Glen Helen, California – 30th May 2010 – World Championship
Nicholls impressive again with 7th in USA
The first Grand Prix of USA this century saw HM Plant Red Bull KTM UK’s Jake Nicholls again adventuring into the top half of the leader-board with 7th position overall thanks to results of 10th and 7th in two hot motos at Glen Helen in California. The sixth round of fifteen in the FIM Motocross World Championship was watched by 16,000 spectators as the series returned to the premier venue at San Bernardino for the first time since 1992.
Glen Helen, some 70 miles east of Los Angeles, was a much longer and faster layout compared to the tracks to which Grand Prix riders are accustomed. The almost-impossibly steep hills provided a tough test for the durability of the machinery while the downhill drops were a validation of nerve and suspension settings. Nicholls, like the rest of the GP field discovering the course for the first time, was at a slight disadvantage as hefty winds on Saturday forced organisers to scrap the free practice schedule. The 20 year old was quick to adapt however. He made a reasonable start and rode solidly for 10th in Moto1 and then held 6th place for long stretches of Moto2 traversing a rougher surface until being bumped to 7th as the race was halted with ten minutes remaining when a gust caused a Red Bull bridge to fall and obstruct the track.
Thanks to his American point tally Nicholls stands 10th in the world championship table but is just 5 marks behind Joel Roelants in 9th.
The team will now head back east in haste for the Grand Prix of France at St Jean D’Angely, near La Rochelle, next weekend and into a busy section of the calendar with four GPs and one British Championship event in the next five weeks. The French meeting will also entertain the fourth round of seven in the Women’s World Championship.
For more information visit the team’s website at: www.ktmukmx.com
Photograph courtesy of Ray Archer.
Jake Nicholls:
“I’m really happy to come away with a 10-6 and importantly I beat the two guys ahead of me in the championship in both races, so to pull a few points in the standings is good. It took me a little while to get used to speed of the track but that was the same for all the European riders. I want to thank KTM USA for giving us a bike that worked brilliantly all weekend and also to Steve, Wayne and Jeremy for coming out here and supporting me. It has been a good trip and the results were encouraging.”
Roger Magee, Team Principal:
“Jake rode his heart out today in the searing heat to prove that he is now one of the established contenders for a top 10 place in the MX2 World Championship. His true grit and determination, as well as his undoubted fitness, shone through especially in the second moto. Had this race not been red-flagged prematurely he would probably have finished even higher up the leader-board! I wish to extend my sincere thanks to the staff at KTM America, FMF, SDG seats, and all of our other main sponsors for their extensive support for the MXGP in the USA which ensured that we were very competitive on the day. We now have a quick turnaround for next weekend’s MXGP in France where Jake will be joined by Natalie Kane for the next round of the Women’s World Motocross Championship.”
Results
MX2 Moto1
1. Marvin Musquin (KTM); 2. Steven Frossard (Kaw); 3. Ken Roczen (Suz); 4. Zach Osborne (Yam); 5. Jeremy van Horebeek (Kaw); 6. Travis Baker (Yam); 7. Arnaud Tonus (Suz); 8. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM); 9. Shaun Simpson (KTM); 10. Jake Nicholls (HM Plant Red Bull KTM); 11. Gautier Paulin (Yam); 12. Valentin Teillet (KTM); 13. Joel Roelants (KTM); 14. Dennis Verbruggen (KTM); 15. Matiss Karro (Suz); 16. Alessandro Lupino (Yam); 17. Max Anstie (Yam); 18. James Decotis (Hon); 19. Petr Smitka (KTM); 20. Vince Friese (Yam);
MX2 Moto2
1. Marvin Musquin (KTM); 2. Zach Osborne (Yam); 3. Shaun Simpson (KTM); 4. Steven Frossard (Kaw); 5. Ken Roczen (Suz); 6. Dennis Verbruggen (KTM); 7. Jake Nicholls (HM Plant Red Bull KTM); 8. Jeremy van Horebeek (Kaw); 9. Gautier Paulin (Yam); 10. Harri Kullas (Yam); 11. Arnaud Tonus (Suz); 12. Matiss Karro (Suz); 13. Joel Roelants (KTM); 14. Vince Friese (Yam); 15. Alessandro Lupino (Yam); 16. Max Anstie (Yam); 17. Joey Rossi (Kaw); 18. James Decotis (Hon); 19. Petr Smitka (KTM); 20. Dakota Tedder (Kaw);
MX2 Overall Result
1. Marvin Musquin (KTM); 2. Zach Osborne (Yam); 3. Steven Frossard (Kaw); 4. Ken Roczen (Suz); 5. Shaun Simpson (KTM); 6. Jeremy van Horebeek (Kaw); 7. Jake Nicholls (HM Plant Red Bull KTM); 8. Arnaud Tonus (Suz); 9. Dennis Verbruggen (KTM); 10. Gautier Paulin (Yam); 11. Joel Roelants (KTM); 12. Matiss Karro (Suz); 13. Travis Baker (Yam); 14. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM); 15. Harri Kullas (Yam); 16. Alessando Lupino (Yam); 17. Max Anstie (Yam); 18. Valentin Teillet (KTM); 19. Vince Friese (Yam); 20. James Decotis (Hon);
MX2 World Championship standings after 6 of 15 rounds
1. Marvin Musquin (268); 2. Ken Roczen (228); 3. Steven Frossard (205); 4. Jeffrey Herlings (197); 5. Shaun Simpson (170); 6. Zach Osborne (163); 7. Jeremy van Horebeek (157); 8. Arnaud Tonus (154); 9. Joel Roelants (134); 10. Jake Nicholls (129); 11. Harri Kullas (120); 12. Dennis Verbruggen (101); 13. Alessandro Lupino (81); 14. Christophe Charlier (81); 15. Matiss Karro (68); 16. Gautier Paulin (51); 17. Valentin Teillet (47); 18. Nikolaj Larsen (45); 19. Petr Smitka (33); 20. Mel Pocock (29);
Event Photo Gallery
