The second round of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship powered by Skye Energy Drink saw the team head to Lyng in Norfolk. The sandy circuit had seen a number of changes to the layout and moved a large amount of sand back onto the hills and around the circuit.
The day started with the practice and qualifying session with both Steven Clarke and Marcus Nilsen settling into the track early on. Clarke took a couple of laps before producing his fastest lap time to finish ninth fastest with Nilsen in 23rd fastest.
The opening race of the day saw both riders making okay starts but both suffered problems on the opening lap with Steven being pushed off track and Marcus crashing.
Both riders remounted and pushed hard all race to recover to take 13th place for Steven, while Marcus crashed once more and finished 31st and outside the points.
The second race saw Steven start the race around 10th place and battle hard all race to finish in a solid 10th place. For Marcus it was another tough race which saw him suffer a couple of crashes and pull out of the race with four laps remaining to regroup for the final race.
In the final race of the day Steven made a good start and was pushing forward inside the top 10 early on. The second part of the race saw Steven push forward once again and claim a strong seventh place. The final race of the day for Marcus saw him push all race long to get into 20th place at the finish and claim a valuable championship point.
Steven Clarke ended the day eighth overall and now sits seventh in the championship standing while Marcus finished 28th overall and is now 25th in the standings.
“It was a rough start to the day in the qualifying session when I couldn’t get a clear lap and finished ninth fastest,” said Steven Clarke. “And then in the opening race I got a good start but was pushed out into the ropes and lost a lot of time getting back onto the track. I had to work hard to get back to 13th in that race and put in a lot of effort.
“Then in the second race I suffered from not having the right suspension set up and it was tough race for 10th place. Then in the last race I got a seventh place which was a good way to end the day.
“Today has been a rough day for me,” commented Marcus Nilsen. “I suffered a lot of crashes and couldn’t really find my rhythm and was pushing too hard on the track. In the last race things were a bit better and to gain a point was important.
Team Manager, Richard Clarke said: “It’s been an interesting day and the track was really tough at the end. Qualifying was OK and Steven was ninth fastest and Marcus was 23rd but we were hoping for better results in the races.
“The first race was a tough one with Steven being pushed out in the rope early on and having to come from dead last to 13th and Marcus failed to score after a couple of crashes and mistakes.
“Then in the second race it was another hard fought race with Steven finishing 10th and scoring valuable points. In the last race we had everything – both riders had better starts and rode well with Steven getting a seventh place finish and Marcus scoring a point in 20th. Marcus’s result is important as he is still learning the tracks and the format of racing in the British championship. Overall it has been a tough day but we have scored some solid points and look forward to the next round.
