Two of Britain’s highest-profile Husqvarna teams had mixed days at the Desertmartin round of the Maxxis British championship on Sunday. The former GP circuit was in great condition and was blessed with sunshine and clear skies as the action kicked off.
Apico Husqvarna
During the morning qualifying sessions there were a couple of delays due to incidents on track but when the MX1 session resumed Jamie Law posted a time that would see him finish 8th fastest, while Matt Burrows would finish 15th fastest.
The opening race of the day for the MX1 class saw both Jamie and Matt start inside the top 10 and have to push forward as the race progressed. Jamie rode a good race and got up to 9th place by the finish, while Matt was running as high as 12th when he developed an issue with the clutch and slipped to 15th at the flag.
After a tough first race both riders were fired up for the second moto and when the gate dropped Jamie got a much better start and spent the early part of the race battling in 8th until he found his groove in the second half of the race and got up to 6th for disaster to strike on the last lap when the bike stopped in view of the finish line and dropped him down to 15th in the results. After a bad start due to getting tangled with another rider Matt rode well to get up to 13th place when the front brake started to fade and Matt had to settle for 12th at the finish.
The results meant that Jamie finished the day in 11th overall and is 8th in the Championship, while Matt claimed 15th overall and is 18th in the point’s standings when the championship moves to Blaxhall on July 16th.
Jamie Law – the today started ok when I qualified in 8th place as the track was really fast and the time were really tight. In the first race I got a bad start and made some mistakes on the opening laps. I felt that I rode well but I could only get up to 9th place at the flag. In the second race I got a better start and then got up to 6th when the bike stopped on the last lap.
Matt Burrows – today has been a bit of a struggle, I got 15th in qualifying which was ok as the times were really tight. The first race I was going well but started to lose the clutch which isn’t ideal and I had to slow down and finished 15th. In the second race I was caught in a pile up and then suffered a problem with the front brake and finished 12th. It hasn’t been an ideal day but I’m making steps in the right direction and getting better each week.
Sean Burrows – Team Manager – Matt has had a steady day with two good results despite the small issues on the bike. Jamie had a good top 10 result in the first race but he wasn’t happy and then in the second race he was in 6th when the bike stopped on the last lap which is really disappointed for Jamie.
Revo Husqvarna
Fresh from a great result at the previous weekend’s round of the Michelin MX Nationals, the REVO Husqvarna UK team travelled to Desertmartin in Northern Ireland for Sunday’s fifth round of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship supported by Pro Clean. Following a tough qualifying session that was disrupted by a number of crashes Mel Pocock went to the start for race one back in 20th position, one place ahead of his team-mate Jordan Divall.
Mel gated well and was holding a solid sixth approaching the halfway mark when he suffered a technical problem with his FC 250 and was forced to pull out. Jordan crashed early on but was pulling back through the field when he was knocked off the track by another rider. Mel got another good start in race two and quickly passed his way up to fifth which he held comfortably to the flag. Jordan got dragged down in a second turn crash but recovered well with a series of passes taking him into a points-scoring position.
Mark Yates (Team Principal) “The day started off badly with two red flags and prolonged yellow flags in qualifying which meant Mel and Jordan couldn’t get clear laps in which had a big impact on their gate pick.
“Mel’s starts were excellent and in all fairness if he’d had a better gate pick I think he would have been up at the front in both races.
“In the first race he was having a good run in sixth place when we had a technical issue so he pulled out. In the second he went out on his spare bike and looked strong in fifth but perhaps didn’t push as hard as we know he can. “I think maybe Steven Lenoir’s death was playing on Jordan’s mind on Sunday because they were close friends and he wasn’t riding to his full capabilities. He got taken out in a big way in the first race and was t-boned off the track. “The second race he struggled with fitness simply because he’s been inactive recently.
“I’m grateful for all the hard work put in by everyone behind the scenes which makes it possible to go racing.
“After our great result at Hawkstone I had higher expectations for this weekend and it didn’t quite happen but it’s nobody’s fault and we’ll go away, regroup and come back stronger.”
Mel Pocock – 14th MX2 (DNF-5) “It’s been an up and down weekend to be honest and a bit disappointing coming off the back of the great result we had at Hawkstone Park the week before.
“Qualifying was hard with the two red flags so I didn’t put a good lap in but my start was decent in the first race and I was in the top six and riding well when I suffered a technical issue.
“I had an okay start in the second moto and was about eighth and managed to push up to fifth.
“Blaxhall’s next and I like the track so I’m staying positive. I’d like to say a big thanks to Sam and Mark Yates and Gary Finch. There were some tense moments they were very professional.”
Jordan Divall – 23rd MX2 (DNF-20) “I think I made a mistake by going too far out on the start in race one but I came through well by the second lap, then I made a mistake and crashed. I got going again and then someone took me out and I ended up in a thorn bush.
“In race two I got caught up in a second corner pile-up and I was coming back through the field when I dropped it again.
“I found it hard to be back at the races after what happened to Steven. It’s been a tough few weeks and I haven’t done much riding so I wasn’t expecting a lot from Sunday. “I’m now going to get my head down over the next few weeks and hopefully come back stronger at the next round of the British championship.”
Photos IMagerich media (Apico) and Nuno Laranjeira (Revo).