The Mallory circuit was reduced to a mud bath following persistent rain which started at 5am Sunday morning and combined with a bitter biting wind made for a very tough day.
Luke was 4th quickest in qualifying and Damon 14th. Luke made a good start from the line in race one only to miss the first turn with some debris jammed in his back brake causing him to over shoot the corner, he and Damon completed the first lap 23rd and 26th in the combined MX1 and MX2 field. They both staged a fight back to make their way to 4th and 6th respectively in the MX2 class at the end of the race.
Race two was to prove even more testing again neither rider was in the top 20 on lap one and with a crash from Luke on lap three made for another bitter struggle to rescue a reasonable result.
Rob Hooper – Team Manager
An extremely difficult day for both riders and bikes, weather conditions were brutal but the bikes performed well and riders tried until the end of the race.
Lewis Gregory was a non starter as he is still suffering the affects of a concussion received at Hawkstone International.
Lewis Gregory MX1
Lewis is still suffering concussion from Hawkstone and is doubtful for Round 1 of the British Championship.
Damon Strydom MX2
The first race I got a decent start and fought my way through the pack to 6th in the MX2 class, notching up the 3rd fastest time in the race. The second race I got a bad start, again I pushed my way through the pack and managed to achieve 7th in the MX2 class. The track was really muddy and the conditions were nothing like i’m used to in South Africa, but I felt fit and strong and rode my heart out both in motos. I achieved a 7th overall in MX2 on the day.
Luke Hawkins MX2
I qualified 4th in MX2 which was okay seeing as the track was very wet and I was unable to get a clean lap due to traffic. A badstart in the first race was followed by a stone that got stuck in my back brake on lap 1, but I still managed to pull through to 4th. The second race I didn’t have a good start, but I was pulling through strong but after a small mistake I found it hard to get back into a rhythm. I ended up 5th overall.
