The first round of the Revo MXGB British Motocross Championship, fuelled by Gulf Race Fuels took place last weekend on the grassy banks of the Thames at Culham.
Apico Husqvarna fielded a team of 2 MX1 and MX2 riders, with Martin Barr as the new recruit joining Stuart Edmonds in MX1 and Jack Lindsay moving up to MX2 to accompany Jamie Law in MX2. Qualifying went well for Edmonds, Barr and Law posting top 10 fastest times, and it was all for Jack Lindsay to do in the race after finishing qualifying with 23rd fastest in MX2.
MX1 race 1 was always going to be tough, both Irishmen coming off the back of a short pre-season with injury and commitments outside the sport. Both were hoping to be in the points, so after an amazing first race for different reasons, Martin getting the jump and fatigued, losing a handful of places and finishing 11th and Stuart crashing early and making his way from 24th to 9th, they both performed well and above their expectations.
MX2 race 1 was brilliant for both Jamie and Jack. Jamie got the jump inside the top 5 with Jack not far behind. Jamie managed to maintain his position in a hard-fought race to cross the line in 5th and Jack rode hard to only drop a handful of positions and finish 17th in his first professional race.
MX1 race 2 was tough, the track showing its battle scars from the days racing, it was technical and easy to get caught out in the deep, rutty, muddy track. Martin had the jump again, though went down hard on the first lap breaking his goggles in the process. After a quick pit stop for fresh goggles, he battled on from 27th to 17th at the flag. Stuart had a good start inside the top 10, though was struggling with the low light and made a mistake that resulted in a massive crash that ripped off his side panels, broke the subframe and left him a little roughed up. Stuart pushed on to climb back into the points and finished 20th at the flag.
MX2 race 2 didn’t start as well for Jamie or Jack. Jack was cut up off the start and at the back of the pack, after a crash finished outside the points, though for a first professional race to be getting points and making a determined effort to recover from setbacks in the second race, it was a good weekend for the young Midlander. Jamie had a decent start, though lost a few positions in the first couple of corners falling back to 12th. After settling into the race the tough Cumbrian pushed on through the field to grab his second P5 of the weekend and 3rd overall!
Jamie: “P3 Baby! It’s been such a long time coming, I’m not even sorry for all the podium pictures on social media. Cheers to all the legends behind the scenes and in my corner, it means a lot to give you all a little back”.
Dylan: “ Well, what can I say, after the first block of MX1 and MX2 racing all the riders had surpassed my expectations for a season opener! Stuart and Martin have been suffering and we’d talked about just getting points on the board this weekend so for them to finish 9th and 11th was a nice surprise. Race 2 was tough but they battled on and got points which is the main thing. Martin is lying 13th and Stuart 14th in the championship. Jamie and Jack had a great first race with both riders inside the top 10 round the first corner in race 1. Jamie used his experience and pushed on to a top 5 finish with Jack getting points in his first professional race, I was pleased for both riders. Race 2 was a bit of a blur, with Jamie putting in a consistent race I was over the moon to learn he’d done enough to get on the box! I’d like to congratulate Jamie on behalf of everyone at Apico, our sponsors for the team on achieving his first British Championship podium at the tender age of 35! The team are now preparing for this weekend’s race in the Michelin MX Nationals at Fat Cat.”