Ryan Houghton steps his game up
By Team TMX on 17th May 18
Ryan Houghton secured the Rob Hooper Racing Yamaha teams first national podium of the season with third in the MX1 Pro class at the second round of the Bridgestone British Masters at Wroxton.
With Ryans MX1 team-mate Kristian Whatley joining him for this round of the Masters, the team was hopeful of putting in a good performance in the Pro classes.
A clean qualifying lap for Ryan saw him go the gate third but Whatley struggled to get a clear lap at the end of the session when the track was at its best and qualified ninth.
Kristian hit turn one in the opening moto in second but a rough couple of turns saw him drop back.
Ryan, on the other hand, moved through the pack in the opposite direction and passed his way up to a fantastic third with his team-mate just two seconds back in fourth.
In race two Ryan made the better start and scored another third-placed finish for third overall with Kristian once again fourth for fourth overall.
The track was really fast and everyone was at a pretty similar speed so 3-3 on the day was pretty solid, said Ryan.
I didnt get the best of starts in any of the races but charged hard and made some good passes.
The result moves him into second in the championship.
In the first race I made a good start but lost some places early on, said Kristian, but by the end of the race I was catching Ryan so I was quite happy with that.
I made some changes to the bike for the second moto and felt pretty good in that one even though I had a fourthagain.
The last five laps I felt really strong and I feel my pace is coming back.My intensity isnt there yet but its slowly coming back so I was happy with that second race as well and how the bike was performing.
Team boss Rob Hooper took lots of positives away from Wroxton.
It was a good days racing for the both of our riders, he said.
With Ryan I just feel he is one ride away from a win. It will happen for him when it will be I dont know but he is very, very close.He is riding really well and really fast.
It was a different Kristian today from the one who was at Canada Heights. He is really happy with the suspension. Its still work in progress with him but he is happier and looking more confident and looking more like the Kristian Whatley we have seen in the past.
We know there are better results to come but we are definitely getting closer and closer.
More like this…
British Sidecars head to Blyth
This Sunday the second round of the 2018 Maxxis British Sidecarcross championship takes place at Blyth near Newcastle hosted by the Iveston & Satley MCC.
RIP 'The Kid' - Jack Burnicle's tribute to Eric Geboers
The tragic loss last weekend of 55-year-old Eric ‘The Kid’ Geboers in a drowning accident has robbed motocross of one of the biggest and most successful names in the sport’s history.
Tragic death of Eric Geboers
Eric Geboers has tragically died aged 55. The legendary multi-time motocross champion is reported to have drowned while attempting to rescue dog.