Hi everyone…

This weekend was a weekend off from the big races.
Saturday we went to Doncaster to practice for the day. We had a good day and the track was nice and dry.

After practicing we set off to Bielby to do a club race with the white rose mxc. The track was perfect just a little damp in places. The track got real rough and rutty at the end of the day and I really enjoyed it. My riding was good and I felt confident and won all 3 races comfortably. I was happy with my riding and can’t wait for Round 2 of the British championship next weekend. I would like to say well done to white rose mxc for putting on such a good meeting this weekend.

Ash #82

This weekend was the first round of the maxxis British championship at Canada Heights. We arrived at the track on Saturday and it was looking in pretty good condition. It had been prepped well and was just a little damp in places. The competition this year in the mx1 class is very tough and I knew the first round would be one of the hardest as everyone is ready to go.

Qualifying went well and I managed to get a good lap in early and finished 28th at the end of the session. I was happy with my time and position as qualifying isn’t one of my strongest points.

The first race I got a terrible start and was one of the last few round the first corner. I managed to make some places up early. At the end of the first 5mins I was sitting around 25th and was riding good. I had some good lines and was getting more confident with the big ruts on the track. I started picking the riders off in front and felt good. By the end of the race I worked my way up to 18th scoring 3 points! I was really happy to get some points on the board. Towards the end of our first race it started to drizzle and just after the finish the heavens opened and it lashed it down. The rain did quite allot of damage to the track and filled the ruts with water.

Going in to second race I knew just needed to stay on and keep riding till the end. race 2 I got a better jump of the gate and was in good shape round the first corner but two corners later and someone fell off right in front of me causing me to come to a standstill causing me to lose so many places. Everyone was crashing everywhere and the first lap was carnage. I got myself into a rhythm and kept my head and just kept knocking the laps off and ended up finishing 19th scoring 2 points! Overall I am really happy with the weekend finishing 22nd overall an getting 5 points. This weekend has really helped my confidence and i can’t wait for the rest of the year for some better results!

Ash #82

Hi everyone..

Just got back from Hawkstone International. Had an up and down weekend really. Track was in perfect condition and very well prepared as a lot of work had been done on the track.

Qualifying was so hard as there were so many GP riders and so many Dutch riders who are very good on the sand. In qualifying I managed to get 40th which is the final qualifying position so I just managed to scrape in. I was happy to get in the main race which was really my main aim of the weekend.

Race one and I didn’t get a choice of where I started I just got what was left. I got an ok start as there was a huge crash on the start. The race went ok but I didn’t ride my best as I was finding it hard to get in a good rhythm as people were crashing everywhere. At the end of the race I managed 27th which wasn’t too bad and I was happy to be in the top 30.

Race two was the same again on the start. I got an ok start and was running in the top 30 but my bike didn’t feel right and felt like it was dragging and holding back. Half way round lap 3 my bike stopped dead! The reason being I had just had a hydraulic clutch fitted in the week and there was a fault with it when the bike gets hot. I was gutted as I had to sit and watch the whole race.

Overall the weekend didn’t go to badly really as I achieved what I wanted to which was qualifying. Next week is the first round of the maxxis British championship so hopefully we will have a good weekend there.

Ash #82

Hello everyone…

This weekend was the first big race of the year for me being the MMX British open championship.

We made the long trip down to Devon to little silver and the track was in good condition.

The open class was out first in the morning and going in to qualifying I was a little bit nervous with it being the first race and all the top riders who had entered to get some training. The track was very fast at first but it soon got rough and rutted up due to the damp underneath.

Qualifying went well and at the end of the session I was 25th. Overall I was happy and just couldn’t wait to get to the races.

First race I didn’t get the best start and was battling through the field getting into a nice rhythm until 11mins into the race it was red flagged and was declared a restart. Everyone got fuelled up and sent back onto the line. Once again I didn’t get a good start, a few laps into the race I felt good and was picking riders off and half way through I was in the top 20 battling for points. I got myself into 15th on the last lap but unfortunately martin Barr overtook me and I ended up finishing 16th with 5 points which I was very happy with being the first race of the year.

Race 2 my confidence was a bit more pumped up. On the start I got a better jump of the gate but got pushed out wide on the first turn and I was buried at the back of the pack. 20 mins into the race I moved into 17th and going up one of the hills my bike lost all its power. I looked down it was blowing smoke out forcing me to pull out of the race. I was gutted as once again I was in the points!

Overall on the day I was 19th and I am happy with how the first round has gone. My riding was good and I felt good to not getting tired and I can’t wait for Hawkstone international next weekend. I would like to thank everyone who has helped me over the winter and a big thanks to Owen at Manchester Xtreme who’s helped me massively.

Catch you next weekend Ash #82