Kristian Whatley heads to Hawkstone Park this weekend for round six of the Red Bull Pro Nationals with the MX1 title within his grasp.
The MBO Sport Yamaha rider’s got an 86-point lead over second-placed Nico Aubin so unless the French defending champ can pull back 12 points in the Shropshire sand the championship will go to the 23-year-old with one round still to run.
“I’ve got a good lead now which I’m happy with and I’m aiming to tie the championship up at the next round,” says Kristian. “I like Hawkstone and there are lots of lines for me to choose from so it should be good.”
Having taken the overall at the first five rounds there’s no reason to expect anything else but more of the same from Kristian although Nico did win the final moto at round five at Canada Heights so he’s got the pace if he can string three consistent races together. And with fresh Buildbase Honda signing Brad Anderson showing a resurgence in form this may not be over just yet…
MX2 is a different story with Putoline Honda’s defending champion Nev Bradshaw finally moving to the front of the title chase at Canada Heights after leap-frogging points leader Steven Lenoir. The Frenchman, racing for the Evotech Stevens KTM team, had lead the championship since the opening round at Landrake but – just as he did last year – Nev’s got faster as the season’s progressed and is now 11 points ahead.
“My plan is always to start steady and get some good points on the board, build a base and work off of that,” says the South African. “I’ve got to give it up to my team – they put 100 per cent into my bike and Ben works 24/7 keeping them going.”
MX2 is stacked this season and with Bryan MacKenzie (Pendrich Kawasaki), Martin Barr (VMXMOTO.com/Nutt Travel KTM) and Graeme Irwin (Heads & All Threads Suzuki) all capable of getting on the podium this class looks likely to go down to the wire.
Backing up the pros are four Red Bull Elite Youth Cup classes packed with the UK’s fastest up-and-coming racers along with the pre-mix heroes of the 2-Stroke Championship classes ensuring there’s loads of on-track action.
In keeping with the Red Bull Pro Nationals’ reputation as Europe’s premier Motocross Family Festival there’s also a full programme of off-track activities with MX Try-Outs for kids as well as Quad and Electric Trials Experiences on both days. On Sunday the Kidzone opens up and there will be a series of amazing Freestyle Motocross demonstrations plus incredible aerial acrobatics from the Red Bull Matadors display team.
Hawkstone Park is just off the A49 near to the village of Hodnet. The exit from the A49 can be found between the B5065 and B5063 and is signposted Booley/Stanton. Postcode is SY4 4NA and gates open at 8.30am both days.
