World Motocross Championships - Round 15 -
Ernee - France

Crockard wraps 2006 MX1 campaign with top ten finish

Team Wulfsport’s Gordon Crockard has scored 10th position in the Grand Prix of France at the Ernee circuit watched by 16, 537 spectators for the fifteenth and final round of the FIM MX1 Motocross World Championships.

The former multi British Champion has ended - in many regards - a reasonable ‘comeback season’ with 13th place in the ’06 standings and negotiated the seven month contest without a major injury for the first time in three years.

The Irishman was quick from the outset at the hillside setting in Northern France and roughly 100km west from Le Mans. Rain throughout Friday meant that a wet and slippery surface greeted the initial practice sessions that were shortened in the interests of preserving the terrain should more heavy showers return. Fortunately the majority of Saturday was dry and Sunday delivered sunny and bright conditions. The course was bumpy and rutty after the softening caused by the weather but sections were rocky and demanded a degree of caution.

Crockard was 9th fastest in Timed Practice for one of his better qualification performances of the year and the team were further encouraged when he set the fastest time in morning warm-up. The Honda rider did not enjoy the best starts for the motos and was then trying to find a path through to the top ten. A close call saw him run into the fence at one stage before confirming 12th. The second race brought little more joy with another exit from the gate and first corner in the lower half of the group. He took part in a lively ‘Honda’ battle with Ken de Dycker and chased James Noble before sealing 10th.

Crockard’s 13th position in the Championship was partially possible thanks to moto highlights of 5th in Northern Ireland, 6th at Namur in Belgium and three 7th places in Britain, Sweden and Czech Republic.

Supported rider Martin Kohut was unable to qualify through a Timed Practice session on Saturday that replaced the normal heat races due to the soaked track. Shaun Simpson is still recovering from his broken collarbone and underwent successful surgery two weeks ago.
The pair finished 32nd and 33rd in the final MX2 World Championship classification respectively.

The team will be present for their final major engagement of the 2006 season next week at Matterley Basin near Winchester where Gordon Crockard will lead Team Ireland in the 60th Motocross of Nations.

An announcement concerning the structure and backers for 2007 will be made shortly.

Gordon Crockard:
“Bad starts and lack of forward progress was pretty much the summary. I sat on the inside each time and I think if I had been further out then I would have had a better sweep in on the first turn. It was a total drag race to the first turn and I did not have that much confidence in my horsepower to get me there in a good position. I got caught up behind the Pichon crash and then nearly ran into someone on a Suzuki; so I was hitting all the mayhem on the first lap of the first moto. I missed a gear on the finish jump and ran off into the fence; that cost me a couple of places. The second start was probably as bad as the first one and I paid for it early on by just not being able to get away with the front guys. I had a small crash over the table top and De Dycker got by. I lost my thought pattern a little bit after that. I was focussing on beating Ken rather than the track and trying to go forward. I could not catch Noble and had a few dodgy laps. I would say I finished the race quite frustrated because I could not get those guys; it was a hard old day. It felt like a lot of people were going the same speed and it was tough to make up time. Overall it is good to finish the season having competed in nearly every round and no big injuries! Everything has been good and I have enjoyed it. I will get a few more things changed for next year with some precision training and a bit more of a strategy. I just wanted to get through this season and get some results; I had no idea where I would be able to finish and at least now I have an idea in my head of where I have been strong and my weaknesses.”

Shaun Simpson:
“I had a bit of trouble with the bike at the beginning of the year but we got it sorted and I could get a rhythm going after that. I was finding some form in the middle of the British Championships and coming up to Desertmartin. I was almost on the podium there but I made that stupid mistake and dislocated my shoulder. That set me back and I could not race in Sweden. When I did return I was building my speed up again when I did the other shoulder. I finished seventh in the British Championship which is my best so far. I think the competition has been better and tougher in the World Championships this year. 2006 has been alright apart from the injuries. Now I want to get rested and then start training again.”

Roger Magee, Team Manager:
“The weekend started off OK and it looked as though Gordon had his racehead on and from the first free practice on Saturday he certainly appeared as though he was ‘on it’. Qualification was reasonably good and it was very positive that he was fastest in warm-up, unfortunately the age-old problem of not being able to get out of the gate well manifested itself and you can’t expect to get near the podium if you are 25th on the first lap. It was a good result but not where we wanted to be after the morning outing.
We have had some injuries this season but you have to accept that in racing. Shaun looked like he was going to get his first British Championship podium but then his luck swung the other way. The curse of Lierop then struck again a few months later. He’ll be back next year and hopefully trying to get a few more points in MX2. Gordon has shown some good flashes this year but he needs to be a bit more consistent.”