Sam Atkinson secures another podium on return from injury for Phoenix Even Strokes Kawsaki!
The Phoenix Even Strokes Kawasaki team returned to a full awning this weekend for round three of the Michelin MX Nationals at the historic Cadders Hill in Lyng, Norfolk with the return of the Expert MX2 rider Sam Atkinson, as well as the addition of Pro MX2 rider John Meara who is filling in for the injured Carlton Husband.
Images courtesy of ConwayMX
Sam Atkinson, on his return from a shoulder injury that sidelined him last week at Canada Heights, entered the weekend with the aim of securing solid points in his fight for the Expert MX2 championship. He secured sixth and seventh place finishes in races one and two on the Saturday, whilst his Sunday faired much better with a second place in each of his final races, to end the weekend on the second step of the podium. Sam now sits third in the championship.
In the Pro MX2 class debutant John Meara, riding a stock KX250, roared through the pack in race one to lead the MX2 class for nearly 15 mins. He amassed a clear ten second lead on second place with two laps to go when a crash dropped him back to sixth where he would finish. Buoyed by his race speed in race one he lined up for race two with plenty of confidence, but having nursed the injury suffered in his race one crash he would unfortunately DNF race two.
In the super competitive Pro MX1 class Petar Petrov began the day in similar fashion to the MXGB round at Canada Heights last weekend, with a strong showing in the morning timed practice, ending the session in fifth place, 0.6 seconds off second place. In race one he rose from a mid-pack placing on the first lap to finish seventh at the chequered flag. Jason meanwhile spent much of the race battling in close proximity to his team mate and he would eventually finish ninth. In race two both Petar and Jason would fare better, with fifth and eighth place finishes respectively. Petar’s 7-5 score would secure him sixth overall. Jason meanwhile would finish 9-8 for eighth overall, his best MX Nationals points scoring finish of the year.
The team has a few weeks off now and will regroup on the 19th June for round five of the ACU British Motocross Championship at Blaxhall in Suffolk.
Team Owner – Barry Moore: “It was a really good weekend for Sam, especially given the fact he’d been off the bike for nearly a month with his shoulder injury. He’s still not 100% so to come away with second overall is really pleasing. It was also great to see John Meara join us for this round following the injury to Carlton. John hadn’t ridden a 250cc in over six years so it was impressive to see him promptly jump on the bike and lead the first Pro Mx2 race for the best part of 15 mins. He was on course to win it by 10-15 seconds but unfortunately hit a stone in a rut and then got landed on. I could tell he was in a lot of pain after that crash but he still lined up for race two. Unfortunately, the pain was just too much, and it prevented him from finishing the race. He’s definitely shown that he has the speed to really compete on a KX250 though! Jason has another solid result with an eighth overall, and the fact that he isn’t happy with that just shows how much progress he has made this year already. Petar was sixth overall, only a point off fifth, which gives him something to build on for the remainder of the year as we look for him to consistently gain top five and podium finishes in the MX Nationals.”
Expert MX2 Rider – Sam Atkinson #127: “A good weekend back for me, I showed good speed in the morning timed practice but then struggled a little in the first two races on Saturday. We worked on a few things though and I managed to get much better starts on Sunday, finishing second in both races to secure another podium!”
Pro MX1 Rider – Petar Petrov #152: “I expected more of myself and better results this weekend. Qualifying was positive but in the first moto I struggled so much with arm pump, something I’ve struggled with a lot this year already. It meant I couldn’t push as much as a wanted to, especially as the track was pretty rough in places. We made some changes to the suspension in race two and it felt better, I didn’t get the best start but I was able to push up to fifth. I feel like I’m riding ok, and my speed and fitness is there, but the arm pump is preventing me from hitting the race speed I know I’m capable of. It is frustrating but we have a few weeks off now and I’ll continue to work hard.”
Pro MX1 Rider – Jason Meara #10: “The weekend was ok, with solid results, but I am still looking for more. In race one I got a pretty good start but didn’t ride my best. Race two was much better as I was battling on the outskirts of the top five but I made a mistake on lap five and dropped back to eighth where I eventually finished. I was happy with my riding before the crash so that’s the positive to take into the next few weeks before Blaxhall.”
