Maxxis ACU British Championship Round 2 - Lyng - 2015

Maxxis ACU British Championship Round 2 - Lyng 05/04/2015

What a successful weekend for Verde Sports Racing this weekend.  Round 2 of the ACU Maxxis British Championship was held at Cadders Hill in Lyng, Norfolk.  The organisation of the event was spot on, the paddock was laid out perfect and the track was in mint condition.  It was a sunny Easter Sunday and the team were ready to race.

Qualifying:

MX2 - Jake had a fantastic start to the day.  He took to the Natural hillside track and in his second timed lap picked out some great lines and put in a mega time putting him in 4th spot.  However, there was plenty of time left on the clock and a couple of quick lads managed to slot in a quicker lap before the session finished.  Jake ended with 8th gate pick, an excellent start to the day being in the top 10.

MX1 - Josh enjoyed the track but his session didn't go quite as well.  He thought he had put in a pretty decent first lap but the stacked pack of riders got the edge.  He struggled to put in a quick enough lap and ended with an average gate pick of 16th.

Race 1:

MX2 - Excellent start, excellent race. Jake got out the gate pretty handy and came through the first corner in 5th, just behind Ben Watson.  What a ride.  Jake took to the track well and stayed comfortably in 5th place throughout the whole race, flying over the jumps and keeping Bryn McKenzie at bay.  5th place finish with just Anstie, Sterry, Lenoir and Watson finishing before him.

MX1 - With only 16th gate pick, Josh didn't get the opportunity to prepare his concrete start gate as he wished.  His start was average and he came round the first bend mid pack.  He pushed hard and was just starting to pull through when he got took out on an uphill bend.  With his bars twisted and his helmet having seen better days, he dusted himself off and tried to pull through the pack from the back.  With just two laps to go, he took a puncture, so retired from the race leaving him with no points for his first race.

Race 2:

MX2 - Jake got another good start, coming round the first bend in 7th.  He rode hard and kept his position with the same four riders, plus Petrov and McKenzie in front.  The track was getting rough but Jake held his own.  With just 2 laps to go, the gap was too great to catch McKenzie who was in 6h, so Jake eased off and finished an excellent 7th position in this stacked class.

MX1 - Josh managed to get a bit of sand onto his concrete gate, which gave him a much better jump for the uphill start straight.  He rounded the first corner in 13th spot and held tight to this position for the whole race.  He looked smooth and was starting to enjoy himself when in the last lap he stalled, took a fall and head butted a post, setting him back a couple of places.  Josh didn't give up and he managed to score some points coming home in 16th place.

Race 3:

MX2 - Three out of three excellent starts.  Yet again Jake was quick out of the gate and rounded the first bend in 6th.  He was up there again with the same crowd of GP riders.  He stuck to his position all through the race but this time it was Petrov chasing up in 7th and Jake holding on to 6th.  Then just over half way through the race Jakes bike suddenly stopped dead.  Game over.  Unable to restart it, he had no alternative than to retire from this final race of the day, leaving him pointless for this last race.  However, he rode awesome and still finished an excellent 10th overall for the day.

MX1 - Josh got his third bad start out the gate and then got boxed out at the first bend.  The race continued to go down for him.  He stalled twice losing a lot of time which was impossible to make back up, even though he pushed hard and gave it his all.  Coming home in 23rd gave him 22nd overall for the day and 5 points from his second race to put towards the championship.

Overall:

MX2 - Jake was gutted with the last race but overall he had his best Maxxis Pro Ride to date.  He was consistent and smooth all day and proved that he was capable of running with the top 1/2 dozen riders in the U.K., most of which are GP riders too.  Finishing 10th overall without even finishing the last race due to mechanicals proves Jake's ability on his Verde KTM.  Sitting in 11th overall in the championship he cant wait for the next round at Canada Heights, where he hopes to repeat this performance once again.

MX1 - A disappointing day for Josh as he just couldn't get the starts and kept stalling and falling. Today just want meant to be, so roll on the next round at Canada Heights to give Josh the chance to gain back some points in the championship where he currently sits in 19th place.

Quote from Jake Millward:

What a weekend at Lyng.  5th in my first race, 7th in moto 2 and running a comfortable 6th in the last race until I had problems with my bike causing me to DNF.  I am disappointed to say the least, but still finishing 10th overall for the weekend!.  However, I am really happy with the bike and the team and can't thank everybody involved at Verde Sports Racing enough for what they are doing.

Quote from Josh Spinks:

One of those days when nothing goes to plan.  Average qualifying, 3 shocking starts, spent more time on my head than on my bike.  On the positive I was going well in the 2nd race until the last lap and had started to enjoy the weekend.. Thanks to the team and roll on the next round to allow me to get some points back for the championship.

Quote from Team Manager Adrian Kirk:

Frustrating day with lots of highs and lows. Everything was going so well for Jake until the bike took a major mechanical! One or two things meant that it didn't come together for Josh which was frustrating in itself.  Hopefully next time out...