Billy Mackenzie narrowly missed out on equalling KRT’s best MX1 moto finish with the potent KX450F-SR this afternoon at a demanding Bellpuig circuit in Catalonia for the Grand Prix of Spain and the second round of fifteen in the 2007 Motocross World Championship. The Scot completed 15 of the 19 laps of the second moto in second position behind runaway winner Josh Coppins but was baulked by backmarkers on two occasions during the final stages and was caught by several riders who relegated the 23 year old to fifth.
The Spanish event, attended by 22,300 people, was a tale of two sets of weather and two different tracks. The riders of the MX1 class were not unleashed onto the circuit until Sunday morning as Saturday’s practice and Timed Practice sessions were cancelled after a heavy period of rainfall beginning on Friday. The large amounts of water tested the drainage of the track to the full and meant that the FIM were obliged to abandon any activity to save the terrain from irreparable damage. Sunday’s warm-up sessions became a 40 minute period of qualification and left little time to fine-tune set-up. Mackenzie and Leok immediately got down to business however and the Estonian grabbed his second career pole position while Mackenzie was eighth.
By the time of the Grand Prix motos in the afternoon the grey skies had been replaced by sunshine and the temperatures climbed to the low 20s. The track began to dry immediately and instead of the boggy mess in the morning it became bumpy with many long and deep ruts. Overtaking was difficult and made a positive start to the races even more crucial.
Mackenzie may have taken the team’s best finish with his fifth position but the current British Championship leader had a wretched first moto. He lost front wheel traction over a low jump while holding third place on the first lap and then hit the dirt a further four more times trying to get back in contention for a decent haul of points. He would finish in twentieth.
Tanel Leok was seventh overall with results of ninth and seventh but also fell more than once in a slippery first moto and then fought to recover from a mediocre start and a few lacklustre opening laps to pull through the field in Moto2.
“Today was alright but it could have been better,” the 21 year old said. “It started well with pole position although in the first race I crashed on the second lap and also went down on the last lap but still finished ninth. My start was not so good in the second race and it was hard to find my rhythm early on. People were passing me but by the end I was re-taking positions. My speed was OK.”
Mackenzie meanwhile showed that he has the speed and the confidence to run at the front of the premier-class despite being only his second MX1 Grand Prix with the team.
“It has not been the best weekend,” he commented. “The first race was terrible. I could not stop crashing and stalled the bike once. I just could not get it together. It felt like the bike wasn’t that balanced so we made a few suspension and gearing changes between the motos. In the second race I was second for most of the moto. I had watched the MX2 boys before and had seen some good lines and used them. I was cruising around very relaxed and enjoying it. I got the pit-board telling me that Nagl was three seconds behind so I put a bit of a spurt on but the next lap a backmarker was right in my line on the step-up and I could not do the jump. From then on they were right with me.
I was holding them off for a few laps and even started to get away a little bit when the same thing happened again. I was coming out of a corner and sticking to my lines but a backmarker was there again. I couldn’t change lines because the track was so rutty. I was gutted. I think it was the last three laps and they were all in their own race, pushing each other on and working out new lines while I still had to go on my own way. By the time I could react it was over. I am still learning about this class and maybe next time with a gap like that I will be a bit more adventurous but I was also still reeling from that first moto and didn’t feel like taking more risks. It was not a question of fitness and running second to Coppins I felt like I could ride that pace all day. Hopefully if I keep getting off the start like I am then the podium won’t be too far away.”
Kawasaki Racing Team now stay in Spain and will slowly make their way across the country and down to the town of Agueda for the Grand Prix of Portugal next weekend. Mackenzie and Leok will enter round three of the series holding 12th and 8th positions respectively in the formative World Championship standings.
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