Local favourite Albie Wilkie made it back-to-back wins after taking the flag in a thrilling second race at Matterley Basin to take the overall victory at the British GP.
Wilkie won a race-long battle with red plate holder Jere Haavisto in much improved conditions on Sunday by just 0.4 seconds, making the decisive pass with just three corners to go.
Australian wildcard Hugh McKay won his own personal duel with Swede Albin Larsen to secure his place on the podium.
Wilkie and Haavisto went head-to-head as soon as the gates dropped, exchanging places on numerous occasions and despite falling three times, Wilkie was able to use his superior speed over the jumps to catch and pass Fin Haavisto with the chequered flag in sight.
The stars of tomorrow will now regroup before heading to Germany for round three of this year’s series. “Today’s race went really well,” said Wilkie “I had a few problems but with the crowd behind me I was able to pick my self up and get my head down.
“The crowd made such a difference, I could hear them every time I came down the hill it was such good fun. It was good fun making the double jumps and I think that made the difference in the end, that was how I could regain my last ground.”
“It was a great race that really could’ve gone either way” said Davy Dousselaere, Honda Europe off-road manager. “There were good battles all over the track, obviously first and second was very close but all the way down the field the riders were pushing themselves to the limit on a very difficult and intimidating track.
“Jere leads the standings by just three points now after four races, which demonstrates just how tight it is in the Honda 150 European Championship.”
EMX150 Race 1: 1. Albie Wilkie (GBR, Honda), 25:22.404; 2. Hugh McKay (AUS, Honda), +0:25.707; 3. Jere Haavisto (FIN, Honda), +0:51.439; 4. Matias Murto (FIN, Honda), +1:04.382; 5. Albin Larsen (SWE, Honda), +1:06.469; 6. Damian Bergevoet (NED, Honda), +1:29.319; 7. Quentin Delbrassinne (BEL, Honda), +1:30.987; 8. Alexis Collignon (FRA, Honda), +1:31.907; 9. Tristan-Alexander Tavares (RSA, Honda), +2:05.078; 10. Archie Osmaston (GBR, Honda), +2:31.201.
EMX150 Race 2: 1. Albie Wilkie (GBR, Honda), 25:49.316; 2. Jere Haavisto (FIN, Honda), +0:00.458; 3. Hugh McKay (AUS, Honda), +0:36.514; 4. Albin Larsen (SWE, Honda), +0:45.195; 5. Quentin Delbrassinne (BEL, Honda), +1:52.588; 6. Alexis Collignon (FRA, Honda), +1:53.375; 7. Damian Bergevoet (NED, Honda), +1:57.338; 8. Brian Van Der Klij (NED, Honda), +1:58.014; 9. Tatu Junnola (FIN, Honda), +2:08.963; 10. Archie Osmaston (GBR, Honda), -1 lap(s)
EMX150 Overall: 1. Albie Wilkie (GBR, HON), 50 points; 2. Jere Haavisto (FIN, HON), 42 p.; 3. Hugh McKay (AUS, HON), 42 p.; 4. Albin Larsen (SWE, HON), 34 p.; 5. Quentin Delbrassinne (BEL, HON), 30 p.; 6. Damian Bergevoet (NED, HON), 29 p.; 7. Alexis Collignon (FRA, HON), 28 p.; 8. Archie Osmaston (GBR, HON), 22 p.; 9. Brian Van Der Klij (NED, HON), 21 p.; 10. Tatu Junnola (FIN, HON), 21 p.
EMX150 Championship Standings: 1. Jere Haavisto (FIN, HON), 89 points; 2. Albie Wilkie (GBR, HON), 86 p.; 3. Matias Murto (FIN, HON), 61 p.; 4. Albin Larsen (SWE, HON), 59 p.; 5. Damian Bergevoet (NED, HON), 57 p.; 6. Tatu Junnola (FIN, HON), 51 p.; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, HON), 47 p.; 8. Quentin Delbrassinne (BEL, HON), 43 p.; 9. Brian Van Der Klij (NED, HON), 43 p.; 10. Hugh McKay (AUS, HON), 42 p.
