Toni's Tops
By TMX Archives on 2nd Jan 08
IT was the great runaway, but it was also knock about (off!) action all the way in the World MX2 series and, in the end, Tommy Searle had secured silver to the Pirate of the Mediterranean', Toni Cairoli, capping his season off with that famous win at Donington Park.
Carl Nunn, Britain's top man from 2006, started the season hurt, slipped out of the top ten and never sniffed the podium as he failed to put two results together on a single day, but Gareth Swanepoel relished his role as Molson leader with podiums to start and end the year on his way to a solid platform for 2008 with fifth in the final standings.
Britain had a fair proportion of the gate every week, and Tom Church finally got through a season unhurt, his 100% record spoilt only by bureaucratic bumbling which sent him to the line for the wrong heat in Czecho, while Shaun Simpson bounced back from a series of knocks to firmly establish himself as a top-ten runner when the engine ran clean, and Jason Dougan also proved that he only needs to avoid those off-days to finally fulfil his promise.
Stephen Sword quickly silenced doubters on his return from a year out, but a week after missing the podium by a whisker in Czecho, the Scot was out again after smashing a foot at Namur in the shortest comeback of all-time.
Neither of the UK's new foreign imports had an easy time, Carlos Campano needing most of the season to shrug off his winter injuries, whilst Sean Hamblin also had a spell on the sidelines, but his main problem were his starts - you can't run up front if you are looking at 20 rear-wheels
leaving turn one!
Martin Barr made tremendous progress after finally
committing himself full-time to the correct class, even if he did have spasmodic unexplainable lapses in qualifying, while the UK's likely lads, Jake Nicholls and Elliott Banks-Browne, at least gained experience as they made the race a little more often.
And, to emphasis the depth of talent in the MX2 Maxxis, qualification was also a hurdle, which could be conquered for Ray Rowson and the Relentless trio of Lewis Gregory, Jamie Law and Alex Snow; with more opportunity they should also manage Beechers.
for full report and pictures see T+MX News, Friday, January 4, 2008