Crowded out at Hawkstone
By TMX Archives on 31st Mar 11
Happy to report that motocross is alive and well and looking good at Hawkstone - although Bernie Andrews has retired'...
AND so to Hawkstone Park for that annual fix of International MX action (with the exception of the MXGP, he hastily corrects) that allows us Brits the opportunity to see how the home riders (or to be strictly accurate, home-based riders) stack against a sprinkling of Continental talent.
To be honest it is getting harder and harder to know who's ‘home' and who's ‘away'. The two fastest Brits on the day, Tommy Searle and Max Anstie, have each spent several years residing in America and when interviewed by Jack Burnicle at Hawkstone it sounded like it was coming straight from the soundtrack of an AMA Supercross. Last time I heard Tommy interviewed he was the archetypal lad from ‘darn sarf, mate' but on Sunday he sounded straight off the beach at SoCal. I guess there's a reason for that...
On the other hand, wander into Steve Dixon's all-British Bike-It Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamaha awning and the ‘home' riders are all-American boy Zach Osborne and Swiss ace Arnaud Tonus. It's all part of life's rich tapestry but as one brought-up with the idea that people from Scotland are foreign - and I don't live far from the border - it has taken me a few years to catch-up!
Hawkstone has always seemed like the home circuit to me, having first been taken there in the 1950s as a (very) small boy. All I remember is being scared witless by the very sight of the Belgian giant Auguste Mingels, and if you ever come across a picture of this huge mountain of a man on a bike (a mighty 500cc FN that he made look like a moped) you will see that the word giant is well chosen.
I've been fortunate to return often to Hawkstone (after first checking that Mingels wasn't in the entry list) - even ridden the track on bike tests, albeit at pedestrian speed - several times every decade since, and watched and studied as machines and riding styles and the track itself has changed over the years. And its the track that I'd like to make the odd comment on here. Back in the dim and distant Hawkstone was known as the roughest, toughest sand-track of them all, a killer for the old heavyweights and it remained so for decades.
However, I can't put my finger on when all this changed but last Sunday's track certainly wasn't like the Hawkstone of old. The sandy, wide track where you could ride virtually anywhere was no more, replaced in large chunks by bone-hard sections where there was only one line - round the outside where the huge berm ruled. Try riding inside this and the front washes-out (classicly illustrated by Shaun Simpson in MX1, moto one as he hit the first right-hander fourth - and came out last), as there is loose earth on top of hardpack. More than one rider informed me of this as I wandered the paddock after timed-training. But give them their due, none wanted to be seen as ‘moaning' just making the point that the track has changed. And many were complimentary about the re-worked jumps. Overall, it reminded me of several years ago when Stefan Everts, after delivering a riding lesson to all in the International, was asked at the post-race interview what he really thought of the Hawkstone track. Stefan replied with his usual deadpan delivery, "It has great potential...!”
For us none riders, for whom the day's hardest work was paying for the burgers, there was nothing to complain about. They pitched the entry fee bang on and several paying punters I spoke to said that £20 was their limit. Any more and the event would have to be very special indeed. Like a GP. And talking of which, 2011 British MXGP promoter Steve Dixon was critically eyeing the Hawkstone crowd and very much liking what he saw. I don't blame him, if Sunday's turn-out in March is an indication of what one might expect come August 21 at Matterley Basin then all will be fine.
Hawkstone last Sunday saw a most welcome and almost surprisingly large crowd enjoy some cracking racing and there was always a real buzz before each start. You can always tell the quality of the racing by the number of people that stay until the final lap of the last race. Yes, some did take the opportunity to get off to a flyer out of the car park but the vast majority stayed to witness Tommy Searle's sad exit with engine failure, after totally dominating the day's racing, and finally to applaud Max Anstie's deserved win.
HAD my annual encounter with that living MX legend Bernie Andrews at Hawkstone. Every year, for at least a decade, Bernie has said, "I'm ready for the new season - and I'm 61 now.” I was impressed back then and have only been more impressed as the years have ticked by. So it was a real shock when I bumped into Bernie on Sunday and he said, "I'm 71 now, and I won't be riding this season!”
What, no Bernie Andrews on the line? Apparently an ankle injury has slowed him down and at the moment he doesn't see himself as being fit enough to ride - for the first time in his life.
But don't write Bernie off just yet. His parting shot was, "I've still got the bike - so you never know..!”