The Buildbase Honda team laid some solid foundations for the season in the opening round of the Maxxis British Motocross championship at Landrake in Cornwall where Elliott Banks-Browne and Brad Anderson finished overall in fourth and fifth places respectively.
The Landrake track was in superb condition in bright sunshine, contrasting sharply with the long, wet winter endured by the region, as both Buildbase Honda riders arrived in confident mood.
Banks-Browne and Anderson were fifth and sixth fastest in Superpole after qualifying on Sunday morning and started well in the opening race of the afternoon, with Banks-Browne grabbing third at the first corner on his Honda CRF450R machine.
Anderson was just a few places back and, as the race settled, Banks-Browne finished in a solid fourth place with his team-mate pushing up from tenth place to take fifth at the flag.
Both Buildbase Honda riders gated inside the top five in race two, this time Anderson taking the challenge to the front in a battle for second place with Jake Nicholls. A collision led to Anderson going down but the 32-year-old British rider remounted in third place, just ahead of Banks-Browne.
The pair were similarly paced in yesterday’s final outing, matching each other’s lap times and finishing close together in fourth and fifth places to give Banks-Browne fourth overall and Anderson fifth. The team will re-convene for round two at Lyng in Norfolk in three weeks time.
In the opening round of the Maxxis British MX2 championship yesterday, Putoline Apico Honda rider Neville Bradshaw took three consistent top six finishes to place fourth overall, while his team-mate James Harrison was 18th in race one but finished outside the points in the other two motos of the day.
Elliott Banks-Browne: “It's been consistent with three fourth places and fourth overall, I can't really complain. I've struggled a bit today with my arms - I had a small crash the other day and since then I've been suffering really bad arm pump and pains. So to come away with three fourth place finishes riding at between 60-70% of my potential is good. We will do some more testing and hopefully come out at Lyng swinging.”
Brad Anderson: “It's been a consistent day really with a fifth in the first race. Then in the second race I finished third after going down while battling with Nicholls; we collided in a turn and I went down. In the last race, I finished in fifth behind Elliott, I felt faster but couldn't get by. Overall I'm happy with fifth as it's a good base to work from as we go to Lyng which is a track that I really like.”
Dave Thorpe, team manager: “It's been a good solid start to the year for us, both Elliott and Brad rode well all day. We maybe lacked a little bit of pace but we probably knew that before the start of today as the GP guys have already had two big races. Overall I'm really happy with how they both rode, also the bikes have been solid and we now have three weeks to find that little bit of extra pace we need. It's been a great event and very productive for both Buildbase and Honda and all their guests that have been with us today."
Maxxis MX1 British Motocross championship, round 1Landrake, Cornwall – 16 March 2014
Moto1, result:1 Jake Nicholls2 Kristian Whatley3 Shaun Simpson4 Elliott Banks-Browne – Buildbase Honda5 Brad Anderson – Buildbase Honda6 Shane Carless
Moto2, result:1 Shaun Simpson2 Jake Nicholls3 Brad Anderson – Buildbase Honda4 Elliott Banks-Browne – Buildbase Honda5 Kristian Whatley6 Alex Snow
Moto3, result:1 Shaun Simpson2 Kristian Whatley3 Jake Nicholls4 Elliott Banks-Browne – Buildbase Honda5 Brad Anderson – Buildbase Honda6 Gert Krestinov
Overall result and championship standings:1 Shaun Simpson 702 Jake Nicholls 673 Kristian Whatley 604 Elliott Banks-Browne 54 – Buildbase Honda5 Brad Anderson 52 – Buildbase Honda6 Alex Snow 40
