Lyng, Norfolk – 13th June 2010 – British Championship
HM Plant Red Bull KTM’s sole flag flier Jake Nicholls put on a fighting performance to go 3-1-2 at Lyng yesterday, finishing in a superb second position overall for round four of the British MX2 Championship.
Nicholls started the day off well and completed the morning’s qualifying session around the sandy Norfolk track in second place. The 20-year-old KTM-pilot lost a position in the one flying lap superpole, but was feeling ultra-confident ahead of the day’s races.
In race one, following a restart due to a problematic gate, Nicholls scorched away from the start to clinch the holeshot and settled into an easy rhythm for the 20-minute plus two-lap moto. Nicholls controlled the race from the front until over half race distance when arch-rival Zach Osbourne began closing down the KTM-ace.
Nicholls continued to maintain a small advantage until the final stages of the race, when misfortune struck and he crashed heavily on one of the downhill sections, with his bike landing on top of him. After managing to clamber his way from under his race machine, Nicholls remounted and fought his way back to a strong third position by the chequered flag.
The second moto started similarly to the first with Nicholls launching himself into the lead off the startgate with another superb holeshot. The HM Plant Red Bull KTM racer got his head down and stretched out an impressive lead of over nine seconds by the mid-part of the race, and dominated to the finish line with an outstanding win aboard his KTM 250 SX-F.
In the final race of the day Nicholls didn’t get the start he had hoped for due to a slow starting gate, and he completed lap one in seventh position. This gave the KTM racer a real challenge around the Norfolk track, which had become super rough throughout the three races. Nicholls got his head down and battled his way to the chequered flag to finish in second position, which earned him another podium finish in second place overall. Nicholls is now second in the overall standings with 226 points.
It was hoped that the injured Graeme Irwin, who received recent surgery to repair the ligaments in his shoulder, would return to the track this weekend. However, with the focus on ensuring the injury is completely stable to reduce risk of re-injury, the Ulsterman has been advised to stay off the bike for a further few weeks. Irwin will then begin light riding along with his training programme, as he aims to come back to racing within the next month in full fitness.
Natalie Kane was also absent this weekend, as she is attempting to recover from the injury to her wrist sustained in a practice crash some weeks ago. Kane has ridden bravely in the recent Women’s world championship rounds, although the KTM-pilot is still undergoing treatment for a broken capitate bone in her wrist. Kane has been put back in cast following last weekend’s race to stabilise the injury, and is currently rehabilitating at home ready for the next Women’s World Championship round this Sunday.
Jake Nicholls #45: 3-1-2 = 2nd Overall
“Qualifying was good; I was pretty close with Zach in the first one, then in the Superpole I ended up third, which I was reasonably happy with. In the first race I got a good start and managed to pull away to begin with. I always struggle a little in the middle of the race and I also haven’t led a race since last year, which was a bit strange, so Zach pulled me in a little bit towards the middle of the moto. I stepped it up again and maintained my advantage, when right near the end I made a mistake coming down the hill where I lost the front end and ended up cart-wheeling. The bike landed on me and I struggled to get going again, but I got back to third. In the second race I got a really good start and rode hard early on, then just maintained the gap from front while conserving as much energy as possible. In the last race the gate didn’t drop properly, even though I used the same gate as the previous two races. I actually hit the gate but luckily it went down and I got away. I was up against it, but pulled through really well and got to second for second overall. To be honest I’m not that happy with it, as maybe with a good start we could have got the overall win, especially as this is my type of track and I like it here. We have just got to keep trying.”
Roger Magee: HM Plant Red Bull KTM Team Manager
“Things have gone well for us today. Jake had a good qualification, which gave him a good gate pick for the start. There was unfortunately a problem with the starting gate today, as there was a false start in the first race and Jake’s gate didn’t drop properly in the last moto. However, coming home with a 1-2-3 and a podium, still in contention for the championship with only half the races gone is good, so we’re happy. Jake rode well in the rough conditions and he’s certainly started to adapt more to the three-race format; in fact it was just one little mistake that cost him the win in the first race, but he’ll learn from that. We are now looking forward to Germany next week and the next few Grand Prix races followed by the Red Bull Pro National at Canada Heights. We also hope that Graeme will be back with us then, and we’ll have the team back to full strength before the next British Championship at Foxhill. Graeme has to be careful with his shoulder for a little longer yet, and we’ll be gradually building up his riding regime over the next few weeks. Natalie is also riding injured at the moment and she’s been riding with a lot of guts to get over the pain she’s been in. She’s had a cast put back on her wrist, where she has a broken capitate bone, to help the healing process, but she’s certainly determined to keep riding. It’s a difficult situation as she can’t train properly right now, although we’ve seen the speed is there, and I’m sure she’ll be battling for wins when she is healed.”
HM Plant Red Bull KTM UK would like to thank its sponsors: HM Plant, Hitachi, Red Bull, KTM, Trucks ‘R’ Us, Motorex, Tourism Ireland, Northern Ireland Events, Fox, Race World, Bott, Motorpoint, Pirelli, Cholwill Plant and Equipment Hire, Cycra, Venhill, FMF, Volleberg Motorsport, Renthal, One Industries, Edward J Magee, Press commercial bodyworks, Wiseco, TwinAir, EBC Brakes, Silent Sport Premium, Pro Carbon Racing, NGK, CTi, Samco Sport, GSPMX, Petersen Racing, Pulse Racing Products, Empire logo mats, High5 and Stolen Bike Co.
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