Cosworth Riders; Tonus and Osborne Dominate at Canada Heights
After a good weeks training near the team headquarters in Swanmore, all riders were in good spirit for the race, Tonus found some new suspension and clamp settings and both Zach and Tonus had some improvements in the carburetor.
Onto qualification and it was a repeat of round one with Zach taking pole and Tonus 0.2 seconds behind, both were some 2 seconds ahead of 3rd.
In MX1 it was Dougan who set pole only to lose it in the superpole as he made a mistake on his one lap dash.
Race 1 MX2
Zach took the hole shot as Tonus was in 4th; Zach took an early lead as he stretched a 4 second gap to Tonus who was in second place by the end of the first lap. The pair pulled a massive lead over the rest of the field and Tonus hunted down Zach and passed him at the midway stage. Zach responded by staying with Tonus as the pair fought it out for the rest of the race. Tonus won the race by 0.5 seconds and the pair was some 35-second ahead of the rest of the riders.
Race 2 MX2
Zach spun on the concrete start and then paid the price of the inside line, boxed in and nearly dead last around the first corner he had a lot of work to do. Tonus did a little better as rounded the first turn in 10th. Bother riders charged through the pack and Zach was into 13th by the end of lap one whilst Tonus had put his Bike It Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamaha into 5th. Tonus hit the front of the pack by the third lap, having past Karro, Pocock, Rowson and Joel Roelants. Zach continued his surge forward and with 3 laps to go he was chasing Arnaud eventually finishing 4 seconds behind him.
Race 3 MX2
This was a reverse of race one with Tonus taking the holeshot just ahead of Zach, the pair again cleared off and had their own battle going on, the crowd were hanging over the fence as the Bike It Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamaha duo demonstrated racing at the highest level. Zach eventually found a way past Tonus after 4 laps. But the gap was never more than 2 seconds as the pair race hard covering the ground so fast yet with such different styles.
Again the pair finished within a second of each other some 44 seconds ahead of Joel Roelants.
MX1 Race 1
Jason took an 8th place start and moved quickly into 6th but was frustrated as he could not seem to make any headway, Jason crossed the line in a steady 6th to secure more solid points. A quick chat with the mechanics after the race meant a few changes had to be made to the mapping of the Fuel Injection after he felt he need to make a few changes to suit the track now it had developed a bit.
MX1 Race 2
Jason started much better as he slotted into second after Stephen Sword, Jason kept Sword in his sights until fortunately Sword made a mistake just after the halfway stage handing the lead to Dougan. The race was cut short with the injury of Crockard and with the race having completed 20 minute Dougan was the leader at the time and the result stood.
MX1 Race 3
Another good start in second looked promising for Jason, as he took second into the first corner. Looking to take the lead from Whatley, Jason never quite got the chance before he was under pressure from Sword. Jason tensed up and got some arm pump and he could do no more that hang on to an eventual 5th narrowly missing out on the podium as a result his last result was worse than Swords.
Team manager Steve Dixon “what can I say? Another near perfect day the bikes are working really well and both riders and mechanics are working hard. It was a pleasure to watch and the crowd really enjoyed our two battling it out. Well done to all the team. On another note Ed Allingham tried to ride today but his knee is still to sore to ride at this pace”.
Osborne “It was a great day, I didn’t take the overall but I really enjoyed coming through the pack in race 2, we are racing hard and it is great preparation for the GP’s”
Tonus “It was nice to win and keep the red plate, this is the best preparation I have done for the GP’s and I am excited for them to start. It is good racing with Zach as he is correct on the track and we did a good job for the fans. The British crowds really make you feel welcome, it is a great championship”.
Dougan “I was happy with the Qualification and the second race but a little annoyed at my other two races, I tensed up a little and got a bit of arm pump which meant I could not push hard to fend of the other riders. This is the best start to a season I have ever had so I must keep the momentum”
In the Youth class young Bradley Pocock ended up 3rd overall with an 8th and a win on his Bike It Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamaha after breaking his front brake lever in the first race.
Overall position MX2
1: Arnaud Tonus 72
2: Zachary Osborne 69
3: Joel Roelants 54
4: Elliott Banks Browne 53
5: Mattis Karro 53
6: Mel Pocock 47
Overall position MX1
1: Shaun Simpson 72
2: Kristian Whatley 56
3: Stephen Sword 55
4: Jason Dougan 55
5: Brad Anderson 54
6: Markus Schiffer 46
Championship standing After 2 rounds
1: Arnaud Tonus 141
2: Zachary Osborne 119
3: Mattis Karro 109
4: 44 Elliott Banks Browne 101
5:119 Mel Pocock 84
6: 60 Scott Elderfield 63
7: 121 Bryan Mackenzie 60 81
8: 111 Ray Rowson 58
9: 45 Jake Nicholls 56
10:162 Stuart Edmonds 56
Championship standing MX1
1: Shaun Simpson 138
2: Jason Dougan 112
3: Brad Anderson 106
4: Kristian Whatley 102
5: Tom Church 98
6: Stephen Sword 80
7: Martin Barr 76
8: Gert Krestinov 75
9: Graeme Irwin 75
10: Dorren Coutts 57