It was the third round of the Red Bull Pro Nationals series at Culham at the weekend and the three MJW Kick Kawasaki riders had a steady weekend with Rob Davidson, Will Keogh and Macauley Madden. After being crowned British MXY2 Champion the other week Rob Davidson struggled over the weekend and finished in seventh place just one point from sixth.
Rob Davidson - "I went to Culham feeling good and when I saw the track it made me even happier, the track was mega and the weather was perfect.
Qualifying didn't really go to plan, I wasn't able to get a clear lap in but I still managed to end up in fifth place. I knew going into the races I had a lot more speed to come and I managed to prove that, sadly I wasn't able to get a good start I needed and the track was very one lined so it was difficult to make any good passes. It was a case of whoever made a good start took the win.
It was a disappointing weekend for me really, I had a problem with the bike and I crashed out on the start also, it was just one of those weekends that wasn't meant to be and luck wasn't on my side. Just have to move on from this one but I'm looking forward to getting to Whitby in a couple of weeks' time. Thanks again to the team and all the sponsors for all their help."
Will Keogh - "I headed into Culham fairly positive as it is quite a nice track and I have performed well there in the 85s. I struggled during qualifying as I crashed at the start of the timed session, setting me way down the pecking order in a very tough and fierce class.
I gained confidence gradually throughout the day and started to put on a better performance during the races and as the day went on and I got more used to riding the bigger bike on this track. The starts were key at the weekend and with everything in the Rookie class being so evenly matched it was hard to fight and battle even up towards the top ten.
On Sunday I woke up with really bad hayfever but I tried not to let it get in the way of my performance. However, in the first race of the day I got caught up in a crash which put me down near the bottom of the pack. This made me determined to do well in the final race of the weekend and so I put down some better laps and finished with a fairly solid overall. I felt that my riding was good but still needs a lot of working on and I can use the weekend as a building block for the next round in a few weeks."
Macauley Madden - "I qualified in 24th place as I was struggling to get myself a good clear lap in. I finished in 16th place in the first race. I got a really bad start in the second race and that put me back to 20th place, I crashed in the third race and came 28th in the end.
On Sunday I got another bad start and the track was really narrow so it was difficult to make up any positions if your start was bad. I got up to 20th but got dropped back to 24th in the end, I managed to get a good start in the final race but it all went wrong when I dropped the bike and ended up in 26th position."
Team Owner Mark Woodage said - "It was not the weekend we had hoped for after our success last week in the Maxxis Championship. All three riders rode well in every race, their results just did not show it sadly, Culham was all about the gate and start and it proved to be a very difficult track to pass at. Between all three riders, I reckon we passed more people than anyone, but the results were average and we hope things will improve at the remaining rounds.
On a positive note though, Will and Macauley are improving all the time and Rob is still sitting in third in the overall championship standing and is closing in on second place and not losing out to the leader. We will just work and push harder in the final four rounds.
Rob has agreed to remain with the team next season, along with the support of Kawasaki UK, where he plans to turn Pro which will be exciting for all.
With the New KX85 coming out this month we also plan to expand the team to try and find the next youngster that eventually step up to the MXY2 class and follow in Robs' footsteps. A big thanks to all our sponsors for their continued support and we all look forward to the final few races this season and towards 2014."
