The British Motocross Championship descended upon Suffolk as the Woodbridge & District Motor Cycle Club played host to round five at the popular Blaxhall circuit, near Wickham Market.
Despite torrential overnight rain the track remained in perfect condition as the Phoenix Even Strokes Kawasaki team headed out for the morning qualification session. All riders took their time to assess the track following significant changes to this years track layout, and it paid dividends immediately for MX1 rider Petar Petrov who scored his best qualification result of the year with a fifth. In MX2 meanwhile, John Meara qualified 22nd and Sam Atkinson 23rd respectively.
As the MX2 races got underway both Sam and John struggled with their starts in moto one and rounded the first turn in 26th and 16th respectively. Both riders maintained focus though, with Sam in particular producing a brilliant ride, making consistent passes throughout the fifteen lap race, to finish 20th. John would cross the line in 17th.
In race two both John and Sam lined up on the inside and their KX250’s shot out of the gate, securing top 15 starts for both riders. Sam was 22nd at the culmination of the first lap but rode well to pass riders and secure 17th at the chequered flag, for 21st overall. John Meara finished in a strong 14th enroute to 16th overall.
As the midday sun shone down on a busy paddock, Petar Petrov lined up for race one in the MX1 class. A poor start would leave him dead last heading into the first turn but a valiant effort on a rough track saw the Bulgarian progress up to ninth by the end of the 14 lap race. Race two saw the #152 fire his KX450 out of the gate and immediately into the top 12. He quickly passed into the top ten before securing his respectable seventh place finish, just seconds short of the pack racing for a top five. His 9-7 finishes were enough for eighth overall.
Team owner – Barry Moore: “First and foremost credit to RHL and Woodbridge DMCC for organising this event! It’s always great to come to Blaxhall with the unbelievable facilities they have here and the track prep was perfect given the conditions the day before. In the morning qualification session it was really pleasing to see Petar get a top five as he’s shown that speed throughout the year. We made some changes to his gearing for race one and in hindsight it was a step in the wrong direction, he regrouped though and race two was a much better showing. His lap times show he is better than the 8th overall he scored here, but again his starts let him down. Sam had two consistent rides, and picked up points in both moto’s, so I’m really pleased to see him progress in his rookie year. John found it hard going at Blaxhall. By his own admission he’s not a sand rider, but he scored points in both races and did a good job. This was his last ride as a fill in for Carlton and we thank John for doing a great job over the last month.”
MX1 Rider – Petar Petrov #152: “I expected more from the weekend, I felt like I had top five speed but in the first moto I had the worst start this season so it was a lot of work to come back to ninth from dead last, especially on a track where it was not easy to pass. In the second moto I had a better start and was riding in 12th around the first turn, eventually passing up to seventh. I know if I start within the top five I have the speed to compete but my starts have been killing me so far this season. It’s frustrating for us all but we will continue to work hard. We have a quick turnaround now to the MX Nationals and I’ll be training hard in preparation for it.”
MX2 Rider – John Meara #60: “Its been a great few weeks riding for the Phoenix Even Strokes Kawasaki team and I can’t thank Barry and the whole team enough for the opportunity to fill in for Carlton in both the British Championship and the Michelin MX Nationals. I want to wish all the guys the best of luck for the remainder of the season.“
MX2 Rider – Sam Atkinson #127: “I struggled with the track a little bit this weekend. After qualifying 23rd in the morning session I went on to get 20th in race one and 17th in race two. I’m happy I made improvements over the weekend, and gained confidence on the track as the sessions went on. We’ll focus now on making some improvements over the week and get ready for the Michelin MX Nationals next weekend.”
