Maxxis ACU British Championship Round 4 - Hawkstone Park 2015

Maxxis ACU British Championship Round 4 – Hawkstone Park - 07/06/2015

This last weekend took the team to the Hawkstone Park in Shropshire for the 4^th round of the Maxxis British Championship.  The line-up was pretty stacked and included guest rider Jeffery Herlins, 2 time World MX2 Champion and 47 time GP Winner.  The crowds packed in to watch some amazing motocross at an Iconic Venue.  The weather was great and the track was in perfect condition as usual.

Qualifying:

MX2 – Jake was pretty consistent, rode well, put in a few good laps and his 5^th lap gained him 12^th gate pick which he was more than happy with.

MX1 – Josh had a tough qualifying. He struggled to get a clear run, then as he put in a fast lap, he got held up again, sand in his goggles and had to pull in.  Goggles changed, he set out again and managed a pretty decent time in lap 5, giving him 13^th gate pick which he was content with.

Race 1:

MX2 – A mid pack start made it a tough race from the outset but Jake was soon into 13^th place and pushed hard. The track was pretty narrow with only enough room for one rider in parts and he just couldn’t get past the pack of four in front of him - Husband, Dunn, Bayliss and Trickett. He finished in an excellent 13^th place which was good but disappointing for Jake.

MX1 – An excellent start, getting out of the gate in 10^th. Josh rode a good smooth race.  He held his position well but just didn’t have enough laps to allow him to pass Anderson and Wilde, whose wheels he had been chopping at for the last few laps. Nevertheless, an excellent 10^th place finish.

Race 2:

MX2 – Jake chose a wide L/Hand gate in the hope of scooting round the outside to get a start.  This didn’t go as well as planned and he ended up mid pack once again.  It was a tough race with the pack of Husband, Eccles and Bayliss just in front of him meaning he just couldn’t get through.  Overall Jake finished 14^th in Race 2.

MX1 – Josh too got a mid-pack start coming round the first bend in 15^th, but he pushed hard and half way through the race moved into 12^th place. Things were going really well until he got caught in a cross rut and got spat over the bars, landing on his head.  He got up, saw stars, had a minute then carried on racing. Unfortunately he had lost a few too many places to gain points this race but still came home in 24th - safe but with a pretty bent bike.

Race 3:

MX2 – Not a great start for Jake, coming round the first lap in 17^th spot.  It was a tough track to make passes on and the riders were very clustered together, with Dixon, Millward, Davidson and Karro all together. Davidson blocked Jake for a good few laps, preventing him from catching Todd, Bayliss and Husbands ahead. On the last lap Jake made his pass on Davidson and just ran out of time on the finish line to make his move on Karro.  Jake finished 14^th in Race 3 and 14^th overall for the day.

MX1 – Well Josh’s practice bike had a major overhaul to prepare it for Race 3 and Josh went out on it determined to make up for the last race. Not a bad start, he was out of the gate in 12^th with Anderson, Lawn and Wilde just in front. It was a great race for Josh and he passed Anderson but couldn’t quite close on Law, coming home an excellent 11^th place.  Josh finished 14th overall for the day, despite his unfortunate 2^nd race.

Overall:

MX2 – Jake may have only finished 14^th today but it isn’t every day you compete against two Factory KTM GP riders like Jeffery Herlins and Davy Pootjes - never mind the other GP riders such as Max Anstie, Ben Watson and Adam Sterry thrown into the mix. As some of these riders rode as wild cards, this meant that Jake's points were very valuable and moved him up a place in the Championship which the wild cards aren’t a part of: leaving him now sitting in 11^th place with Booker 14 points behind and Todd 19 points behind.

MX1 – Josh wasn’t quite as lucky.  His 2^nd race today cost him a place in the Championship and he now sits in 13^th place.  It is a tough group of MX1 riders, all pretty consistent that every individual race counts.  However, Josh is also pretty consistent with his performance so roll on Bloxhall Pits at the end of June.

Quote from Jake Millward:

Pleased to have moved up another place in the Championship.  Had a good ride this weekend but would have liked to have finished in the top 10.

Quote from Josh Spinks:

Fun day's racing. Very pleased with my results. Shame about race 2. Very sore now.

Quote from Team Manager Adrian Kirk:

We were hoping to move into the top 10 this weekend and were so nearly there with Jake.  Both lads need to work on their starts but we are in with a very good chance of breaking the top 10 overall next round, with Husbands just 4 points ahead of Jake!