The final round of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship, powered by Skye Energy saw the championship head to the deep sand of FatCat near Doncaster. The Apico Husqvarna team arrived looking to produce a solid set of results to end the season on a positive note for both Steven Clarke and Matt Burrows.
In the morning qualifying session the track was still very smooth and fast, meaning that the lap times were very tight and saw Steven Clarke end the session seventh fastest, just 1.6 seconds off pole position, while Matt Burrows struggled to get a clear lap and finished in 30th position.
After the lunch break it was time for the first race of the day and when the gate dropped Steven made a strong start and was in fourth place early on, until he made a mistake on the third lap and jumped off the track and struggled to re-join and slipped back to 10th as a result.
Steven re-grouped and pushed forward once more to finish in seventh place at the flag. For Matt the opening race would see him start just outside the top 20 and then make a mistake and slip back to 31st before recovering to finish 24th.
The second race would see Steven make another strong start and round the first turn inside the top five and looking to move forward. By the end of the opening lap Steven was up into fourth and soon moved his way into second behind Watson.
The pair then started to battle for the race win and quickly gapped the rest of the field. Steven continued to challenge Watson but was unable to the make a move and had to settle for second place. The second race was to be another tough one for Burrows as a crash on the second all would see Burrows at the back of the field and finish down in 25th.
The final race of the year would see Steven start well and he soon move into second place – battling with Watson once again. The pair quickly gapped the rest of the field and Steven was able to claim a solid second place and along with it second overall for the round. The final race saw Matt get a better start and push hard to finish 16th.
“It’s been a good day and great way to end the season,” said Steven Clarke. “In the first race I was running at the front when I jumped off track and went down while trying to get back on track, and then recovered to finish seventh.
“In the second race I made a great start and made some quick and early passes to get into second and had a close battle with Watson. The final race saw another great start and it was good to have a little battle with Sterry during the beginning of the race, but I got the better of him and then had a good battle with Watson mid-race and finished second. I’m not known for being a great sand rider but today I felt good from the start and now I will start to get ready for 2016.
Matt Burrows said: “Today has been a real struggle for me, I had bad starts all day and then made some mistakes, but it the last race I managed to get some points so that is a positive and now I’m looking forward to moving up to MX1 next season.
Apico Husqvarna Team Manager, Richard Clarke commented: “Today was a great end to a turbulent year for the team but I’m really pleased with both riders who gave it their all on a very tough track.
“Steven rode really well to finish second overall and Matt finished 21st overall on the day. It’s been a great first season for the team and we must just thank all of the team sponsors and supporters, Apico, Husqvarna, Putoline, and all of the others who without them none of this would have be possible. With the exciting line up for next year we are looking to start the hard work for next season already.”
