Silverstone, Northants – 29th Aug 2010 – British Championship

HM Plant Red Bull KTM’s Jake Nicholls put on a fighting performance to keep his championship hopes alive by battling hard for a 1-2-2 scorecard to finish second overall at a wet Silverstone track yesterday for round seven of the British MX2 Championship.

20-year-old Nicholls was third after qualifying and further improved his gate position by one place in the superpole session for second place on very wet ground at the Northamptonshire track. Teammate Alex Erikson found the going tough and concluded qualifying in 18th position.

Nicholls holeshotted the first race but was soon overtaken by title rival, Zach Osbourne. Nicholls settled into a good rhythm some distance behind Osbourne, but made a calculated effort mid-race to reel in his opponent. On lap seven of the 20-minute plus two-lap moto a hard-charging Nicholls took the lead aboard his KTM 250 SX-F and stretched nearly a 10 second advantage to take the first win of the day in impressive style. Meanwhile Erikson suffered with a poor start and recovered to 22nd place.

In a reverse of fortunes, Nicholls fired out of the gate into the lead for the first few laps of race two and was pushing hard to maintain an advantage over Mel Pocock and Osbourne in second and third position. The HM Plant Red Bull KTM pilot, who put in another determined ride, was forced to second place on lap seven where he remained, despite his best efforts in a battle for the lead with Osbourne, to the chequered flag. Erikson encountered another poor start but managed to clamber his way through the order to finish in the points in 16th place.

In the final race of the day Nicholls executed another perfect start making it three out of three holeshots and took to the front of the field once again. The battle ensued on the drying but rough Silverstone track as Osbourne charged through the field to catch Nicholls on lap seven. Despite the KTM-ace’s hardest efforts, Osbourne managed to get by and Nicholls had to settle for second place overall after three very strong rides. Erikson finished the third race in 19th position as he struggled to get to grips with the conditions and concluded the day in 21st overall.

Nicholls is still second in the championship 47 points shy of Osbourne heading into the final round at Hawkstone Park on the 3rd of October. The HM Plant Red Bull KTM riders will now head to Holland to practice in the sand this week ahead of the penultimate round of the MX2 World Championship in Lierop next weekend.

Jake Nicholls #45: 2nd Overall
“There had been a lot of rain at the track when we got there, but qualifying didn’t go too bad and I felt quite steady. I just wanted to stay on the bike and be smooth with no mistakes and I was aiming for a top five gate pick. I ended up second and not far off first which was a good start to the day. The first race was really good; I got a good start although Zach got by me, but for the first time this year we had a really good battle. I got past him and pulled away towards the end. It felt awesome to win convincingly and it was really good after a difficult few weeks where things haven’t been so good for us. In the second race I holeshotted and led from the start. I was riding a bit tense and the bike set-up wasn’t perfect, as the track was getting rougher and rougher. I rode a decent battle with Zach and although I was annoyed to lose a bit of time on him, I was still happy with second, as we were miles ahead of anyone else. The last race I got another good start; the bike was awesome out the gate and I led for most of the race. Zach and I diced about a bit, but I made a huge mistake out the back and he managed to catch me. It was a good battle but I was gutted to get second because we were so close. The 20-minute races really aren’t good for me, but I was happy we were battling so closely and to finally improve things after the last few weeks. I just want to thank everyone in the team for helping to turn everything around. We have a lot to do if we want the championship, but then second to someone who is fifth in the world isn’t too bad and it’s getting closer every week.”

Alex Erikson #261: 21st Overall
“It’s been a really tough day. I have been sick all the week and I’m on antibiotics, so I wasn’t in a good condition for the races today. I have been lying in bed all week trying to get well so it made it difficult today. This kind of track is very different from what I’m used to in fact I think I have only ridden on this type of track maybe one or two times in the past. You can see the British guys are used to riding this kind of track and are really good here, so for the positives it was good to learn today. I am disappointed though, but I guess you have to have these days to feel the good days are really good. The bike is working really well and we go to train this week in the sand. I feel a little bit better than last week already so I hope for a good race next weekend in Lierop.”

Roger Magee: HM Plant Red Bull KTM UK Team Manager
“After the bad luck in the past few weeks it’s good to turn a corner with Jake getting three holeshots aboard the KTM 250 SX-F and showing his confidence is returning, especially in race one where he beat Osbourne fair and square. But the type of track we’re on today I don’t think should be used for a British Championship unless it’s had a couple of good events before hand. It was an absolute disgrace as the track was very much one lined and in a bad condition. It’s not just myself that’s complained, but most of the other team managers in the paddock too and hopefully the ACU can learn some lessons from today so we can look forward to eight good tracks next year. Getting back to the team, Jake will now spend some time in the sand this week with more confidence after today’s races. If he can get the starts similarly to today I hope we can gain some good results, as he’s already proved he can ride the deep sand at Lommel. The British Championship isn’t over by any means as anything can happen and we’re still going to Hawkstone Park with our heads held high with the hope we can earn our third consecutive British Championship; we’ll just have to wait and see. Alex struggled today, the type of track is different from those in Sweden but he’ll learn from the experience and he’s looking forward to Lierop next weekend.”

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