Lierop, Netherlands – 30th August 2009 – World Championship

Hard day for Nicholls in Dutch sand

Red Bull KTM UK’s Jake Nicholls was able to score points in a Dutch Grand Prix for the first time in his career but a difficult set of motos at the rough and daunting sand of Lierop for the fourteenth and penultimate round of the FIM Motocross World Championship left the British teenager with only 19th place overall.

The rutty and loose sand of Lierop was a thorough test for the rider’s season-weary bodies, technical skills and also the reliability of their machines. 18,000 spectators travelled to the venue in the south of the country and close to the German border for what was the last European stop on the fifteen-event calendar.

Nicholls’s first race got off to a fiery start; quite literally. A fall on the third turn as a consequence of being grouped in the pack saw his 250SX-F catch fire and the 19 year old had to smother the engine before being able to consider restarting the bike to continue. Nicholls’s speed was effective after many weeks and months during the season improving his ability in the sand and he soon made ground on the rear of the field. Another spill however set him back and he finished out of the points in 26th; two places behind Stephen Sword who struggled to find a rhythm across the waves.

The second race was slightly better until the final third of the 35 minute and 2 lap distance at which the Briton lost his flow and could only manage 2 points for 19th by the flag. “The positive thing I can take from today is that I have come a long way with my sand riding compared to last year and my speed was OK all weekend,” he said. “I had to put the flames out in the first moto and caught up the others after a while but then had a crash. In the second race I was doing alright but lost my rhythm completely for a short while and was banging my head against a wall. Things didn’t really go my way this weekend but I had never scored points in a Dutch Grand Prix so this is something to build on.”

New British Champion Sword, competing in his last ever MX2 moto as a consequence of rule changes regarding age for 2010, almost grabbed the holeshot around the first turn but disappointingly pulled into the paddock by mid-race distance having failed to find the necessary drive and feeling in the sand. “On a good day for me here the top ten would have been possible,” he reflected. “In the first race I was cut-up around the first turn and from then on struggled to get my rhythm and find the drive and motivation to get some points. I was fired up for my last race in MX2 for the next moto and almost had the holeshot but I had the same problem after that and was not able to run at the level that I expect. I hit a wall and went backwards; I just didn’t want to crash. The GPs have not been good for me this year and I have diverted my attention to the British because the team at the very least deserved that. I wanted to end my MX2 world championship career in a better way but it wasn’t to be.”

“Lierop is always a difficult circuit to come to, and even though Stephen and Jake were well prepared if you don’t get the start around here then you are always going to be at the other end of the points,” said Team Principal Roger Magee. “A disappointing day for both riders but we will re-group. Jake is the only one going to Brazil while Stephen will prepare himself for the final round of the British Championship on the 450. We hope Graeme Irwin can secure a top six or seven finish and Jake can also be runner-up on the national scene.”

The world championship points table shows Nicholls in 18th and still in with a chance of rising further. Sword is 21st after a difficult international season.

Red Bull KTM UK has virtually finished their international commitments and Nicholls will travel across the Atlantic to the new Canelinha circuit for the Grand Prix of Brazil in two weeks.

Results

MX2 Race 1 top ten: 1. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 40:22.468; ; 2. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), +0:29.397; 3. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), +0:55.449; 4. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), +1:05.364; 5. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), +1:15.289; 6. Dennis Verbruggen (BEL, Honda), +1:29.854; 7. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), +1:40.779; 8. Ceriel Klein Kromhof (NED, KTM), +1:44.178; 9. Loic Larrieu (FRA, Yamaha), +1:46.209; 10. Nikolai Larsen (DEN, Suzuki), +1:49.606; 24. Stephen Sword (GBR, Red Bull KTM UK); 26. Jake Nicholls (GBR, Red Bull KTM UK)

MX2 Race 2 top ten: 1. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 41:32.470; ; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), +0:27.364; 3. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +0:44.963; 4. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), +0:49.788; 5. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), +1:00.876; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +1:03.945; 7. Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki), +1:42.665; 8. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), +1:49.892; 9. Dennis Verbruggen (BEL, Honda), +1:55.531; 10. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), +1:59.254; 19. Jake Nicholls (GBR, Red Bull KTM UK)

MX2 Overall top ten: 1. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 47 points; 2. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 45 p.; 3. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), 40 p.; 4. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 36 p.; 5. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), 29 p.; 6. Dennis Verbruggen (BEL, Honda), 27 p.; 7. Ceriel Klein Kromhof (NED, KTM), 21 p.; 8. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 18 p.; 9. Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki), 18 p.; 10. Manuel Monni (ITA, Yamaha), 18 p.; 24. Jake Nicholls (GBR, Red Bull KTM UK), 1p

MX2 Championship top ten: 1. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 490 points; 2. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 468 p.; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 422 p.; 4. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), 387 p.; 5. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), 346 p.; 6. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 294 p.; 7. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 284 p.; 8. Manuel Monni (ITA, Yamaha), 263 p.; 9. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), 256 p.; 10. Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki), 253 p.; 18. Jake Nicholls (GBR, Red Bull KTM UK), 132p; 21. Stephen Sword (GBR, Red Bull KTM UK), 105p

Event Photo Gallery