British National Round-Six Report

By JP O'Connell

The famous Foxhill circuit, Wiltshire, played host to an eventful sixth round of the British Championships yesterday. With both MX1 and MX2 points leaders out to consolidate their positions, neither were to have it all there own way at the hard-packed circuit.

The forecast promised early-afternoon rain, but as per the norm the Met office was slightly out, with the ominous clouds not spilling their guts until after proceedings, allowing for good, fast racing.

MX2

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In the MX2 class Stephen Sword goes into the day with a commanding points lead and in the first race makes no mistakes as he pushes to the front by the end of the first lap. With Red Bull KTM teammate Jake Nicholls in second and UTAG Yamaha’s Zach Osborne in third, the trio manage to gap the field a little before Osborne makes a mistake on lap 9 and tips over in a tight right-hander at the bottom of one of the big hills. DB Racing’s Neville Bradshaw slips past into third but can only hold the slot for a couple of laps before succumbing to MAR Racings Pascal Leuret, who holds the position to the checkers.

In the second race, Sword and Nicholls again grab great starts with Osborne and Leuret not too far behind. If Sword thinks he’s going to have it easy, then he’s wrong, as his young teammate dogs him for almost the whole race, until, with a couple of laps to go, Sword finally opens a little comfort zone. Unfortunately for Sword, the fat lady hadn’t sung, and in a cruel twist of fate his KTM’s rear sprocket breaks up with only half a lap left, leaving the fuming Scotsman parked up with a long walk back to the pits.

While Swordy is left to wonder what could have been, teammate Jake Nicholls is ecstatic as he takes his first MX2 win and indeed first MX2 Overall.

MX2 Race 1
1st Sword - Red Bull KTM UK
2nd Nicholls - Red Bull KTM UK
3rd Leuret – MAR Racing

MX2 Race 2
1st Nicholls – Red Bull KTM UK
2nd Leuret – MAR Racing
3rd Zach Osborne – UTAG Yamaha

MX1

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In the MX1 class, it’s STR Honda’s Jordan Rose who grabs the holeshot, but before the end of the first lap PAR Honda’s series leader Brad Anderson is at the front and trying to pull away. Further back, factory-Kawasaki-mounted Gareth Swanepoel has the bit between his teeth and slots in behind Anderson before making a move for the lead at about half-distance. Once at the front, he doesn’t look back and finishes the race a full five seconds ahead of Anderson, with Phoenix Tools CCM’s Jason Dougan in third.

In the second moto, Bryan Mackenzie (cousin of Billy) puts the power of the factory CAS Honda to good use and pulls the holeshot, maintaining the top spot until the fifth lap, when he drops it in a rutted-out corner, allowing Anderson and the CCM duo of Tom Church and Jason Dougan to move past. Behind them, Swanepoel is making inroads and moves his way up to second before a small mistake towards the end of the race relegates him back to fourth. The battle for the lead slows the pace and MVRD Suzuki’s Carl Nunn takes full advantage, putting in an awesome final couple of laps, passing Anderson and taking a popular victory at a track he has always done well at.

MX1 Race 1
1st Swanepoel – KRT Kawasaki
2nd Anderson – PAR Honda
3rd Dougan – Phoenix Tools CCM

MX1 Race 2
1st Nunn – MVR-D Suzuki
2nd Anderson – PAR Honda
3rd Church – Buildbase CCM

The next round is August 23rd at Duns, Scotland.