Jamie Carpenter made his race debut for the Crendon Tru7 Honda team at the gruelling Hawkstone International MX.
Packed with more than 15,000 spectators to watch some of the world’s top GP riders, the Hawkstone track was rutted, muddy and punishing but Carpenter got better as the day went on. On the 2025 Honda CRF450R he’s been riding in testing to get used to the bike, he found it difficult in the wet conditions in qualifying and was disappointed to take 19th.
READ MORE: BRITISH MOTOCROSS NEWS
But in the opening race, he fared better despite not getting the best of starts. In a packed field including three former world champions on factory machines, he battled through the hard conditions to bring the bike home in 15th place. He was fifth British rider over the line.
Second time out Carpenter improved again despite the conditions getting deeper and more tricky. He rounded the first lap in 15th place but got his head down and picked off riders in front as he made his way forward to an impressive 11th at the line. As all the top ten riders had extensive GP experience, it was a great ride for the Hampshire-based 25-year-old. He was third British rider, tailing Josh Gilbert and former British champ Adam Sterry. That gave Carpenter 12th overall.
He said: “It was my first race on the Crendon Tru7 Honda and a half decent day by the end. I started off quite rusty at the beginning and didn’t have a great qualifying. But I got stuck into it in both races.
“The conditions were the deepest I’ve ever ridden at Hawkstone. But it’s always hard work here. It was great to get some race time on the bike so early on as it’s at least a month before my next race. So I’m looking forward to the season and working with the team.”
Words and Images by Crendon Tru7 Honda
