Snow and freezing conditions couldn't stop ARB Tuning Kawasaki from achieving one of its goals at the second round of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship this past weekend - a podium.
With Easter morning dawning with snow in the air, the team's two riders qualified in the top fifteen; Mark Jones in third and Jamie Lewis in thirteenth. The first race saw Mark remain in second behind Billy MacKenzie throughout while Jamie, riding with a suspected fractured big toe sustained in qualifying, looked to make a good impression in the top fifteen. However, his injury started making shifting difficult and painful on the rutty and tough circuit, and he slipped back to end in twenty-first.
The second race also looked to be a corker for Mark, while Jamie, very much in pain, had to pull out after the sighting lap. Good manoeuvring allowed Mark to take his start and turn it into another second place, before jumping a rut and crashing. Restarting in fifth, Mark returned to fourth soon after, keeping the competition at bay for a fourth place and tying in points with Brad Anderson. Race position broke the tie, with Mark in third overall for the day.
This outstanding result means that ARB Tuning Kawasaki again is the highest-scoring Kawasaki team in the MX1 class for the day, and remains the highest-scoring Kawasaki team in the championship for the class.
Team owner Mark Bishop enthused: "It's been an excellent day today with a third overall. It's a shame about Jamie's injury, but I'm chuffed to bits with Mark's third overall, it's been a long time coming."
The team's next race will be Round 3 of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship at Torrington in Devon on April 13, which will include the second round of the MXY2 class and the return of the third member of the team, Vytautas Bucas.
