De Reuver and Rattray win at 10th Hawkstone Park International

Dry and bright weather provided the perfect backdrop to the 10th Hawkstone Park International Motocross meeting, which was headed by Dutch rider Marc De Reuver – Martin Honda in the Open class and by Tyla Rattray – Red Bull KTM of South Africa in the MX2 category. Several thousand action hungry race fans were treated to some of the best racing seen on this famous circuit in more recent times, with track conditions being ideal for the star studded field to display their talents.

Apart from race wins by Shaun Simpson – KTM and pre event favourite Tommy Searle – Red Bull KTM, plus two consistent outings by Stephen Sword – Molson Kawasaki, all in the MX2 division, the day belonged to the foreign riders who dominated the overall places in both classes. In fact Sword was the only home rider to feature in the top five positions at the end of the day, with the ex British champion finishing as runner up in the overall MX2 results.

Reigning MX1 British champion Billy MacKenzie, making his debut on the Monster CAS Honda, started the day strongly by qualifying in second spot behind eventual winner De Reuver. The young Scots’ speed was also evident in the early part of the first MX1 moto, with Mackenzie holding the lead until lap nine before crashing out of the race totally. Ironically it was Ken De Dycker – Suzuki, who Billy replaced at CAS, who benefited from this mistake to take the race win ahead of his team mate 2007 MX1 champion Steve Ramon. De Reuver, Josh Coppins and David Philippaerts both – Rinaldi Yamaha completed the top five on this occasion.

It was a similar story for the ill fated Billy in the second MX1 encounter, but this time a slip on the final lap pushed him down to fourth, after having led the race from start to finish. De Reuver was on hand to collect the victory at the expense of MacKenzie to add to his third place in the first race of the day, which was enough to give the Dutch rider the overall win. Coppins and Ramon both passed Mackenzie before he could recover, leaving Philippaerts to pick up fifth spot this time out.

Shaun Simpson was by far the fastest MX2 rider on track for the first half of the meeting, with him posting the quickest time in qualifying before taking a start to flag win in the opening moto. Simpson begun the second race in similar form but crashed whilst leading on lap six, which dropped him down to outside the top thirty before a spirit fight back brought him back to twenty second spot come the finish.

Searle made up for some of his early disappointment by winning the Grand Finale, which included the top twenty riders from both classes on the day, to bring a close on another piece of Hawkstone Park history. With this in mind, Salop Motor club would like to say a massive ‘Thank You’, to everyone who helped to make it all happen once again, and who are too numerous to list on this page.

Results:

Moto One MX1: 1. Ken de Dycker 2. Steve Ramon 3. Marc de Reuver 4. Josh Coppins 5. David Phillipaerts
Moto Two MX1: 1. Marc de Reuver 2. Josh Coppins 3. Steve Ramon 4. Billy MacKenzie 5. David Phillipaerts
MX1 Overall: 1. Marc de Reuver 55 2. Steve Ramon 52 3. Josh Coppins 50 4. Ken de Dycker 49 5. David Phillipaerts 42

Moto One MX2: 1. Shaun Simpson 2. Erik Eggens 3. Stephen Sword 4. Jeremy van Horebeek 5. Tyla Rattray
Moto Two MX2: 1. Tyla Rattray 2. Tommy Searle 3. Stephen Sword 4. Erik Eggens 5. Joel Roelants
MX2 Overall: 1.Tyla Rattray 51 2. Stephen Sword 50 3. Erik Eggens 50 4. Jeremy van Horebeek 42 5. Joel Roelants 34

MX1 / MX2 Grand Final: 1.Tommy Searle 2.Steve Ramon  3.David Phillipaerts 4.Billy MacKenzie 5.Shaun Simpson.



KTM Racing
Tyla Rattray wins MX2 class at 10th Anniversary Hawkstone Park

The Red Bull MX2 factory riders continued with the season's warm-up at Britain's Hawkstone Park on Sunday with Rattray winning the MX2 division and Searle snatching victory in the super final at the end of the day.

Second pre-season victory for Rattray after Valence
Rattray, clearing in top form going into the 2008 season said he enjoyed the ride on the steep and unforgiving Shropshire circuit with its most famous obstacles, the deep ‘bomb hole', the heart-stopping whoop section and the ominous 1 in 3 "Hawkstone Hill". "This is a very good circuit and I enjoyed the ride today. We had good sunny weather and it was great to get another pre-season victory," the South African said.
 
Simpson from Team KTM UK wins first moto
Shaun Simpson from the new Team KTM UK won the first moto with Rattray finishing fifth after getting tangled up in a scrap that also left team-mate Searle back at sixteenth place. Simpson also went out fast in the second, only to be overtaken by the two KTM factory riders. Tyla then seized the advantage and crossed the line in front of Searle, a result that secured him the MX2 victory for the day. Simpson's advantage slipped away after he stalled in the second moto and he finished half way back in the field.
 
Searle wins super final
Tommy Searle's moment of glory came at the end of the day when he won the super final where the MX2 riders had a start advantage on the MX1 competitors. Tyla did not have a perfect start and trailed Tommy who led throughout the race. Shaun Simpson was also up with the front-runners but he was eventually overtaken by the bigger MX1 bikes.
 
Everts pleased with MX2 result
KTM's MX team boss Stefan Everts said he was pleased with the overall performance of Rattray, Searle and Simpson, who between them dominated the MX2 section. Impressive also on the results sheets were the two young talents from the newly formed KTM-supported GP Juniors Team Champ Jeremy van Horebeek who was fourth and sixth in the two MX2 motos and Joel Roelants who was ninth and sixth in a field of some 30 riders on the grid.
 
KTM factor rider Max Nagl was a highly-anticipated competitor in the MX1 class but unfortunately was not able to race on Sunday. Nagl woke in the early hours of Sunday morning with painful neck cramps and was unable to start. Dutchman Marc de Reuver scored a 3:1 result in the MX1 motos for victory in that class.

SUZUKI RACING
SUZUKI STARS SHINE AT HAWKSTONE PARK

Team Suzuki's reigning world motocross champion Steve Ramon and his team-mate Ken De Dycker both made their presence felt at the Hawkstone Park pre-season international with a pair of stunning displays on their electronically fuel injected RM-Z450s.

In almost perfect track and weather conditions Ken De Dycker romped to victory in moto one after closing down and pressurising early leader Billy MacKenzie into making a mistake in the second half of the race. While Ken claimed the win Steve Ramon (pictured right) held off a charging Marc De Reuver to finish second behind his team-mate making it a Suzuki 1-2 in a field that included factory riders from all four Japanese manufacturers.

Starting fifth and eighth in moto two Ken and Steve had their work cut out to battle through to the head of the pack. While Ramon was able to reach third position to secure second overall on the day, increasing amounts of pain in Ken's still injured from Mantova back kept the tall Belgian back in sixth spot and fourth overall - just one point shy of a podium position.

While pain from Ken's injury stopped him from starting the mixed capacity Grand Final Steve did the team proud by finishing as first MX1 pilot after battling through the pack to finish second behind MX2 rider Tommy Searle who made the most of the five second head start the 250F pilots are gifted.

"It was a really good day for me," said Steve. "Okay, I didn't win a moto but I'm happy with my riding especially after having to come through the pack in all three races from the start. I was feeling really good with the bike and we tested a few things and made some improvements so overall it's been a very positive day."

"The doctor recommended I took 10 days rest because of my back injury I sustained in Mantova but the team and I had a few things to test and I really wanted to race here as it's such a good track," claimed Ken. "In moto one I got a good start and settled into second place staying behind Billy MacKenzie and I was able to watch his lines and see what he was up to then he tangled with a backmarker and handed me the win. In the closing stages of the race I could feel the muscles in my back tightening up but I was able to slow down a little and hold on to the win.

"In moto two I didn't get such a good start and the pain was there all the time and with the track getting rougher and rougher I finished sixth. I decided to sit out of the last race because it didn't figure for the overall. I'm very happy that my speed is so good so early in the season."



Molson Kawasaki Racing
Sword excels in Hawkstone sand

Molson Kawasaki’s last pre-season race before the British and World championships begin offers another important on-track test for team riders Stephen Sword, Gareth Swanepoel and Tom Church.

Following on from the Mantova and Valence events the Hawkstone Park International is probably the toughest of all non-championship races as the sandy circuit situated near Shrewsbury, England attracts one of the strongest starting line-ups anywhere other than a GP.

With young Frenchman Gautier Paulin sidelined with a broken hand it was up to Stephen Sword and Gareth Swanepoel to uphold Molson honour on their factory KX250F-SRs in the MX2 division.
Stephen Sword placed on the podium again this week as a pair of strong rides saw the Scotsman finish second overall – just one point behind eventual overall winner Tyla Rattray – with a 3-3 scorecard. A first lap collision with a fallen rider in the Grand Final stopped Stephen in his tracks although he battled on to the finish to pick up more all-important track time.

“I had three solid rides apart from my starts which were a bit bad because I’m not used to the concrete,” explained Stephen. “Although I wasn’t starting with the top guys I was coming through well and my bike was working great. I’m feeling better on the bike every time I ride it and I’m really happy with today, no crashes and it’s always good to get a podium.”

Although Gareth Swanepoel’s results weren’t as good as Stephen’s on the day the South African rider improved each time out and Gareth continued to show promise for the season ahead. “I struggled in the first race, I didn’t get a good start, I went down and even though I battled back to 11th I didn’t ride well – I was mediocre,” reckoned Swanepoel. “The second race I got a top five start but someone went down in front of me and I got tangled in that. I came back from pretty much last to 16th and that was a tough race. The last one went much better for me and I was 9th out of everyone and 5th MX2 rider – it was a much better race for me. I’m still not where I want to be at – speed wise – but I’m in a much better position than this time last year. I’m looking forward to Valkenswaard because that’s where the points really count.”

MX1 rider Tom Church also had a mixed day on the KX450F. In only his second ride out in the MX1 class Tom rode much better than the results sheet show and looked right at home on the bigger bike. “I felt pretty good on the bike today. I had a good timed training session – that’s something I’ve been working on a lot on – because it’s so important,” said Tom. “In the first race I got involved in a big crash on the start straight and lost a lot of time restarting the bike. I was way back but I chugged away and got up to 17th which wasn’t too bad and my lap times were on a par with the top five. In the second race I got a mediocre start but had a good battle with Yoshi Atsuta and Marvin Van Daele – decent riders – and tried to beat them, ending up 11th. In the last race a rock or something split a radiator hose and rather than seize the engine I called it a day.”

The Molson squad stay in England this week for the first round of the British motocross championship that will be held at the home of the 2008 Motocross of Nations – Donington Park – on March 9.



Team CAS Honda
The CAS Honda Team were determined to make an impact upon the start the 2008 season – and riders Billy Mackenzie and Mike Brown came close to romping away with all the glory.

The Hawkstone International meeting in Shropshire is seen as a warm-up for the season – a chance for the top motocross teams to hint at what is to come. The determined CAS Honda team wanted to put down its marker for the months ahead.

The day began well with sunny skies, but a little cool. A large and enthusiastic crowd turned up and saw CAS Honda making much of the early running. Qualifying was promising, with Billy in second place - less than half a second behind Marc de Reuver - and Mike fourth behind Rattray, Sword and van Horebeek.

MX1 – Race 1
Billy shot out of the gate in the top five and before the end of the first lap had taken the lead, where he sat for two-thirds of the race until Lady Luck intervened. Flying over a blind summit, a backmarker unfortunately got in the way, stopping Billy dead in his tracks. DeDycker flew past and Billy couldn’t get the bike restarted to complete the race.
Billy’s only consolation was that he had managed to post the fastest lap of the whole race.

MX2 – Race 1
Mike had a good start, but it was Simpson who took the lead. Mike sat comfortably with the leading pack throughout the race and crossed the chequered flag behind Rattray in sixth.

MX1 – Race 2
Billy took the holeshot and was flying until the race was halted at the end of the first lap and a re-start ordered.

Amazingly, he did it again - charging out of the start gate in front, much to the delight of his fans. Billy set a tremendous pace and had Coppins, Ramon and de Reuver chasing until the final lap, when de Reuver stole the lead down the infamous Hawkstone hill. Billy put tremendous pressure on de Reuver, but in doing so overcooked a corner and lost two places to Coppins and Ramon. To his credit, Billy recomposed himself and came home in fourth place.

MX2 – Race 2
This was a nightmare start for Mike, going down on the first corner and hit so hard that he suffered a back injury and his helmet was badly damaged. He eventually picked himself up, but took his time to pull away and rode steadily to come home safely at the end of the race.

Race 3 – Hawkstone Grand Final (MX1 & MX2 combined)
An exciting clash of both classes saw Billy yet again post the fastest lap of the entire race. He fought through the pack (MX1 riders start just after MX2 riders) into an impressive second place, less than three seconds behind the leader, Tommy Searle, but overshot a corner and ended up in fourth place.

Frustrated Mike was forced to undergo medical treatment – requiring stitches in wounds to his back sustained in his second race – and was unable to start this race.

Considering this was the first race of the season, both riders showed they had the pace to be at the front. This is just the start of a very long and promising season for CAS Honda.



Kawasaki Racing Team MX1
Testing time for Kawasaki Racing Team at Hawkstone Park

Kawasaki Racing Team’s Manuel Priem makes further progress with factory KX450F-SR at Hawkstone Park pre-season international Enjoying some unexpected spring sunshine the KRT squad – minus injured Estonian star Tanel Leok who’s resting up at home in Belgium – headed to Hawkstone Park in England to continue their pre-season preparation in readiness for the 2008 MX1 GP season. Using the annual warm-up race as the perfect opportunity to test new engine and suspension settings on the circuit that seems to have a little bit of everything – elevation changes, sand, hardpack and relentless ruts and bumps – Manuel and the team made real progress throughout the day improving vastly in each outing.

On his first visit to Hawkstone Park Manuel found good form in the qualifying session to end up in 10th place with a very respectable time amongst the field of international racers. After struggling slightly with the unfamiliar concrete start in moto one Manuel was moving forward until crashing heavily in the whoops which ended the 26-year-old’s race prematurely.

Another mid-pack start in moto two after spinning up on the concrete launch pad meant Manuel once more had to battle through the pack. Aside from a small slip up on lap two Manuel rode a good, steady race to progress to 13th as the chequered flag flew.

After almost missing the gate drop due to a misunderstanding regarding the split start in the Grand Final – the MX2 riders had a five second head start – Manuel once more found himself in the middle of the pack coming out of turn one. Showing plenty of speed, strength and stamina Manuel was able to power through the pack to a top 10 finish in the mixed capacity moto.

“We tried out some new engine settings today but for me it was way too strong. But in every race we made it a little calmer and the last race was much better,“ said Manuel. “In the first race I had a big crash in the whoops and I stopped, in the second race I couldn’t open the throttle so hard because the bike was running away with me but for the last moto we made some more changes and I was able to ride the bike better which meant I had my best race of the day – 5th placed MX1 rider. To be honest I’m quite happy because as a team we found a good solution with the bike for me – this is what riding at these pre-season
races is for…”



Shannon Terreblanche
Crash ruins good potential overall result for Terreblanche in England

Things are certainly ramping up for the 2008 motocross season, and the traditional early-season races are now starting to flow in quick succession. After an extended sojourn in Italy, the Beursfoon Suzuki team headed west to trade racing blows in the fons et origo of motocross, England. Drawing its history all the way back to 1938, Hawkstone Park has seemingly forever been part of international racing, and the awe-inspiring hill intimidated riders before the Second World War as much as it still does to this day. Situated approximately halfway between Birmingham and Manchester, the event does entail a bit of travel for mainland-based riders, but steeped as it is in history, the organisers have no difficulty at all in attracting full fields of world class riders to the event.

Although he has seen a good few tracks during his three years in Europe, Shannon Terreblanche has thus far not had the opportunity of testing his mettle around this challenging circuit, and this was therefore yet again a new experience for him. Despite a very short period within which to acquaint himself with the track, the South African acquitted himself well, and qualified in seventh position in his group for the main event.

With a goodly percentage of the world's top MX2 riders lined up beside him, Shannon struggled to get a good start on the concrete start pad of the track in race one. This was again unfamiliar territory to him, as it requires a special skill to master the low traction coefficient between the concrete and the knobbly tyre of his Suzuki. The teenager threw himself into the race with boundless enthusiasm, determined to make the best of the circumstances. He passed a number of big name riders with superior local experience, including fellow South African Neville Bradshaw, who has now made England his home. Shannon finally latched onto the rear wheel of yet another South African, world number 5 Gareth Swanepoel. This was the first time during his career that he was able to take the battle to his vastly more experienced compatriot, and he was not about to let go. He matched Swanepoel blow for blow and closely followed him home in 12th position, a very creditable performance considering the opposition he was up against.

The second race started off much better for the game young warrior. This time he launched himself into proceedings in eighth position, and held onto this spot, battling with some of the world's best. Unfortunately, a rider went down in front of him, and he could not take timely evasive action, bringing him to a crash as well. A following rider similarly had nowhere to go, and rode over Shannon and his bike, ripping his shirt, but more significantly, completely destroying the throttle assembly on his bike, which meant that any further activities in this race were definitely ruled out. Shannon trudged to the side disconsolately, ruing the result that might have been.

The misfortune of the second heat kept Shannon from a good overall result, and consequently also the opportunity to ride in the Superfinal event. The youngster was disappointed and happy in equal measure after his day: "I felt my riding went well today," he said. "In the first race I came from far back, and for the first time ever, I could battle with a rider like Gareth. My second race went even better, but unfortunately, my throttle assembly was damaged after a crash when another rider rode over me and my bike, and there was no way I could continue."

Shannon will be in full preparation mode during the next two weeks for the first round of his "home" championships, the Dutch series, which kicks off in Gemert on 14 March.



SUSO MVR-D Suzuki
The 10th anniversary of the Hawkstone International took place this weekend in somewhat better than usual weather conditions, the sun was out and the racing was hot as some of the best European riders showed up to do their thing in the final pre-season event of 2008.

SUSO MVR-D Suzuki were there in full strength for the first time this season, Carl Nunn, Jason Dougan, Marcus Norlen and James Cottrell were looking for a strong show in front of a packed out Hawkstone circuit.

Carl Nunn- MX2:
Carl set the ball rolling with a strong third place in timed qualifying which led to a 14th position in moto one and a much improved 8th in the second moto.

“Qualifying went pretty good this morning, I had the race bike this week and it was the first time I got to ride the bike as it should be. There are a few little things I need to change with me really. I didn’t ride 100% today, I felt really good but there was something missing today, my fitness is good but I was just a little bit too slow. I’m looking forward to Donington next week, the bikes really good on the hard pack. Hawkstone is important but next week is what matters.”

Marcus Norlen – MX2:
“I was pretty consistent in both races, my starts were mid-pack which wasn’t so good but my riding felt good and I felt smooth, it went OK today. Next week is all about getting focused for Donington. With a week of solid practise sessions ahead I can’t wait as it’s a cool track.”

James Cottrell – MX2:
“It was a tough day today as I haven’t ridden in the sand for a while, I struggled a bit in qualifying and managed one good lap and I was half a second off qualifying but just couldn’t get another strong lap in – I missed qualifying by two places.”

Jason Dougan – MX2:
After a big off in qualifying Jason has a suspected broken hand, Jason will see a specialist today to confirm diagnosis – more news on this later.

Team Manager –Mark Chamberlain:
“A mixed day really, Jason looks like he’s broken his hand but we won’t know until today sometime after he visits the specialist. It’s really disappointing as he looked good in practice up until that point. Carl showed flashes of what he can do, he can ride at a good speed with consistency, there were a lot of people crashing today and he didn’t crash, Carl felt he has more to give so it’s hard work this week.

"Marcus charged hard in both races, he needs better starts which will put him in the mix; I’m really pleased with him. James was unlucky in qualifying and missed the main race by two places; this will come as the season progresses.”



CCM Racing returns to the International paddock
Photo: Ray Archer

Thirty five years since they first made their initial impact on the off road racing scene, CCM made its long and eagerly awaited return to the International motocross paddock at Hawkstone Park for the now famous pre season invitation meeting. The Bolton based motorcycle manufacturer, whose radical aluminium bonded chassis machine is a World first in the motocross field, arrived at the sandy Shropshire venue just five weeks after the ambitious project made its initial test.

Thousands of patriotic race fans took the opportunity to view the CMX450 in the flesh for the first time and were not disappointed at this brilliant piece of British engineering. Eurosport’s very own Jack Burnicle played the role of master of ceremonies as the team’s two new young riders, key personnel and nostalgic heroes were unveiled in front of the assembled media and a large public gathering.

Fresh from a strong qualifying performance, despite the immense pressure and attention caused by the occasion, Oliver Sandiford-Smith opened the proceedings by confirming his goals for the forthcoming season. Sandiford-Smith is currently CCM’s lone campaigner, with the team’s youngest member Richie Worrall still recovering from an injury sustained during the team’s recent overseas test. The good news for the Lancashired base squad is that Worrall revealed that he should be back in the saddle a lot sooner than had been expected, with his doctor delighted at the speed at which the break is healing.

Austin Clews, son of CCM’s original founder Alan Clews, reinforced just how delighted the company was to be back in the paddock and thanked the team’s many loyal sponsors and supporters for playing their part in bringing a British bike back into the main arena. The scale and depth of CCM’s great racing history and appeal was illustrated perfectly with ex-works riders John Banks, Jimmy Aird and Norman Barrow, plus WSB champion Carl Fogarty all being on hand to witness the start of another important chapter for one of Britain’s last remaining bike makers.

Out on the track, the competition was as fierce as expected, with the MX1 class packed with over twenty Grand Prix regulars all looking to get their 2008 campaigns underway in some style. Sandiford-Smith made a good start in the first race, to take his place in the top fifteen as the pack rounded the initial few turns. However two minor crashes would see Oliver slip down the order over the thirteen lap encounter, to cross the line in a slightly disappointing 29th place.

Looking a touch more relaxed, Sandiford-Smith recorded a much-improved 21st position in the second moto, to only just narrowly miss out on a place in the Grand Finale. This brought the action to a close on a day when CCM took its first big step towards recapturing the glory of the golden era when the small British company became renowned for giving its huge Japanese rivals a real run for their money.



ARB Tuning Kawasaki
ARB Tuning Kawasaki starts season on a high
ARB Tuning Kawasaki made the trek to the traditional season opener for British motocross at Hawkstone Park this past weekend. Riding exclusively in the MX1 class and facing some of the toughest competition in the world, Mark Jones and Jamie Lewis made a good first impression, and more. After both qualifying in the twenties, Mark and Jamie scored top fifteen and top twenty results throughout the day. Both riders suffered from mid-pack starts, but both made their way towards the top fifteen by mid-race, and this work was rewarded with the honour of the top scoring Kawasaki team of the day.

Team owner Mark Bishop was very satisfied with the day's showing.

"I'm very pleased with the day," he declared, "I know the boys can do a little bit better, but two boys, two races, two finishes, we'll be ready for the British championship next weekend.”

"I'm happy with today. We struggled a bit; We got some of the equipment late, but we're hoping for a much better weekend next weekend," Mark Jones added.

Jamie Lewis: "I think it all started well this weekend. I qualified in the twenties against a very strong field, and in the first race I scored my first points on a Kawasaki which is new to me, so it's good."

ARB Tuning Kawasaki will contest the Maxxis British Motocross championship as well as the British Motocross Masters series this year, with the former starting this coming weekend at the Donington circuit in Derbyshire, the latter a weekend later at Culham in Oxfordshire.