A comprehensive victory for Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Tommy Searle at Cadders Hills, Lyng the first round of the Maxxis ACU British Championship, supported by Pro Clean, last Sunday was another important step for the 26-year-old in his quest to again scale the peak of Grand Prix racing.
Searle gained valuable points and mileage through the first two rounds of MXGP in Qatar (seventh) and Thailand (10th) in his first outings with the ’16 KX450F and for the British team as he looks to re-establish his reputation and potential at the highest level.
“Winning anything feels good and just helps with confidence,” #100 said on his double moto brace and his first overall success in almost two years (the last a wild-card British MX meeting at Whitby in 2014). “You get a few more calls, nice things written about you and the whole thing just seems to start to build. I know it was not a world championship event but I will take the positives from it and I was riding well.”
The former triple MX2 world championship runner-up has talked of consolidation and caution in the opening phases of the season as he bids to increase his belief and become part of the leading sect in MXGP, particularly in the wake of three seasons interrupted and dogged by injury. “I was ready to prove something at the start of last year and it didn’t work out and then I was always trying to get back to a level I know I can be,” the ex-Red Bull KTM athlete said. “I just wanted to get through the first few rounds this season. It was something I needed to do. I think people are very impatient about injuries – it is almost like teams want you to ride with them or through them. I know it is part of the game but its something that’s very hard to deal with.”
Searle is forging ahead supported by Steve Dixon’s engineering efforts with Kawasaki (a second season for the team in ‘green’) and Cosworth and insists there is still plenty in stock when it comes to his combination with the DRT KX. “I was riding a stock Kawasaki in the U.S. quite a lot in the winter – apart from some suspension parts – and we have a good set-up with KYB,” he reveals. “The bike could be better but I know Steve is always pushing for that as well and we’ll have things to try.
“Our budget compared to the factory teams is probably not even half, so we have to be patient in building parts that can do the job. I think we could have something to help with the starts already by this weekend in Valkenswaard. From my side I know I could also improve and practice my starts more, so overall there is more to come.”
