top ten, where he keeps more seasoned rivals at bay to take seventh place. In the super-final, Nathan again finds himself in the thick of it. It is tough going with the larger capacity bikes in the same race, but Nathan perseveres, ending as the seventh MX2 bike across the line, just a fraction of a second behind Elliott, ending tenth on the day.

Ben is having a really hard time in the first race. Shut out on the start, he starts in the back of the pack and with the pace at full throttle for much of the race, makes only modest gains to end the race in twenty-eighth. The second race is an up-and-down affair; after getting off the line in twenty-second, he finds himself battling not only team colleague James, but also KTM-mounted Shaun Springer. He comes out on top, taking twentieth, but missing the super-final by a point.

James also finds himself in the back of the pack in the first race. He finally encounters Ben, pushes hard and in the last lap makes a pass stick to take twenty-seventh. In the second race, he gets a great start, but two crashes drop him out of the top twenty altogether and he has a hard time making much progress. He ends the race outside the points in twenty-sixth.

The team now travels to Ernée in France for the eighth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship this coming weekend.

Elliott Banks-Browne MX2 #1

“It’s been a pretty up and down day; it’s the worst result I’ve had all year, but still managed to get onto the podium, so it wasn’t too bad. Qualifying went well but in the super-pole I just couldn’t get it together and went from first to fourth, so I’ve got to sort that out. In the first race I got off the start in second, caught Neville and passed him, then Dean and I had a pretty good race, so that was pretty cool. It shows I’ve got the speed to run with the good boys in the GPs and I just have to take that speed to a GP now. In the second race I didn’t get into it in the first few laps, started to go fast again and started catching the leaders when I just washed out off one of the jumps, flew through the air and snapped my clutch lever off completely, so that was pretty tough. In the super-final I got a pretty good start, but in the second corner Lenoir and someone else came together, his bike flicked up and crushed my hand against the bar, and I struggled all race to even hold on. So it’s been a really disappointing day for me, because I want to come to these races and win every race.”

Steven Clarke MX2 #511

“In the first race I didn’t really get the best start and just didn’t really gel with the track, it was quite hard to pass and it just wasn’t that great. It fired me up for the second race, and I actually got a decent start. I didn’t have it easy, I had to pass Bradshaw and Mackenzie who were both riding well, got my first Maxxis win ever and was on point going second overall into the last race. I just got tangled up going into the second corner, people crashed into me and put me into the fence and I was stuck. By the time I got going I was over half a lap down, I did a lap to try and see where I was at, crashed again, looked over at my mechanic and called it a day. I wasn’t going to make it back into the top twenty for points so I thought I’d save myself from doing something silly and get ready for next weekend in France.”

Nathan Watson MX2 #991

“I qualified in tenth, which wasn’t the best of the year but I was happy enough with that. In the first race I got a shocking start, was in twenty-seventh or something, but got back to thirteenth, which I wasn’t too happy with. In the second race I got a better start, pushed on and ended up seventh. I was right on the back of someone but couldn’t quite pass them. In the super-final I got a fairly average start and ended up sixth in MX2, so not bad, but I’ve had better days.”

Ben Watson MX2 #919

“I had a bad day, really, qualifying I did shocking, got a twenty-fourth I think, I’ve done a lot better, since I got into the super-pole at the previous round, so I was disappointed with that. First race I got a terrible start, had bad starts all day really, pulled through and got back to twenty-fourth I think, and my bike started spluttering, and basically ended up last. In the second race I had a better start, went around the outside. I was in about twenty-fifth and came back to twenty-first, so that was a bit better, but I didn’t get into the super-final. I’ve had better weekends.”

James Dunn MX2 #20

“I came into the weekend positive; it’s nice and local for me so it’s nice to just pop up here in the morning and get some riding in again. In qualifying I felt better just generally my riding, but my result still wasn’t great with a twenty-third. I was struggling with the starts all day really; you needed the gate pick to get round the inside and I was sort of out in the middle. I had a good jump in the second race, but my pace wasn’t quite there. I’m still struggling at the moment, so maybe I should go back to the basics. It’s going to have to come right soon, I’ve put the work in.”

Roger Magee: HM Plant KTM UK Team Manager

“All looked good in the first race with Elliott bringing back the win and Steven Clarke coming in sixth, we thought we were on for a really good day. In the second race Elliott had a small crash downhill but unfortunately when he fell he broke the clutch lever off, so he had to bump start the bike and get going, and had another crash after that. In the last race it was going to be a mixed bag with the 450s, especially around Foxhill. The ACU could’ve probably chosen a better round to have this mixed race, but then again it’s the same for everybody. He didn’t have a good race with too many 450s in front of him, but at least he brought it home again, got a podium and extended his points lead in the championship, which at the end of the day it’s all about. We’re now just over halfway there and he’s got a fairly healthy lead, but we all know what motocross is like and until we’re seventy-five points in the lead going into the last round we’re not taking anything for granted.

“In the second race Steven pulled out all the stops and gave another win for HM Plant KTM UK. He showed the potential that he has and he’s found his mojo again, and it’s unfortunate that he crashed in the second corner of the last race when he looked as if he could put it on the podium as well, but he missed out by one point. We’ll take that forward to France next week for his first European round. The two Watson brothers had a mixed day as well, but they showed that they can mix it on hard pack too. James Dunn certainly showed that he’s recovering. He had some blood tests done a few weeks ago and they showed that he was deficient in Vitamin B12, and he’s looking to turn that around now and hopefully a few more results on the board and get his head into gear. At least when you come away from a hard pack track and everybody is in one piece, it’s a bonus. We’re now looking forward to the next round of the Maxxis at Desertmartin, which is just up the road from me.”

Results

MX2 Overall result

1. Neville Bradshaw (Putoline Honda) 56, 2. Bryan Mackenzie (Pendrich Kawasaki) 47, 3. Elliott Banks-Browne (HM Plant KTM UK) 41, 4. Steven Clarke (HM Plant KTM UK) 40, 5. Graeme Irwin (Heads + All Threads Suzuki) 38, 6. Steven Lenoir (Evotech Stevens KTM) 38, 7. Dean Ferris (Monster Energy Yamaha) 37, 8. Harri Kullas (Honda Gariboldi Racing) 34, 9. Adam Sterry (Team STR KTM) 29, 10. Nathan Watson (HM Plant KTM UK) 27, 22. Ben Watson (HM Plant KTM UK) 1, 29. James Dunn (HM Plant KTM UK).

MX2 Championship Standings

1. Elliott Banks-Browne (HM Plant KTM UK) 247, 2. Steven Lenoir (Evotech Stevens KTM) 204, 3. Neville Bradshaw (Putoline Honda) 204, 4. Graeme Irwin (Heads + All Threads Suzuki) 176, 6. Bryan Mackenzie (Pendrich Kawasaki) 160, 5. Nathan Watson (HM Plant KTM UK) 158, 7. Adam Sterry (Team STR KTM) 120, 8. Lewis Tombs (JAR Honda by IFS) 105, 9. Steven Clarke (HM Plant KTM UK) 95, 10. Jordan Booker (Kawasaki) 79, 16. Ben Watson (HM Plant KTM UK) 49, 26. James Dunn (HM Plant KTM UK) 30.

 Event Gallery

The team welcomes Steven Clarke to the fold. Having enjoyed successes in the US and Australia, the West Midlands native hopes to make a good impression here too. The MX2 qualifying session sees him and fellow team riders Elliott Banks-Browne and Nathan Watson take the top three positions, with Nathan and Elliott retaining second and third in the super-pole. Nathan’s brother Ben ends super-pole in twelfth, while James Dunn has some difficulties getting a good lap in with a twenty-first place.

For Elliott, this is a very good day. In the lead from start to finish in the first race, he then has a good battle on his hands with fellow KTM rider Steven Lenoir in the second, before taking charge again and finishing with a comfortable seven-second lead. In the final race, he plays it smart, opting to keep second place for an overall win on the day.

Steven surprises the crowd with a strong run in the first race, battling with some of the big names in the class before slotting into second behind Elliott. The second race goes sour in the first corner as he goes down and has to restart dead last. But he proves that his time overseas has taught him well and with blistering lap times he leap-frogs his way through the pack to end the race in sixth! With a fourth in the final race, Steven earns a third place overall on the day, his first Maxxis podium ever.

Nathan tries to capitalise on his qualifying position, but the hairpin left-hander first corner ruins his start twice, forcing him to work his way from mid-pack to sixth and eighth in the first and second race respectively. In the last race, he finally succeeds in slipping through in the front, but his progress is brought to an abrupt halt by a crash that ends his race with a DNF. He ends the day in tenth overall.

Little brother Ben faces a similar fate. His second race is the best of the bunch with a consistent run in tenth and eleventh, ending the race in the top ten. The other two races see him start in the middle of the pack, although the last race ends with a better result, a twelfth. Everything added together gives him a thirteenth place on the day.

James Dunn is arguably having a really bad hair day. After a tough qualifying session, he struggles to get into a good rhythm and instead finds himself in a steady twenty-third place. The second race puts a damper on proceedings as several crashes ruin his day completely and he makes the hard call to regroup and seek some parental advice, ending the day with nil points and dented confidence.

Elliott Banks-Browne MX2 #1

“It’s been not such a bad weekend, I went one-one-two, was disappointed in the last one but it was pretty sketchy out there. In the first one I pulled a good lead with Steven in second so that’s good for the team. In the second started in third, came through and won that quite comfortably and then in the last one didn’t get a good start at all which I needed to. It was super sketchy and I was just trying to be smart Last year I made some stupid mistakes and lost a lot of points, the main thing this year is the championship. I’d like to win all races but I’ll do it next time.”

Steven Clarke MX2 #511

“Today was good! I made a bit of a slip-up in the super-pole, but I feel like I rode well all day. I went two-six-four for third overall and I just wonder what I could’ve done if I’d had better starts and not gone down in the first corner. Onwards and upwards, that’s my first podium in the Maxxis ever and I’m pretty pumped on that and now just to put in some solid weeks away now and see what we come away with at Foxhill.”

Nathan Watson MX2 #991

“Qualified good, was second in super-pole. In the first race I had a bad start, came through to sixth, and in the second I was caught up in the first-turn pile-up and got back to eighth, not great. Then in the last race I got the best start of the day and I’d just passed into fourth, I could see the first three and had a really big crash. I DNFed that one so a bad day in the end.”

Ben Watson MX2 #919

“Qualifying was good, I got a twelfth and went into super-pole where I improved my time but not the position. I got an average start in the first race but then ended up in a bit of a pileup and finished in eighteenth. In the second one I got a better start and was just pulling through slowly throughout the race and got tenth. In the final race I had a mid-pack start, but I like it when it’s slippy and pulled through throughout the race and managed to get a twelfth. It’s been good, I’ve had three consistent races.”

James Dunn MX2 #20

“I had a really good week training with Scott Probert, I felt good coming into the weekend. I went out for qualifying and struggled to get into it straight-away and ended up twenty-first. I thought that might be OK for the rest of the day. In the first race I had a bad start, nearly crashed in the first turn and then just seemed to be getting worse and worse, just couldn’t get a good rhythm and seemed to ride really tight. I’ve been struggling quite a bit recently with my racing and just feeling comfortable on the bike, and in the second race I just felt really bad, pulled off, spoke to my dad about it and tried it again but it just didn’t work. So we made the decision to just leave the third race out; it’s hard to learn stuff on the day, you learn little things but I have to change things dramatically. We’ve got a two week break now and I’ll go away and keep working hard and hopefully pull something together.”

Roger Magee: HM Plant KTM UK Team Manager

“It’s good to get another two HM Plant KTM riders on the second podium after Lyng. Hats off to Steven Clarke who jumped on basically what’s Shaun Sisterson’s practice bike, we put some suspension in and he stuck it on the podium, so there are no excuses that the bike’s not going quick enough. Good ride by Elliott in all three races, he rode with the head in the last one and brought it home in difficult conditions. He extends his lead in the MX2 championship. Unfortunately Nathan Watson had a crash in the last race and he’s now lost second place, but he had two good strong results in the first two races. Young Ben is still only fifteen and he’s knocking on the door of those top ten positions with a tenth and a twelfth in the second and last races. He’s looking to progress and we look forward to Foxhill. James is in a difficult place at the moment, he’s lacking a bit of confidence and we’ll put a few things in place over the next few weeks to get him back on course; sometimes you just get a few difficult times. He’s had a few blood tests this week because we’re not sure what’s going on, perhaps he’s just deficient in some B12, but we’ll see if we can turn it around before the next British Championship race.”

Results

MX2 Overall result

1. Elliott Banks-Browne (HM Plant KTM UK) 72, 2. Steven Lenoir (Evotech Stevens KTM) 65, 3. Steven Clarke (HM Plant KTM UK) 55, 4. Neville Bradshaw (Putoline Honda) 54, 5. Bryan Mackenzie (Pendrich Kawasaki) 48, 6. Graeme Irwin (Heads + All Threads Suzuki) 48, 7. Lewis Tombs (JAR Honda by IFS) 32, 8. Adam Sterry (Team STR KTM) 30, 9. Jake Millward (Oakleaf Kawasaki) 28, 10. Nathan Watson (HM Plant KTM UK) 28, 13. Ben Watson (HM Plant KTM UK) 23.

MX2 Championship Standings

1. Elliott Banks-Browne (HM Plant KTM UK) 206, 2. Steven Lenoir (Evotech Stevens KTM) 166, 3. Neville Bradshaw (Putoline Honda) 148, 4. Graeme Irwin (Heads + All Threads Suzuki) 138, 5. Nathan Watson (HM Plant KTM UK) 131, 6. Bryan Mackenzie (Pendrich Kawasaki) 113, 7. Adam Sterry (Team STR KTM) 61, 8. Lewis Tombs (JAR Honda by IFS) 82, 9. Jake Nicholls (Wilvo Nestaan JM Racing KTM) 75, 10. James Cottrell (Putoline Honda) 67. 13. Steven Clarke (HM Plant KTM UK) 55, 14. Ben Watson (HM Plant KTM UK) 48, 23. James Dunn (HM Plant KTM UK) 30.

Event Gallery

Elliot Banks Browne was able to bury some of the recent frustration through racing misfortune by re-entering the top ten of the competitive MX2 class of the FIM Motocross World Championship yesterday in Agueda for the Grand Prix of Portugal. The reigning British Champion rode to tenth position in the second moto under bright sunshine and in front of 15,000 spectators. HM Plant KTM UK were able to count on a bolstered line-up at the sixth round of seventeen as the Grand Prix also hosted the second outing for the European EMX125 two-stroke contest and the opening foray for the European EMX250 division; the strong feeder class to the FIM series.

Agueda was a tough test. Hard-pack, bumpy and full of ruts; it was as technical as it was physically demanding and punished mistakes as well as the unfocused athlete. On his KTM 250SX-F EBB had cause to again curse lady luck as he could not avoid a fallen Alexsandr Tonkov in the formative stages of the first moto and crashed. It put the Brit far behind the pack and with a slightly damaged motorcycle ’44′ was able to recover and gain ground to secure one point for 20th. At the second time of asking later in the afternoon Banks Browne foraged a path into the top ten. Afterwards he insisted that he struggled to find an effective rhythm around the course but his raw speed was good enough for his second biggest points-haul of a turbulent 2013 campaign to-date.

Sadly team-mate James Dunn could not make the 108% lap-time cut on Saturday and was forced to the role of observer for Sunday. The rookie is confident of further progress in the coming rounds.

The Watson brothers, Ben and Nathan, were able to make it through the ultra-paced qualification process for the EMX250 main final. Although both classified outside of the top thirty the combination of the new event format (two semi finals and one moto) and the degree of difficulty around Agueda – that was wet and slick in the morning for the European outings – meant it was a valuable part of their learning process.

The fourth round of the Maxxis British Championship will take place at Milton Park in Northampton next weekend and HM Plant KTM UK will embark on their next Grand Prix trip directly after with round seven of the FIM series taking place at Beto Carrero in Brazil.

Elliott Banks Browne: “In the first race I didn’t get such a good start and then Tonkov made a mistake on the first lap, he just stopped and I double jumped and there was nowhere to go, so I hit him and went down. My throttle was a bit damaged and after ten minutes I got a little bit of arm pump, but twenty minutes into the race I started going fast and I got a point. In the second race I made an ‘OK’ start, but I rode tight during the whole race, I was not riding my best, but I managed to finish tenth, so I was pretty happy about it.”

James Dunn: ”I was looking forward to riding here in Portugal because I had a podium here last year on the 125, so I came in with some confidence to do well. On Saturday morning I felt good and I had fairly good lap times, so everything looked OK but during the qualifying I was riding really tight and I could not get a good rhythm and good lap times. I need to bring my confidence up again by getting better results and start scoring a few points. It will take longer than what I’d thought because I’m finding the MX2 class really difficult. I have a few weeks off now, so I hope to come back strong.”

Roger Magee, Team Principal: ”There were some positive parts to take from this Grand Prix. Elliott might have had two top ten finishes if it wasn’t for that collision with Tonkov but he recovered from a moment of bad luck with a good showing in the second moto. We’re disappointed for James of course but it was encouraging to see both Ben and Nathan make the main event of the EMX series; Nathan taking third position in his qualification heat. We’ll re-group and head back for more British Championship racing now and try to defend our first and second positions on home turf.”

Results

MX2 GP Portugal:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), 37 p.; 3. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 35 p.; 4. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 34 p.; 5. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), 34 p.; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 26 p.; 7. Mel Pocock (GBR, Yamaha), 25 p.; 8. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 25 p.; 9. Alexander Tonkov (RUS, Honda), 22 p.;  16. Elliott Banks-Browne (GBR, KTM), 12 p.

MX2 World Championship:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 300 points; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 219 p.; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 183 p.; 4. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 178 p.; 5. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), 171 p.; 6. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), 152 p.; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, Suzuki), 150 p.; 8. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 129 p.;  20. Elliott Banks-Browne (GBR, KTM), 44 p.; 35. James Dunn (GBR, KTM), 1 p.

Event Gallery

In the story of the 2013 FIM Motocross World Championship the Grand Prix of Bulgaria will be a brief and forgettable chapter for the HM Plant KTM UK team. 22,000 spectators crowded the hills of the Sevlievo circuit for the fifth round of seventeen but the British crew were unable to travel back to their UK base without much reward for their efforts.

The wide and fast layout 200km east of Sofia was heavy on the throttle and the motorcycles themselves as the grippy uphills and downhills demanded concentration, bravery and a touch of aggression to enable effective overtaking.

Elliott Banks Browne had recovered sufficiently from his painful back last week in Italy to be able to attempt the Bulgarian meeting under cloudy skies. Unfortunately a rock would smash his goggles in the first moto causing a crash and a visit to the pitlane for a new pair.
A single point for twentieth was barely a consolation for his perseverance in the second race after failing to mark an efficient pace in the wake of a poor getaway from the gate.

James Dunn faced a daunting task against a field of tapped-out MX2 Grand Prix racers. The British rookie was unable to keep pace with the pack and did not register any points on this occasion.

A long trip back will give the team time to pause and recollect. A fortnight until the sixth Grand Prix of the campaign – at Agueda in Portugal – will allow them to strengthen for two FIM World Championship events in the coming month.

Elliott Banks Browne:
“I had a bad weekend and a bad day today. In the qualifying race I didn’t have a good start and then I crashed. I came through but in the end we had a bike failure again. Today In the first race I broke my goggles on the first lap, I tried to take them off and then I crashed again. I tried to come back but I needed to stop for new goggles and finally it was a terrible race for me, just terrible. In the second one I had a very bad start and I don’t know what happened but I was riding poorly. I got one point but in the end it was a weekend to forget. I hope that everything changes for the next round in Portugal.”

Results

MX2 GP Bulgaria:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 44 p.; 3. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), 33 p.; 4. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 32 p.; 5. Max Anstie (GBR, Suzuki), 30 p.; 6. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), 30 p.; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 29 p.; 8. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), 26 p.; 9. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 22 p.; 23. Elliott Banks-Browne (GBR, KTM), 1 p.

MX2 World Championship:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 250 points; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 185 p.; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 157 p.; 4. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 143 p.; 5. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), 137 p.; 6. Max Anstie (GBR, Suzuki), 128 p.; 7. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), 115 p.; 8. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), 109 p.; 21. Elliott Banks-Browne (GBR, KTM), 32 p.; 34. James Dunn (GBR, KTM), 1 p.

Event Gallery

The fourth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship set in the scenic landscape of the Dolomite mountains north of Lake Garda was not such a pleasurable experience for HM Plant KTM UK as a series of incidents conspired to keep their riders sidelined for the Grand Prix of Trentino.

The compact and hard-pack track in northern Italy proved to be a test too far for Elliott Banks Browne who had crashed while training during the week. The British Champion was limited in his capacity to ride by back spasms on Saturday and despite medical attention was unable to get comfortable to be able to throw his 250SX-F around the small hills for the qualification heat. He now remains a doubt for the Grand Prix of Bulgaria next weekend but together with the team will assess his fitness during the week.

James Dunn was unlucky to miss the time cut in Saturday’s pre-qualification session but pushes onwards with his Grand Prix apprenticeship in what is his rookie season at the highest level.

Round five of eighteen will take the British Championship winning crew east and to Sevlievo this week where they will again reset and look to take on the world’s best.

Roger Magee, Team principal:

“Sometimes situations happen like this in racing and while it is quite hard to believe that we couldn’t make the gate for Sunday it is a circumstance we had to accept. Eliott was very unlucky to find that his back couldn’t stand up to the rigours of the track, despite an injection to try and loosen the area of his body. We just hope it is something that might clear up sooner rather than later and he can be back and fit asap. James just could not get that fast lap together when it counted but he wont let his small set-back get him down. We’ll look to Bulgaria.”

Results

MX2 World Championship:

1. 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 200 points; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 141 p.; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 128 p.; 4. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 111 p.; 5. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), 107 p.; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, KTM), 98 p.; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, Suzuki), 98 p.; 8. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), 89 p.; 9. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 82 p.; 10. Mel Pocock (GBR, Yamaha), 20. Elliott Banks-Browne (GBR, KTM), 31 p.; 33. James Dunn (GBR, KTM), 1 p.

After an icy reception at the third round of the FIM Motocross World Championship in Valkenswaard, the turn in weather at Cadders Hill in Lyng, Norfolk, is very much appreciated. Positively balmy temperatures, a dry track and sunshine on Sunday have turned the third round of the 2013 Maxxis British Motocross Championship around and make for spectacular racing.

The MX2 class sees a one-off return of one of the team’s graduates, Jake Nicholls, who hails from these parts. He soon provides a good challenge for the team’s two top riders, Elliott Banks-Browne and Nathan Watson.

Nathan is but a few hundreds of a second off Jake’s pace during qualifying, taking second and keeping that in the super-final too. He then follows up in the first race with a fantastic piece of racing, battling with Elliott and then moving up into second behind Jake. There he works hard to reduce the gap to just under 30 seconds. In the second race, Nathan has to make do with third, but he remains close to Elliott throughout. In the third race he runs in fourth, but is caught out by Nev Bradshaw with just corners to go and loses that place to end fifth. He takes third on the day and moves up to second in the championship.

Elliott, having struggled with his bike setup during qualifying and the first race, tweaks things in time for race two and takes off, looking more comfortable on the bike and putting a great effort. However the man out front is just too good by his own admission at the end of the day, and he concedes gracefully with two second places in the last two races and a second place on the day. With Jake not really in the running for the championship, this is good news for Elliott as he extends his lead to thirty-one points.

James Dunn doesn’t have the best of luck; his first race is cut short by a mechanical fault halfway into the race whilst in fifteenth. In the second, two crashes put paid to his ambition of a top ten result, ending that race watching from the sidelines as well. The final race though sees the return of the real James. Riding smart after a great start sees him run in the top six throughout the race, holding off not only stronger and wiser rivals, but also pulling up closer to Nathan. With the final race, James rescues his day with a sixteenth overall.

For the younger Watson, Ben, it’s a mixed bag at the end of the day too. A fantastic first race result in tenth after a good battle for positions throughout is followed up with a twenty-second place in the second. There a bad start leaves him playing catch-up, with the time running out just before he hits the points again. The final race also gets off to a bad start, but here he soon is back in the points before he has a costly moment with a fence that not only costs him his position, but ultimately his race. He ends the day in twentieth.

The team now travels to Trentino in Italy for the fourth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship this coming weekend.

Elliott Banks-Browne MX2 #1

“It’s been an alright day, I extended my points in the championship. I didn’t ride very well, to be fair. In the first race I really struggled with my suspension, crashed and my team mate beat me, so that wasn’t too good and I ended third. Then I had two seconds; in the last one I didn’t make things easy for myself. Jake was riding good and I just didn’t have anything for him today. In the second race I rode a lot better and he didn’t pull away so much, but in the last one I got really bad arm pump, so it’s just one of those days, I think. We have a lot of work to do on the suspension, set up the bike a bit better but yeah, I’m happy with the day and with extending my points lead.”

James Dunn MX2 #20

“I had a pretty bad day, really. I had two DNFs due to some mechanical problems and some bad crashes in the second race. I changed my attitude towards the last race and just tried to finish it. I did that and got a sixth and I was happy with that. I just need to keep working hard during the week and hopefully it will pay off at the weekend. I just have to keep at it and I’m looking forward to Italy next weekend.”

Ben Watson MX2 #919

“Qualifying was pretty bad; I didn’t have a good time, I was around twenty-fifth and just couldn’t get a good lap in. In the first race I had a really good start, was seventh and dropped a couple of places throughout the race for a tenth, which was good. In the second race I had a bad start, took me a little while to get into the race, but I pulled through to twenty-second, which wasn’t too bad. Another two positions and I would’ve been in the points again. In the last race I had another bad start; I was starting to pull through and got to eighteenth when I ran into a fence. I picked myself back up in twentieth and then my bike broke, so that was a DNF.”

Nathan Watson MX2 #991

“Today was really good, I qualified second to Jake Nicholls, which I was very happy with and which gave me some confidence going into the first race, where I got a good start. I was around fifth, came through to third, when Elliott had a small slip-off, which gave me second, and I held him off for second, which I was happy about. In the second race, I had another good start in third, pushed hard, but ended in third. In the final race I had another good start, I don’t usually get good starts like this so that really helped. I was in fourth and Nev Bradshaw got me on the last lap because I didn’t realise he was coming up behind me, so I ended fifth, but I’m really happy to be on the podium.”

Roger Magee: HM Plant KTM UK Team Manager

“It’s been another good day at the office for HM Plant KTM UK. Nathan Watson showed continuous progress over the last few weeks; he finished second in the first moto behind Jake Nicholls who finished third in Valkenswaard last weekend. Elliott had a small crash or he would’ve been second. In the second moto he put things together and tweaked his suspension and was happier. In the last race the boys brought home second and third on the podium, with the ‘old boy’ Jake on top. With a KTM one, two and three, we can’t ask for much more on the day. Ben had a stonking tenth in the first race and he shows his potential at only fifteen years of age. After a small technical problem in the first race and a couple of crashes in the second, James Dunn also showed his potential with a sixth place in the final moto. We’re looking forward to the next couple of Grands Prix, specifically Agueda where the two Watson boys will be competing in the European 250′s, and then Milton Malsor for the next round of the Maxxis.”

Results

MX2 Overall Result

1. Jake Nicholls (Wilvo Nestaan JM Racing KTM) 75, 2. Elliott Banks-Browne (HM Plant KTM UK) 64, 3. Nathan Watson (HM Plant KTM UK) 58, 4. Neville Bradshaw (Putoline Honda) 49, 5. Bryan Mackenzie (Pendrich Kawasaki) 46, 6. Jordan Booker (Kawasaki) 42, 7. Steven Lenoir (Evotech Stevens KTM) 41, 8. Graeme Irwin (Heads + All Threads Suzuki) 38, 9. James Cottrell (Putoline Honda) 27, 10. Lewis Tombs (JAR Honda by IFS) 26, 16. James Dunn (HM Plant KTM UK) 15, 20. Ben Watson (HM Plant KTM UK) 11

MX2 Championship Standings

1. Elliott Banks-Browne (HM Plant KTM UK) 134, 2. Nathan Watson (HM Plant KTM UK) 103, 3. Steven Lenoir (Evotech Stevens KTM) 101, 4. Neville Bradshaw (Putoline Honda) 94, 5. Graeme Irwin (Heads + All Threads Suzuki) 90, 6. Jake Nicholls (Wilvo Nestaan JM Racing KTM) 75, 7. James Cottrell (Putoline Honda) 67, 8. Bryan Mackenzie (Pendrich Kawasaki) 65, 9. Adam Sterry (Team STR KTM) 61, 10. Lewis Tombs (JAR Honda by IFS) 50, 16. James Dunn (HM Plant KTM UK) 30, 20. Ben Watson (HM Plant KTM UK) 25

Event Gallery

A wintery Grand Prix of the Netherlands was the chilly stage for a positive beginning to the European phase of the FIM Motocross World Championship for HM Plant KTM UK. The third round of eighteen in the series saw Natalia Kane finish third in the opening meeting of the seven-race FIM Women’s contest while Elliott Banks Browne and James Dunn picked up points in the MX2 class and Nathan Watson also made the leaderboard in the premier MX1 category.

27,000 spectators filled the Valkenswaard circuit over both days of action through Easter weekend where brief snow flurries were not a strange sight. For EBB and Dunn it was a heavy contrast from the initial appointments on the MXGP calendar in Qatar and Thailand and it was a little frustrating to see yet more ice and frozen terrain outside of the UK. The cold conditions meant that the Dutch sand did not carve into its usual bevy of holes, ruts and lumps and forced a higher speed as a result.

Kane’s results were the standout. The Irishwoman is in good shape and ready to fill her expected role as lead rival to Kiara Fontanesi for the 2013 crown. Holland was the first of seven rounds and the girls will head to Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Great Britain, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Kane took two third positions at Valkenswaard and was unlucky in the second moto when a problem with her timing unit forced her to slow while leading the first half of the race.

Banks Browne also had a bittersweet experience. A glitch with his suspension meant he had to pull out of the first MX2 sprint while holding a position in the top half of the field and chasing a top ten finish. A good start in the second outing saw the British Champion running with fellow Brits Mel Pocock and Max Anstie and he completed a solid race to capture fourteen points for seventh place; a personal best so far at world championship level. James Dunn is wading through the ‘deep end’ that is MX2 grand prix competition in his first seasons but was happy to gain his first points of the year with twentieth in the second affair.

Nathan Watson made his MX1 GP debut for the team in Holland. The British youngster crashed in the first moto and had to quickly pit to bash his front brake and bars into shape but rode to twentieth and improved his ranking by four slots in the second race.

Overall the Grand Prix was a thorough exercise in tough competition through demanding conditions and was the ideal ‘warm-up’ for a full scale assault on the third round of the Maxxis British Championship at Lyng in Norfolk next weekend. The Grand Prix of Italy will take place at the Arco di Trento circuit near Lake Garda in two weeks.

Natalie Kane:

“The weekend went pretty well. I was the fastest in the free practice and it was really good because I was not expecting to be riding so close to Kiara and everyone else at this point; my goal for the weekend was to finish in the top five but I was actually going for the lead. I was at the front most of the second race and I did not finish far behind in the end, so I am really happy.”

James Dunn:

“It was a quite difficult qualifying race, as the track was flat and everybody was riding really close. I think I finished about thirty-sixth, so I didn’t have a good gate pick. The start was very tricky this weekend. In the first race I was riding well but then I had a small crash and I ended up around 26^th but in the second race I managed to get my first point and I’m really happy about that. Hopefully I can keep on getting more in the next Grand Prix.”

Elliott Banks-Browne:

“I finished 12^th in the qualifying Heat which was ok and in the first race I didn’t get such a good start. I was riding really well when something happened to my fork and I got a DNF. In the second moto I made a decent start and finished seventh and I was really happy because it was the best result I have ever had in a GP, so hopefully we can progress on this and be better in the next races.”

Roger Magee, Team Owner:

“It was a good weekend for the team, we were really close to the overall with Natalie but unfortunately in the second moto when she was leading the transponder bracket broke, so she could not turn properly in the corners and she lost the rhythm of Fontanesi and Rutledge. It was great for HM Plant to be on the podium and I hope she can finish in the top three through the whole season. The other two riders scored points this weekend, which is really good taking into account that a sand track like the one in Valkenswaard is very difficult for the British riders. Elliott Banks-Browne had a technical problem in the first race and had a DNF, but in the second moto he had a good start and he ran top six for most of the duration to finish seventh. At the same time James Dunn brought home the first point, which is very difficult in the first year, and he actually beat many of the riders that are racing the British championship with him.”

Results

MX2 Moto1:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 39:49.179; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:11.056; 3. Max Anstie (GBR, Suzuki), +0:21.337; 4. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:22.824; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:24.088; 6. Julien Lieber (BEL, Suzuki), +0:58.146; 7. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:01.127; 8. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), +1:09.946; 9. Priit Ratsep (EST, KTM), +1:11.786; 27. James Dunn (GBR, KTM), -1 lap(s).

MX2 Moto 2:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 39:47.473; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:07.845; 3. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:12.739; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:21.467; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, KTM), +0:45.622; 6. Max Anstie (GBR, Suzuki), +1:08.635; 7. Elliott Banks-Browne (GBR, KTM), +1:12.868; 8. Alexander Tonkov (RUS, Honda), +1:15.878; 9. Mel Pocock (GBR, Yamaha), +1:19.983; 20. James Dunn (GBR, KTM), +2:12.721.

GP of the Netherlands:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 44 p.; 3. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 38 p.; 4. Max Anstie (GBR, Suzuki), 35 p.; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 34 p.; 6. Alexander Tonkov (RUS, Honda), 23 p.; 7. Mel Pocock (GBR, Yamaha), 23 p.; 8. Priit Ratsep (EST, KTM), 22 p.; 9. Pascal Rauchenecker (AUT, KTM), 19 p.; 10. Romain Febvre (FRA, KTM), 16 p.; 12. Elliott Banks-Browne (GBR, KTM), 26. James Dunn (GBR, KTM), 1 p.

MX2 World Championship:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 150 points; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 101 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, KTM), 98 p.; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 97 p.; 5. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 74 p.; 17. Elliott Banks-Browne (GBR, KTM), 31 p.; 31. James Dunn (GBR, KTM).

WMX:

GP of the Netherlands:

1. Chiara Fontanesi (ITA, Yamaha), 50 points; 2. Meghan Kat Rutledge (AUS, Kawasaki), 44 p.; 3. Natalie Kane (IRL, KTM), 40 p.; 4. Stephanie Laier (GER, Kawasaki), 36 p.; 5. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Suzuki), 32 p.; 6. Jessica Moore (AUS, KTM), 28 p.; 7. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, KTM), 27 p.; 8. Britt van der Wekken (NED, Honda), 26 p.; 9. Nicky van Wordragen (NED, KTM), 24 p.; 10. Nina Klink (NED, KTM), 22 p.

WMX World Championship:

1. Chiara Fontanesi (ITA, Yamaha), 50 points; 2. Meghan Kat Rutledge (AUS, Kawasaki), 44 p.; 3. Natalie Kane (IRL, KTM), 40 p.; 4. Stephanie Laier (GER, Kawasaki), 36 p.; 5. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Suzuki), 32 p.

Event Gallery

12►

Just returned from Qatar and Thailand, the HM Plant KTM UK team travel to FatCat Motoparc near Doncaster for the opening round of the 2013 Maxxis British Motocross Championship. Unfortunately, the British weather is not very kind around this time of year, and as much as Sunday appears to improve, the weather returns with a vengeance for an icy surprise later in the afternoon.

With the weather as it is, the ACU has instituted a wet weather schedule, which in turn does away with super-pole and the combined super-final, which is customary when the MXY2 or veteran classes race as well. The end result is very tough MX2 races instead.

Star of the team is current MX2 champion Elliott Banks-Browne, and as much as things have not gone quite to plan in the first two rounds of the world championship, Elliott makes up for it here in spades. After qualifying in fourth, he storms to the lead in the first race, keeping at bay fellow KTM riders Steven Lenoir and Martin Barr to the end of the race. In the second, he loses his goggles in the first lap, racing the remainder of the race through a haze of tears, sand and mud. Although he is not able to get close to the race leader Mel Pocock, he knows that a second in the race is sufficient to clinch the deal for the overall, which he does too, with a ten point margin.

Then there is the elder of the two Watson brothers, Nathan Watson. After qualifying in sixth, he gets off the gate in the top ten. After a small hiccup, he recovers his places and starts making things more difficult for some of the more seasoned riders. He is close to reeling in Graeme Irwin but his time runs out and he has to settle for seventh. In the second race, he takes a little while to get settled in and swiftly recovers the positions he’s lost from his start in seventh. He finishes in fifth and ties for a fourth overall.

The younger of the two Watsons, Ben, also makes a great first impression for the season. Qualifying in eighteenth, he improves his position in the first race with a fantastic twelfth place, having fought back from a horrendous start in the low twenties. His second start improves and he looks like he will be back in the top fifteen, but with fine sand and water being the enemy of goggles, he has to switch sets, setting him back ten places, which he recovers by the end of the race. He salvages a point for an eighteenth place overall.

The rookie upgrading to the MX2 class is James Dunn. Qualifying three places up from Ben, he pulls a good start out of the bag in his first race and keeps a solid, steady rhythm going. This consistency gets him into the top ten, a great result, which he tries to improve on in the second race. The weather though has other plans and it is tough going. Unable to make much headway, James finishes with Ben pipping him to the post for that one vital point. Although he is outside the points in the race, his first result still earns him a top fifteen place overall on the day.

The team next travels to Canada Heights in Kent for the second round of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship this coming weekend.

Elliott Banks-Browne MX2 #1

“Happy with today, in the first race I felt good, felt comfortable, wasn’t trying too hard or anything and managed to win quite easily. In the second race, I didn’t get such a good start, got filled in on the first lap, just had to take my goggles off because I just couldn’t see where I was going. It was just a big blur after that, but I’m really happy that I had a 1-2 today and happy to come away with the championship lead.”

James Dunn MX2 #20

“I had an OK qualifying, I was fifteenth which was not bad. In the first race I ended up tenth, which was quite good; I had a solid race. Then we had a lot of rain throughout the day, which made that last race very wet, and a bit messy, but I struggled on until the end, and thought I might just get into the top twenty or so, but ended up twenty-first. Hopefully we’ll have a bit more sunshine at Canada Heights!”

Ben Watson MX2 #919

“It wasn’t too bad, I had a better first race than the second, in the first I just had a really bad start and had to pull through. I got up to twelfth, so that was good. Then, in the second race, I had a better start, but my goggles broke straight away and then had to pull in and get some new goggles. I was probably around twenty-fifth when I went back out but got back to twentieth, so it’s not been bad, it’s better than what I’ve ever done in the MX2.”

Nathan Watson MX2 #991

“It was an alright day, to be fair. Conditions were completely different to what I was expecting, We obviously had a lot of rain and the track was just heavy going and sloppy, but I ended up fourth overall, which is pretty consistent with the start of the season, so yeah, I’m pretty happy with it.”

Roger Magee: HM Plant KTM UK Team Manager

“A good start to the 2013 British championship with Elliott on the top of the podium, but all four riders rode quite well. In the first race we had all riders in the top twelve, and the performance of the two Watson boys shows that they will be in there in the future. James is learning the streets still in the British and world championship MX2 this year, and he’s suffering from a bit of the flu today, but he had two good, solid results, with the second race being a bit of a lottery with the weather conditions deteriorating. But all four riders made it home, and we’re well up there in the championship for KTM. For the second round at Canada Heights, we hope that the weather picks up this week.”

Results

MX2 Overall result
1 Elliott Banks-Browne (HM Plant KTM UK) 70, 2 Steven Lenoir (Evotech Stevens KTM) 60, 3 Graeme Irwin (Heads + All Threads Suzuki) 52, 4 Nathan Watson (HM Plant KTM UK) 45, 5 Neville Bradshaw (Putoline Honda) 45, 6 James Cottrell (Putoline Honda) 40, 7 Arminas Jasikonis (Route77energy Honda) 38, 8 Mel Pocock (Monster Energy Yamaha) 37, 9 Adam Sterry (STR KTM) 36, 10 Martin Barr (VMX KTM) 30, 15 James Dunn (HM Plant KTM UK) 15, 18 Ben Watson (HM Plant KTM UK) 14

Event Gallery