The race season finally got underway this weekend with the first British MX Championship at Fat Cat Moto-Parc in Doncaster. The MJW Kick Energy Kawasaki team celebrated their debut podium of the 2013 season with youngster Rob Davidson gaining a fantastic second place.
Davidson who was competing in the MXY2 Championship was looked strong heading into qualifying and he was soon sitting at the top of the leader board for the short practice/qualifying session. The weather was torrential at Fat Cats and delays were seen throughout the day with the MXY2 riders having only one race instead of their scheduled two races.
As they lined up on the grid, Rob was caught out after his selected gate did not drop and he was dead last into turn one. After digging deep he came through the pack and worked his way up the final score board, eventually making his way to a stunning second place.
Rob Davidson - "It was a really good day for me today. The track was in good condition despite the really bad overnight rain and continued rain on race day. I felt good in qualifying and scored pole position, all was going good and then my gate stuck at the start. I was last and knew I had to work hard and try my best to push through the pack. I managed to get up to second on the last lap, I had good speed the MJW Kick Kawasaki was great and must thank Dunlop also for providing us some great tyres for those conditions. It's good to start the season with a podium and hope it will continue that way through the season."
14-year-old Will Keogh made a great start in his first ever British MXY2 race and secured a healthy tenth position in the race.
Will Keogh - "I came into the first round with no expectations as I'd never ridden at this level before so I wasn't 100% sure what to expect from myself, the team, the bike and just wanted to see what happened. I've never ridden at such a rough and wet track before and it was really testing conditions and I was thrown right into the deep end with it all. I just knew I had to stay as smooth as possible and consistent. I managed to do that and ended up surprising myself getting 10th place, it was better than I expected and hope I can continue like this for the rest of the season."
Macaulay Madden was running good consistent times all day, he managed to qualify in 23rd place, got a fantastic start and was running within the top ten, he remained there for the majority of the race but was unfortunate to crash, despite remounting he only managed 19th place.
In the bigger MX2 class racing on the MJW Kick Kawasaki KX250F Luke Remmer was in strong form. After the Hawkstone International was cancelled this was Luke's first major race for the team and he was running strong in both races in a top ten position and crashed in both, forcing him back to 16th and 18th respectively.
Luke Remmer - "Qualifying didn't quite go to plan, I completed one lap and then a technical problem forced me out, I ended up 18th, we soon got the bike fixed and were ready for the race. I got a fantastic gate and moved through to fifth place where I felt comfortable and managed to settle myself into a good rhythm, that was until I came up short on a double and crashed putting me quickly down the pack, I managed to remount and get back through to 16th.
Race two was nearly identical to race one I got a great start and was up to sixth place but I went down in the early stages and had to pit for some repairs before heading back out on track. The conditions at this point were horrendous, it was raining, snowing and the track was suffering because of this. I worked hard to try and get some points and managed to get 18th at the flag.
On reflection the positives I will take from today, my speed was good as was my strength and fitness. I'd like to thank all the MJW Kick Kawasaki team for everything today for all their support and encouragement on what was an extremely difficult and very testing start to the season."
It was a tough day for James Lassu and Oliver Sandiford-Smith in the MX1 class, both riders were put on the reserve list so were unable to race in race one but were both out on track for race two. James Lassu got the last pick of the gate in the second race and came from last through to a points scoring position of 18th and then stalled the bike on the last lap and finished in 22nd. Oliver had a nightmare and suffered a technical problem on the opening lap of race two and was unable to continue.
Team Owner Mark Woodage said - "All in all it was a pleasing weekend for the MJW Kick Kawasaki team with a debut podium with Rob. The schoolboys are all working really well together and already showing good form. Luke has shown us great speed throughout testing and that showed on the track today before his minor crashes.
We will continue to work hard as a team with the intentions of improving all the results and have a debut season for us. The MX1 boys always were facing an uphill struggle with both being on the reserve lists for the races. James was running well and in a points scoring position until the final lap, we will take from here everything we have learnt and improve and work on everything for the future rounds."
