The Apico Honda team headed north for the penultimate round of the 2026 Motul British Motocross Championship at Duns in the Scottish Borders. It was a welcome return for Josh Gilbert, who has been out since round 2 at Preston Docks and has now recovered from his shoulder injury. With his teammate, Tom Grimshaw, it was up to the Apico Honda riders aboard their Honda CRF450Rs to get some points on the board and head into the final round on a high.
Josh got the ball rolling in qualifying, scoring a sub-2-minute lap time on his third lap. Tom went 7th fastest in the Apico MX1 Class with a 2:02.4 lap time.
As the gate dropped in race 1, both the Apico riders had a decent jump and were in good positions. Josh and Tom made their way into the top 4 on the first official lap, passing Oriol Oliver. After half a lap, Oriol Oliver passed Tom back again. Josh held a solid 3rd place for a couple of laps before being passed back by Oliver and riding the majority of the race in 4th position, only to be pipped at the post by Tristan Purdon; Josh finished in 5th place. Tom had some good battles with Tristan Purdon and Adam Sterry in the first third of the race before settling into 7th place and seeing it through to the flag.
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Race 2 saw what we’d all been hoping for, both the Apico Honda riders out in the top 5 after the first couple of corners and then Josh making his way to the front to lead the race. After a return from injury, this was really encouraging for Josh and the rest of the team, knowing he was back and still as competitive as ever. Tom was holding his own in 5th position until Watson and Purdon were able to squeeze him into 6th after Grimshaw recovered a position from Adam Sterry. After Conrad Mewse managed to pass Josh, Josh held on to 2nd place for a few laps before Oriol Oliver and Ben Watson moved him into 4th place, where he saw out the rest of the race. Tom lost 6th position to Adam Sterry on the 6th lap and brought it home in 7th again for 7th overall.
Josh: “Overall, a great day; it was nice to be back in the pits after months away; the atmosphere within the team was good, and it was nice to be back with everyone under the awning. I had a steady, consistent day. In race 1, I had the dreaded arm pump, which was to be expected. I came away with 5th in the first race, which was slightly disappointing after being in 4th position for the majority of the race and losing a place to Tristan Purdon on the last corner of the last lap!
In the last race, I had a great start and rode a lot more like myself. I still feel there’s a little more to improve on. It was a positive day for a first race back, with 4th overall. I’d like to thank Dylan, Anna and the team for supporting me over a tough recovery, and I’m looking forward to the final round and hopefully repaying the faith with a podium”.
Tom: “Overall, I had a really good day, with a bunch of 7th places across qualifying and both the races. Started well; the track was technical, though I felt good on it. Race 1 was one of the best all year; there were 4 of us in a train most of the race, and I kept up with the guys for 7th.
Race 2, I got an even better start; a couple of riders passed me hard early, and then it was me, Tristan Purdon, and Adam Sterry. I managed to hold on, though I lost the tow towards the end and rode home comfortably for 7th overall.
Dylan: “It was a welcome return for Josh this weekend in what has been a season with some bad luck, not what anyone would have wanted. Seeing him and Tom at the front of the pack and challenging GP-level riders was satisfying and something I hoped to see this season.
Josh had some great starts and battles with Oriol Oliver and Conrad Mewse, something I hope will improve for the last round as Josh will have had some bike time before Blaxhall. Tom was holding his own with Tristan Purdon and Adam Sterry too; this was encouraging and shows where we can be as a team.
We look forward to the final round of the season at the end of September, for Blaxhall and would like to thank all our sponsors and team members for the ongoing support.”
