Maxxis ACU British Championship Round 5 - Blaxhall Circuit 2015

Maxxis ACU British Championship Round 5 – Blaxhall Circuit 28/06/2015

The second half of the British series kicked off in Suffolk this weekend at a new track for the Maxxis - Blaxhall Circuit near Woodhall.  A fabulous natural setting with a spacious paddock and a good variety of viewing areas to keep the public interested.  It was the first time both Verde riders had ridden this relatively hard pack track.  It was pretty one liney, providing few passing opportunities but it had been prepared well and was fun to ride.

Qualifying:

MX2 – Jake kind of liked the track.  It was pretty hard pack but still soft in places.  He struggled to get a good qualifying lap in however and it took till the last lap to slot in a decent time, giving him 18^th gate pick

MX1 – Josh had other problems in practice.  He had a small throttle issue with his race bike in the first lap, so switched to his practice bike for the rest of the qualification.  It was a very stacked MX1 class this weekend and the one liney track didn’t provide too many opportunities.  Josh ended up with 18^th gate pick which he was disappointed with but it turned out that the start was pretty fair and not detrimental to Josh at all

Race 1:

MX2 – A mega start for Jake Millward coming round the first bend in 3^rd place with Todd and Lenoir just in front.  It was a tough pack with Anstie, Sterry and Clarke pushing close behind.  Jake held his own for the first few laps, sitting in 6^th position.  Then a small mistake cost him dearly and he slid back to 14^th spot.  He was up quick and back on fire but the track was very one liney making it hard to pass.  He picked off a few but couldn’t quite find a way round Knight to catch the leaders.  But a fabulous 10^th place finish was a good start to the day.

MX1 –Josh was back on his race bike, picked a gate towards the outside, got an awesome jump and ended up pulling a Big Holeshot.  This was the first time Josh had ever been out front at a British Championship and he held off the mega pack for the first 2 laps until Frossard found a way through.  It took a good few more laps before Whatley and Simpson and then Irwin made their pass leaving Josh in fifth, holding off Martin Barr and Brad Anderson.  He held tight behind Irwin right through and then as he crossed the chequered flag, Barr managed to make his pass leaving Josh with a still excellent 6^th place finish.  A top ride for Josh Spinks and a great start to the day’s racing.

Race 2:

MX2 – A slightly delayed start gave the riders plenty of time to prepare their gate and load the concrete with plenty of sand for a better jump.  Jake was pretty miffed however when his prepared gate got pinched and he was left with pure concrete: the joys of competitive racing!  Nevertheless, he turned the first bend in 10^th spot right amongst the pack of the fastest lads.  It was a tough race, bit wet, very narrow and very hard.  McKenzie, Kullas and then Karro in the last lap managed to make a pass, pushing Jake back to 14^th place.  Still a good result but not as good as he would have liked.

MX1 – A pretty good start for Josh placing in 10th around the first corner. He tagged on to Elliot Banks Brown for the first couple of laps before a front flat tyre caused him to drop back slightly. Despite this hiccup Josh still managed to keep in 10th position - riding a bit cautiously so he didn't crash. Unfortunately he did lose a place to Tanel Leok in the last lap to finish the race in 11th. 

Race 3:

MX2 – A mid pack start for Jake, coming round the first bend in 15^th place.  He soon settled in to 12^th place and battled with Dunn, MacKenzie and Todd for a good few laps.  Then the stony track caused the chain to snap and go into the engine, just as he was approaching the last lap.  This meant a 33^rd place finish even though he had to push the bike back off the track!  Not a good way to finish what had started out to be a promising day’s racing.

MX1 – Josh got another pretty good start getting out the gate in 7^th place amongst 5 top GP riders. The first lap was very intense and Josh made a mistake which allowed Elliot Banks Brown and Ashely Wilde to get past. Dropping down to 10th, Josh sat comfortable, keeping Martin Barr at bay.  But he had a major problem with his rear wheel which was getting worse as the race progressed.  With this he decided to let Barr past and pulled in with just 2 laps to go deeming it would be to unsafe to continue. He was scored as 29^th which left Josh extremely disappointed after such a excellent start to the day.

Overall:

Overall a day of very mixed feelings for both riders.  Highs and lows with disappointing final results.

MX2 – Jake started out with a 3^rd out the gate and a top 10 finish in Race one, an ok 14^th spot in Race 2 and a mechanical DNF in Race 3.  Overall 16^th spot wasn’t what either the team or Jake had been hoping for but Jake still sits 11^th in the championship.

MX1 – Josh started the day with an excellent Holeshot and a personal best 6^th place finish in a very stacked class.  Without his 11^th place in the 2^nd and then a disappointing DNF in the last race, he could have very easily finished with a top 10 position. Nevertheless, Josh ended up with 12^th overall and retained his 13^th position in the championship.

Quote from Jake Millward:

I really enjoyed riding this track.  It was tough out there and I am gutted about the last race.  I had hoped to move into the top 10 at the weekend and it now going be much harder to achieve this. We shall see!

Quote from Josh Spinks:

Amazing feeling pulling a Holeshot and leading 3 laps in the Maxxis. Disappointed to have had mechanical issues in the last race as it would have been great to have had a top ten overall for the day, but I am very happy with my speed and starts over the weekend and look forward to spending more time out front in the future!

Quote from Adrian Kirk:

Mixed feelings about the day’s racing.  Excellent starts from both riders which shows that they have the potential speed to compete at this level.  A bit more fitness, aggression and perseverance and I am sure the top overall results will follow.