Apico Honda was happy to welcome new team rider Josh Gilbert to the first official team race of the season, the Motul ACU British Motocross Championship at Hawkstone Park. Alongside Tom Grimshaw, both riders were geared up and ready to begin the 2026 campaign aboard their Honda CRF450R 2026 machinery.
Words by Apico Honda – Images courtesy of Insight Media
After what feels like a long break from racing, the team arrived for set-up on Saturday, followed by technical and the first team meal of the season. Sunday morning was a hive of activity, with the final preparations made before practice.
After the 125 and MX2 qualifications, it was Tom and Josh’s turn to go out and put in their best lap to secure an early gate pick. Both riders put in their quickest time on the initial lap of timed practice. Josh placed 5th and 3 seconds off pole with Tom 2 seconds behind him in 9th place.
READ MORE: BRITISH MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP NEWS
The conditions worsened as we approached race 1, with the heavens opening in the lead-up to the race. This changed the track somewhat and made for a technical first race. Both Tom and Josh got a decent jump off the gate, though they were squeezed into the first turn as the outside riders seemed to make their way through into the leading positions, leaving them in 9th and 11th position, respectively.
Tom was unlucky to receive a face full of sand on the first official lap, and on clearing his vision with 1 hand, lost control of the bars and went down, remounting in 28th position. Josh was making a charge, initially keeping up with Conrad Mews, who didn’t have the best of starts either, coming through to 6th place, which he held until the flag. Tom managed to pull through the traffic back to 17th, though this was as far as he’d progress in race 1.
The second race, admittedly, was one to forget.
Josh struggled with a technical issue off the start and didn’t get going until the pack had cleared the famous Hawkstone start straight. With it all to do, and with an ongoing bike problem, he battled hard for 4 laps, making it to 19th position before the bike stopped. Unfortunately, Josh ended his debut for the team with a DNF.
Tom managed to get the drop off the start grid and powered his way up the inside and into the top 10, not long after his transponder stopped working, though he made it to the 4th lap before crashing in spectacular style just after the bomb hole, in the same place where Adam Sterry went down earlier in the race. Tom was severely winded and DNF’d the race.
A disappointing start to the season with Josh finishing the Apico MX1 Class 12th overall and Tom 21st.
Dylan: “This was not the start we were hoping for to the Motul ACU British Motocross Championship. After all the preparation and effort from the team members, the results did not reflect the work everyone put in leading up to the event.
We had a lot of bad luck today, and this was not a fair demonstration of where Tom and Josh should be in the Championship. We know what we need to do and will certainly come back stronger at our home round of Preston Docks for round 2 of the championship. I would like to thank the sponsors of the team, and I’m confident there will be a vast improvement at the next round”.
