With team leader Matiss Karro still out with an injured knee, Josh Gilbert was the sole Route77 MVR-D Honda rider on duty in round five of the Michelin MX Nationals series held at Hawkstone Park in Shropshire last weekend.

The 17-year-old rookie from Cornwall qualified for Sunday’s races on his CRF250R without incident but he was left empty-handed after crashing out of race one following damage to the rear shock of his machine.

Gilbert’s team was able to repair his bike for the second moto at the iconic and famously demanding Hawstone Park track but a difficult start left him with work to do. With the sandy track very rutted towards the end of a full day’s racing, he just missed out on a top ten finish, taking a spirited 11th place for 16th overall.

Josh Gilbert:

“It’s been a difficult weekend. The last couple of weeks training has gone really well and I'm happy with the performance and setup of the bike, but I’m struggling to translate that into performances at the weekend. I will go away and keep working hard through the break that we now have in the schedule. I’ll do my best to put it right for the final three events of the year.”

Gareth Chamberlain - head technician, Route 77 MVR-D Honda:

“We signed Josh because we believe he has great potential and that potential is definitely still there. Technically he has what it takes and we will continue to give Josh our full support and hope that he can make that step to where we believe he should be.”