Tom Grimshaw: Busy end to the season
By TMX Archives on 19th Oct 16
First stop on the calendar after my last column was the now famous Farleigh Castle Vets (VMXdN) which is run by Dave King and the ACU.
My role at this event was to support my dad who was racing in the very competitive Evo 250 class. Dad's bike – a 1989 Honda CR250 – was sorted and all I needed to do was get him focused, so I thought I would use the same motivational phrases he uses with me.
‘Come on, you can do this', ‘get a good start and clear off', ‘stay strong', ‘you can rest later' were flowing from my lips and he only went and got three solid top-three starts and was holding his own for about three corners until the faster boys sorted him out.
The last race was best because, for a couple of laps, dad held fifth place until the throttle started sticking open and he retired from the race. I wasn't happy about this as I told him he should have ‘dealt with it' and finished the race. It was a great event and I hope to race it one day if they can stop moving the minimum age group!
Round five of the British Youth Nationals at Pontrilas was our next stop but heavy rain meant the organiser cancelled Saturday's racing and we only raced on the Sunday.
The RHL team called it right in my view and worked hard to ensure that all groups got qualification and three races. It started out with heavy mud but dried out to be mint and three solid motos netted me second overall which I was pleased with.
Then it was time for the final round of the British Youth Nationals at Cusses Gorse which was mega as Justin Barclay revamped the track for this event.
I felt good and poled time training – and went on to score 3-2-1-4-2 for second overall, missing the win by one point, which I was kicking myself about as I crashed in race one on the final lap going for the lead. I eventually came fifth overall in the championship, which I was pleased about as I missed a complete round due to my broken arm.
Well done to Callum Green for winning the championship, with some great racing with Todd Ritchie. Also a big congratulations to my biggest buddy George Grigg Pettitt on winning the Youth Open class – that was a nail biter!
Two weeks of hard training followed as I was off to Germany to race the Yamaha YZ Cup at SMX Veltins Indoor Arena. Wow! The arena was massive and Youthstream built a great track which was very enjoyable to ride.
There were three class racing Saturday: my class, along with 125cc European and the SMX Manufacturers' Cup which starred Dungey, Musquin, Osbourne, Herlings, Gajser, Febvre, Paulin and many more.
The Yamaha Cup was made up of riders racing Yamahas from all over Europe. Only the top three riders from each nation (France got six riders) were able to race this event.
After arriving on Friday afternoon Yamaha spoilt us and looked after all our needs. Practice and timed qualification went well and in my heat I qualified straight to the final.
There were 25 riders lined up for the final and I nearly got the holeshot, but in turn two I hit neutral and went down. I remounted last and charged back to the top 10 at the half-way stage, then a rider lost control and hit me putting me on the floor.
I remounted and two laps later a different rider lost control in the sand section and put me on the floor again.
I was gutted, but dad and I looked at the lap times and I was top five so I was really happy with that.
After the racing I was part of the press conference which was cool as I watched all the top boys give their interviews.
I would like to say a massive thank you to Yamaha and Youthstream for putting on such a great show and hopefully I can be involved in this event next year.
We have the Dirt Bike Show coming up so hopefully, once I have sat down with the team and sponsors, I will know what championships I will be racing next season.
