The Apico Honda team made their way on Saturday to the furthest flung track on the calendar, Landrake, to compete in the 2026 Motul British Motocross Championship on Sunday. Opting for a minimal team set-up, instead of having a team meal at the track, a local venue was chosen where Josh Gilbert met up with the team, with Landrake being his home round. Josh is making good progress with his recovery and is likely to be back on a bike soon to build up his strength before returning to competition.
It was a tale of the two Toms again for this round, with Tom Murphy filling in for the injured Gilbert and Tom Grimshaw looking to make his way up the Apico MX1 Championship table towards a top 5 position. Qualifying went well for Grimshaw, placing 5th, 4 seconds off pole. Tom Murphy had a tough start to the day, though he managed to get back to 17th fastest by the end of the session.
Race 1 saw Grimshaw with a top 5 start, getting the drop on the rest of the gate, as Landrake is one of his favoured tracks, expectations were high. Tom managed to stay on the pace for the first 4 laps before the dreaded arm pump returned, and Purdon and the fastest man on track, Oliver, managed to get by with Tom bringing his Honda CRF450R home in 7th place.
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It was not Murphy’s Day. After his gate fell later than the others, he was at the back of the field with it all to do. As he pushed his way into the points over the early part of the race, Tom made a mistake and went down, losing the progress he’d made. Undeterred, he pressed on and made up several places to 18th at the flag.
Race 2 was tougher for Grimshaw, where he didn’t get the same start as race 1, though he managed to put the work in on the early laps and get into the top 4 for the majority of the race, only to be passed by the hard-charging Oliver towards the end for 5th and 5th overall.
Murphy didn’t get a good start either and struggled with the track. After making several passes in the early part of the race, he settled into 17th place by lap 4 and rode out the rest of the race to finish 17th overall in the Apico MX1 Class. It had been a tough day for Tom, though he was positive knowing what he had to do for Monster Mountain.
Dylan: “It was a weekend of highs and lows. I was pleased for Tom Grimshaw and his progression in the Apico MX1 Championship, as he now sits in 8th place and is less than 10 points off a top 5 championship position. At the mid-point of the season, this is a good position for him to be in, and I feel there’s more to come from Tom.
Tom Murphy is still finding his feet within the team. He had some bad luck this weekend and is concentrating on moving forward in the championship. I feel this time is allowing him good insight into what it’s like within a team environment. I think we’ll see a jump in his performance at Monster Mountain as he’s willing to learn and try new things to improve on his position.
It was nice to have Josh Gilbert under the awning at what should have been his home round of the Motul British Motocross Championship. Josh is ever the professional, and even though he wasn’t riding, he represents his team and sponsors well, interacting with fans and supporting his teammates. We look forward to having Josh back with the team towards the end of the season.
I’d like to thank Honda Racing UK for their continued support and all the sponsors for their input that allows us to go racing”.
Words by Apico Honda – Images courtesy of Insight Media
