Round five of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship took Verde Substance KTM’s Brad Anderson and Liam Knight to Cookstown and the fabulous track of Dessertmartin.
For those not familiar with the circuit, it’s a well-prepared track with deep sand, very fast and definitely a favourite on the calendar.
Ando was the first team member out for qualification and he found the track very fast which was a disadvantage for the two-stroke bikes – the sand was deep and soft and it was difficult to get traction. He managed to slot in a reasonable time in his last lap and ended up with 13th gate pick for the day.
This was Liam’s first race back since his big crash at Canada Heights. He was feeling a bit rusty and he got arm pump in MX2 qualification, which is a pretty alien thing to happen to Liam. However, he got a reasonable time in the second lap beforehand and managed to end up with 15th gate pick for the day.
In the first MX1 race, Ando got decent jump out the gate but he got squashed out on the first bend and pushed back to 18th. Not ideal on a fast track on a two-stroke.
Brad gave it his all but the deep sand wasn’t forgiving. He battled with fellow two-stroke rider Todd Kellett and finished comfortably ahead of him, but unfortunately for Brad he only finished 12th.
In the opening MX2 race Liam shot out of the gate and round the first bend in fourth.
He held his own for a couple of laps but then dropped back to sixth as Josh Gilbert and Martin Barr came through.
Liam was sitting in seventh place when he approached the pit lane corner and Carpenter took the inside line and nudged Liam off the track, into the pit lane ditch upside down. Not great!
Liam straightened his bars, got back on but now sat way back in 19th position. Not the best of situations on his first race back but he pushed on and finally finished in 18th place for two points.
Brad’s second start wasn’t great and he was sat mid-pack round the first corner. But Brad always gives 100 per cent and put in his all to try to keep up with those 450f motors. It was tough but he passed a few and managed to finish 11th place for a 13th overall – moving up one place in the standings to fifth.
Not how he would have liked to finish and extremely frustrating but a good result on such a deep sand track on a two-stroke bike.
Brad Anderson: “So frustrated to be racing in the MX1 class on the two-stroke especially on a track like Dessertmartin, where I am at such a disadvantage. It’s tough when I know where I would have finished today if I had been on the four-stroke.”
The final MX2 moto of the afternoon got underway with Liam coming round the first bend in seventh place. The track was getting rough now and the ruts were deep and forever changing. It was a steady race and Liam held his own, swapping and changing from ninth to seventh. He managed to finish the moto in a comfortable eighth place – 18-8 is a great day for his first race back.
Liam Knight: “Gutted to have been knocked off in race one and only finish 18th place but happy to be back racing. Just three weeks to get bike fit again in time for the next round at Hawkstone Park.”
Team manager Adrian Kirk: “I really felt for Brad today, it must have been so frustrating, especially when he always gives 100 per cent.
“It’s good to see Liam back racing. He is going to put in some hard bike time now and should be fitter and stronger for the next round.”
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