Following on from the devastating theft of their team’s bikes at last weekend’s European event at Valkenswaard, the Apico Husqvarna team returned to Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship powered by Skye Energy action at Canada Heights.
Due to the loss of the race bikes Steven Clarke switched classes to the MX1 class on the FC350 while Marcus Nielsen remained in the MX2 class.
The day started with the qualifying sessions and in the MX2 class Marcus produced his fastest lap early in the session to finish 22nd. In MX1 Steven had to quickly get settled on the new 350 machine and was able to produce a great lap time to finish seventh fastest.
In the MX2 class races Marcus had a tough day of racing. In the opening race Marcus produced his best result of the day with an 18th place finish and three more championship points. In the second race Marcus suffered a DNF after coming into problems during the middle of the race and in the last race he finished 23rd.
In MX1, Steven started the day with a solid 11th place finish in the opening race of the day, just missing out on a top 10 finish. In the second race Steven benefitted from the original race being Red Flagged and re-run and was able to make a strong start, working his way into eighth place before being passed on the last lap and finishing in ninth.
The final race saw drama at the start as Steven hit the gate and had to work his way back to 11th. Then with four laps to go, Steven clipped a hay bale and went down slightly injuring his wrist.
At the end of the day Steven finished in 13th overall, while Marcus’s point scoring ride gave him 27th overall.
“The day started well with a seventh in qualifying and I was settled on the bike early on,” said Steven Clarke. “Then in the first race I struggled at the start due to the way that the MX1 races take shape with the rider setting consistent lap times early on but I came back to 11th at the finish.
“The second race was a better race – I was in eighth for most of the race but lost out to Yamamoto on the last lap to finish ninth. In the last race I got caught out by the gate and hit the gate. I had to come from the back to get up to 11th when I clipped a hay bale and hurt my wrist, but it will be fine after a few days rest.”
“Today was tough, the track was really rough and has a lot of stones and not a lot of grip,” Marcus Nielsen said. “The first race went well and I finished in 18th place, then in the second race I struggled and made a few mistakes and had a DNF.
“The last race was so tough and I couldn’t find a rhythm and struggled with the roughness of the track but I will work hard during the week and come out ready for the next race.”
Head Mechanic, Stuart Summers summed up the weekend for the team: “It was a challenging week to even get to the race this weekend, after having our team bikes stolen last weekend at Valkenswaard. Our only option was to make a switch to MX1 with Steven and build Marcus a new race bike with limited parts to continue in MX2.
“We did all we could to be present at round three this weekend and worked until Saturday afternoon to be ready.
“Steven had never even sat on this new bike before, but looked comfortable early in the day with a great qualifying result, but struggled during the first half of each race with intensity. It wasn’t his best day but after the week we’ve had, overall we are happy.
“Marcus decided to use his practice bike as he was unfamiliar with the newly prepared race bike set up. I think he ultimately struggled with starts all day due to lack of horsepower, but rode solidly in moto one to recover from 29th to 18th.
“I would like to personally thank all our partners, for their continued support, and at times like these it makes you seriously realise that you can’t compete without the incredible generosity of our sponsors.”
