Red
Bull KTM UK
Race report – 2nd Round of British Motocross Championship
Langrish – Sunday 22nd March 2009
Round
two of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship was held at the
fast, dry and dusty hillside Manor Hall Farm circuit in Langrish,
Hampshire where Red Bull KTM UK riders Stephen Sword, Jake Nicholls,
Graeme Irwin and Alex Snow – as well as factory KTM rider
Shaun Simpson who is always a very welcome guest inside the Red
Bull KTM UK team awning at British championship events - continued
their quest for domestic titles.
The
Langrish circuit was in great condition for the second round of
the series with the long horsepower-sapping hills, bumpy straights,
slippery descents and many huge jumps thoroughly testing the skills
and bravery of each and every rider during the day’s four
points-paying motos.
In
the MX2 division it was team leader Stephen Sword who took a well
deserved double race victory to make it four wins out of four motos
for KTM machines in the class for 250cc four-strokes. The 29-year-old
Scotsman was in fine form on the fast and slippery Langrish circuit
and after waiting to make a brave final lap move for victory in
the opening race had things much easier in moto two as early race
leader Simpson was briefly sidelined with a derailed chain gifting
Swordy an easy win.
Sword’s
double race victory on the day lifts him to second place in the
series standing where he is now just two points behind current leader
Simpson who scored a creditable 2-4 on the day despite suffering
small crashes in both races on top of the rock-induced chain derailment
during the second encounter. Disappointed with the day’s results
Simpson will be looking to return to the top step of the podium
at the next round of the series at Brampton in Cumbria.
Jake
Nicholls also suffered some bad luck in Langrish as his seat became
dislodged in turn one of race one. After wisely stopping to retrieve
the rogue saddle the Reverend then pitted to get the part properly
refitted before rejoining the race. Although a lap down Jake dug
deep and rode an excellent moto with lap-times comparable to - and
often quicker than - those of the leader’s as he pulled back
through the pack to 14th position. Jake’s second moto was
drama free by comparison and after a self-confessed slow start he
was able to battle on and score a fine third place in the race to
ensure he stays inside the top six of the series standings.
Sitting
one place behind Nicholls in the MX2 championship chase after Langrish
is young gun Graeme Irwin who continues to impress on his 250 SX-F.
Arm pump in the opening gambit kept the 17-year-old from performing
at his best but the young Irishman still scored a creditable ninth
place in the first moto before improving to eighth second time out.
The
Red Bull KTM UK team’s MX1 pilot Alex Snow had a mixed day
on his 450 SX-F as he showed some great pace and fighting spirit
although his end results perhaps didn’t show it. Finishing
outside of the points in race one after crashing over a jump in
the opening few laps, Alex improved to a fine ninth place in the
second moto after utilising the KTM’s awesome power to round
the first corner at the front of the pack!
The MX1 class was won on the day by guest rider Max Nagl who powered
his factory KTM 450 SX-F to a double race victory.
Quotes
Shaun Simpson – MX2 2-4
“The first race went well. I didn’t get such a good
start but I was able to get into the lead quite quickly. I tried
to pull out a gap but Swordy was able to hang in there with me.
I held the lead until the very last lap but I made a stupid mistake
on one of the step-ups and lost a bit of time as I landed heavily
and bobbled. Stephen was able to come up the inside of me on the
next right hander, I tried to keep the power on around the outside
of him but washed out in the loose stuff and crashed. I remounted
to finish second which was okay…
“I was really angry after letting such a stupid mistake cost
me the win so I was out to make amends in moto two. I got the holeshot
then immediately lost the lead to Pascal Leuret in the first little
s-bend section but I was able to get him right back - then I concentrated
hard on pulling out a gap. I was edging away with something like
a four second lead until a rock derailed my chain. Luckily I was
able to sort it out and get going again and then I kept it lit for
the whole race. I worked hard and battled it out because I know
that points mean prizes. I’ve still got the championship lead
– by two points – and hopefully the next round at Brampton
will be a little kinder to me.”
Stephen
Sword – MX2 1-1
“It was a good day for me. I took pole in qualifying and I
rode smart all day which really paid off. In the first race I had
some good lines and was able to pressurize Shaun into making a mistake
so I took the win and the second moto was similar really –
he was edging away early on but I felt that I had plenty in reserve
for later in the race. Overall it’s been a mega day for me
and it gives me a lot of confidence going into the first GP next
weekend.”
Jake
Nicholls – MX2 14-3
“I had a nightmare in qualifying with some clutch problems
that only arose when the timed section of the session started. I
did a couple of laps without a clutch which were okay then I went
out on my spare bike and put in some really fast ones. Unfortunately
for me I’d forgotten to swap the transponder over and so the
good laps weren’t timed. I still ended up eighth in the session
which wasn’t too bad.
“In the first race I came into the first turn and my seat
just popped off so I had to stop, lean my bike against a post and
run back to retrieve it from the track. I rode back to the pits
and got it refitted properly. By the time it was done Swordy and
Simpson were coming round so I rejoined the track near them and
stuck with them for the whole race. My pace was good and I was able
to pull through the pack from around two minutes behind to finish
14th so I was reasonably happy with that.
“I got an alright start in the second race. I wasn’t
riding too well in the first part of the race and got lucky when
Shaun had his problems so inherited third which I held until the
finish. I think if I could have ridden in the second race like I
had in the first I’d have been an easy second but third is
good and I’m happy with that.”
Graeme
Irwin – MX2 9-8
“In qualifying the track was real fast and the bike was dancing
around a little bit but we got it dialed in and it wasn’t
too bad after that. I ended up seventh in the end and that was good
enough on this track with the start being quite fair.
“In the first race I got a good start and was able to run
a good pace for a few laps until I got arm pump - after that I was
just hanging. I ended up ninth which wasn’t too bad and it
could have been much worse.
“In the second race I got a reasonable start and ended up
battling with Martin Barr for a wee while but then I lost touch
with him and had quite a lonely race to end up eighth for seventh
overall. I’m happy enough with my results and they’re
giving me a good base to work from – I now have to keep working
hard so I can improve to the point where I’m battling up there
with the good boys.”
Alex
Snow – MX1 22-9
“In the first race I had a reasonable start and I felt okay
until I crashed on one of the jumps over at the back early on. That
dropped me way down the pack and I struggled to come through after
that – I’m not even sure where I finished in that one,
I was too scared to look!
“I
had an awesome start in the second race and I was third out of the
gate. Some of the factory guys came past and I was hoping to get
a tow off some of them but I was struggling to find the speed and
I didn’t feel so comfortable with the track. I’ll keep
working on things and hopefully they’ll get better.”
Roger
Magee – Team Manager
The conditions today were something that we would normally encounter
much later in the season with the hard-pack surface. All of the
Red Bull KTM UK riders adapted very well, with Swordy taking the
double win and showing his true speed and determination to win at
the highest level. Jake once again demonstrated his new-found speed
and determination in both races, coming from dead-last on the 1st
lap of race 1 to an impressive 14th at the flag. In race 2 he rode
smart to take 3rd. We should see him on the overall podium at a
British Championship in the not too distant future! Graeme scored
another two top 10 results today and showed good speed in the company
of much more experienced competitors. In the MX1 class, Alex showed
good promise in the early stages of both races, but will need to
work on his race-pace to improve on his standings in this competitive
class.
We
can now look forward with anticipation to the 1st round of the World
Championship at Faenza next weekend where conditions will be not
too different from today!
