The Geartec Husqvarna duo of Elliott Banks-Browne and Luke Norris travelled to the old-school circuit of Lyng this past weekend, as the venue played host to the second Maxxis British Championship round.
A trip to The Netherlands in the week prior to Lyng paid dividends for Banks-Browne, as he logged some valuable time aboard his FC450. ‘44’ put that to good use in qualifying and recorded the seventh-fastest time. There was just a second between him and the rider in third, however, so hopes were high entering the first of two motos.
That first race was fairly uneventful for Banks-Browne, as he grabbed a solid start and slotted into fourth on lap one. That was exactly where he finished, despite the fact that those who sat on the cusp of the top five applied substantial pressure. The result also ensured that a spot on the overall podium was within reach.
A cruel twist of fate caused Banks-Browne to get caught up in a first-turn crash in the second moto. Despite the fact that the bike sustained some significant damage, he re-joined the race and immediately started to make progress. It only took him five laps to move from thirtieth to fifteenth, even though the track was extremely difficult to pass on, but another small fall curtailed his efforts.
EBB lost two positions in that crash, but still rebounded to cross the chequered flag in thirteenth. When combined with his fourth from moto one, he was left in ninth overall on the day. The twenty-six points that he garnered at Lyng also helped him advance to eighth in the series standings.
Luke Norris, the second rider on the Geartec Husqvarna team, had a similar day to his teammate. After qualifying in fourteenth, Norris used all of the power beneath him to rocket out of the gate and end lap one of the first moto in sixth. A small mistake cost him dearly, however, as he lost a handful of positions and dropped outside of the top ten. ‘173’ was not to be deterred though, as he regrouped to claim ninth by the end of the moto.
A poor start left him in a difficult position in the second and final encounter, as he rounded the first lap outside of the top fifteen. A one-lined circuit made it difficult for all of the riders to make passes, but Norris pushed forward to salvage a thirteenth and eight valuable points. That result was enough to give him tenth overall on the day and jump up to the same position in the series standings.
The next round of the Maxxis British Championship will be held at Canada Heights later this month.
Elliott Banks-Browne: “Another frustrating day. The speed seemed pretty good, but I cannot keep having bad luck. The first moto was okay, as I got into fourth and just rode around really. I changed some stuff for the second moto and the bike seemed good on the sighting lap, but I just got a really bad jump and had a big crash in the first turn. The bike was just messed up after that. I think a podium was just out of reach today, as I didn’t feel great on the track, but we’ll regroup and come back at Canada Heights.”
Luke Norris: “I wasn’t entirely happy with how my day went. The times were really close in qualifying, which gave me a reasonable place on the start. Race one started off really well, as I was running about fifth, but I washed the front end in a tight corner and went down. I managed to get back to ninth, which I was pretty happy about.
“The second race didn’t start off so well; the first few corners were carnage and I came around the first lap in about fifteenth. I got my way up to thirteenth and struggled to make any more progress. The track was seriously fast and difficult to make passes on, but no excuses. I have got a few things to work on in the coming weeks. I moved up to tenth in the championship, so there are positives to take!”
Words: Press Release | Lead Image: ConwayMX
