Red Bull KTM UK
Race report – 4th Round of British Motocross Championship
Hawkstone Park 14th June 2009

Hawkstone Park in Shropshire hosted the fourth round of the 2009 Maxxis British Motocross championship and Team Red Bull KTM UK were there in full force with MX2 series leader Stephen Sword heading the way with teammates Jake Nicholls, Graeme Irwin and Alex Snow also in attendance. With the day’s racing being held under sunny skies and on a perfectly prepped circuit the large crowd were treated to four great championship motos on the history-rich sandy circuit that’s situated 10 miles north of Shrewsbury.

Coming into this round of the series the red plate holder Stephen Sword had been feeling under the weather with an infected insect bite causing the speedy Scotsman some discomfort and sleepless nights. But, come the end of proceedings the ever efficient 29-year-old had not only overcome the odds to take the overall win with a 3-1 scorecard but also more than doubled his points lead to a massive 37 points at the halfway stage of the eight round championship!

Jake Nicholls was also in fine form and after finishing a solid fourth in moto one to take the runner-up spot in the series standings the young rider from Suffolk took a massive holeshot in moto two and lead lap after lap – even fighting off his vastly more experienced teammate mid-race. Just when it looked likely that Jake would take his maiden British championship moto victory the rider known as the Reverend failed to reappear from the infamous whoop section as an unfortunate oversight by his mechanic caused the final drive system to fail. Nicholls’ no score saw the #45 rider slip to fourth in the series standings but he’ll undoubtedly be more motivated than ever to notch up national win number one as the series heads to his most local circuit – Lyng – for round five.

Graeme Irwin continued to impress in his rookie year with the Red Bull KTM UK squad. Two mature rides on one of Graeme’s least favourite circuits saw the Ulsterman finish eighth in moto one and seventh second time out. The team’s youngest rider slipped to seventh in the MX2 series standings although he’s only a handful of points from the top five!

In the MX1 class the team’s lone 450 pilot Alex Snow enjoyed one of his finest rides of the year so far, consistently scoring strongly in both motos to leapfrog four places in the series standings. Snowy now sits 11th in the MX1 division and seems to be gaining momentum in his first year in the premier class.

The Red Bull KTM UK squad will now travel to Teutshchenthal in Germany as their participation in the 2009 MX2 FIM motocross world championship continues.

KTM UK - Round 4 - Hawkstone Park - 14th June 2009 

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