Maxxis ACU British Championship Round 1 - Fat Cat Motoparc 2019

LANCETT 2nd OVERALL AT MAXXIS R1

Round 1 of the Maxxis British Championship was at Fat Cat Motoparc over in Doncaster.  The weekend’s weather was forecast to be horrendously wet, wild and bitterly cold.  Due to the exposure of the track, teams decided not to run out of awnings and very few pop-ups were even used.  The track was wet and soggy and became extremely rough and challenging.  But the meeting went on and it was a good days racing never the less.

Dominic Lancett – MXY2

Dominic had a fantastic weekends racing.  He got P1 in qualification with a storming first lap that nobody could match.  Race 1 saw him get the hole shot and pull a massive lead, but Rizzi was on form chased him down.  Half way through the race Rizzi took the lead.  Dominic didn’t hold off, he chased on his tail hard and was about to make his pass when he made a small mistake that meant Dominic Lancett came home in P2 in the race 1.  Race 2 was a similar story.  Once again Dominica took the hole shot but this time there was a pack of 4 all very close together, who kept changing positions.  Dominic then lost the lens to his goggles, slowed down, pulled in and swapped them and ended up down in 6^th when he pulled back out of the pits.  He had his race head on and he managed to get back into 3^rd place but there wasn’t sufficient time to catch the leader.  So Race 2 saw Dominic Lancett finish P3.

So 2-3 for 2^nd overall and a step on the podium.

Liam Knight – MX2

Liam wasn’t on full form this weekend as he was suffering from Glandular Fever which knocked his energy levels tremendously.  So although he could start the race off well, he really struggled to chase hard throughout all the races.  He really struggled in qualification and only came home with 19^th gate pick.  Race 1 didn’t start off too good and he only came round in lap 1 in 17^th place.  However, he rode steady in tough conditions and his experience paid off.  Whilst bikes were being dropped all over the track, Liam held on and came home with a respectable 9^th place finish.  Race 2 was a similar story.  Not the best of starts, absolutely no energy but steady and consistent.   Race 2 saw Liam finish a comfortable 10^th place. 

So 9-10 for 8^th overall.  Not as good as he would have liked but 23 points was a good start to the season under the circumstances.

Brad Anderson – MX2

Brad is racing his 2-stroke in the Maxxis this year to gain speed and practice for the EMX250t European Championship.  However, due to the Maxxis rules he is only allowed to race in the MX1 class, against a host of 450cc 4-stroke bikes and a hand full of GP riders.  Not ideal but good practice. 

The track was extremely rough and deep and really not ideal for any 2-stroke bike.  Getting traction was difficult and his corner speed struggled against the bigger bikes that could dig deep into the sand.  However, he managed a 19^th place finish, came in and changed some settings ready for racing.  Brad had an excellent Race 1.  Mid pack out of the gate he chased hard against the 450’s and finished a fantastic 8^th place in Moto 1.  Race 2 was a similar story and he was set to finish in the same position.  However, the conditions were just too challenging for the 2-stroke bike.  It zapped the fuel and the small tank just wouldn’t hold enough for the length of the race with the conditions of the track and the hard riding of the Ando.  So brad unfortunately dropped back to 12^th in Moto 2.

So 8-12 for 9^th overall and 22 points in the championship.

Quote from Team Manager, Adrian Kirk:

Another mixed day of emotions.  Really pleased with Dominic’s results.  Liam put in everything and scored points.  He will now sit out of racing until R2 to recharge his batteries.  Brad rode awesome and it is so disappointing about the fuel tank.  Plenty of work to do in the workshop before the British GP.  There isn’t a suitable larger tank for the 2019 bike, so we will have some adaptions to make and a busy couple of weeks ahead.