Victory and podiums for SJP Moto KTM at Michelin MX Nationals opener
By Press Release on 2nd Jun 21
Buoyed by early-season success, SJP Moto KTM went into the opening round of the Michelin MX Nationals British Motocross Championship powered by Milwaukee at FatCat with high hopes they left on Sunday with victory and podium success.
In the qualifying session, Reece Jones was second fastest in the SW85 class with teammate Billy Askew finished fifth fastest in the BW85 class. In the MXY125 class, last year's BW85 champion Charlie Heyman took pole position at his first championship on the bigger bike, while teammate Jayden Haigh was fourth fastest.
On Saturday in the Open 85cc class, Reece and Billy start the season strong with Reece taking second in the opening race in the SW85 class, while Billy rode well to claim a third-place finish. In the second moto on the Saturday Billy made another good start and battled at the head of the BW85 class to claim third place at the flag, while Reece suffered from a bad start and could only recover to third in the SW class.
In the two races for the MXY125 class on Saturday Charlie and Jayden were looking for good results after their qualifying sessions. In the opening race, both started well, and Charlie was soon battling for the lead but unfortunately had a coming together with another rider that saw him get a handlebar to the ribs as they went off track resulting in him finishing down in 17th.
At the front of the pack, Jayden was riding well and claimed a fourth-place finish. In the second moto, Charlie returned to the track in discomfort but looking to score points, while Jayden was hoping for a repeat of race one. This time around Jayden finished in fifth with Charlie in 10th place after suffering with the rough track.
Sunday saw all riders have another two races, in the third Open 85cc race of the weekend Billy made a great start and took the early race lead and went on to finish in second, while Reece came through the pack to claim second in his class.
The final race of the weekend saw both riders make good starts as Billy went on to claim the race win and overall victory in the BW85 class, Reece rode a strong moto to claim second and second overall in the SW85 class.
In the two MXY125 races, Charlie was hoping for better luck as Jayden looked to continue his consistent results. In the first race on Sunday Charlie was feeling slightly better and able to handle the smoother track and took the class win with Jayden in ninth after a first-lap crash.
In the final race, Charlie again struggled with the rough track and could only manage to finish in third ahead of Jayden who rode well for fourth. At the end of the weekend, Jayden's consistent results gave him his first MX Nationals podium with third overall, while Charlie claimed fifth overall after his first race incident.
Team Manager Leighton Haigh: "This weekend has been a good weekend for us as a team, we ended up with Billy taking the overall win in the Big Wheels, while Reece and Jayden both finished on the podium overall and Charlie claimed a race win, even after his incident in the first race on Saturday. Billy was in good form all weekend and his final race win claimed the victory for him, while Reece struggled with starts but dug deep to get second overall. Jayden was super consistent all weekend and claimed a well-deserved podium. Charlie showed his pace and its just a shame he had such a heavy crash and was struggling when the track got rough afterwards.
"Overall to get race wins and overall victory and three out of four riders on the podium it's been a good start to this championship for us as a team."
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