Muddy conditions greeted ARB Tuning Kawasaki and its competitors at the third round of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship at Waggadon Farm in Devon this past weekend. Delayed on arrival on Saturday to let the paddock area dry out, the team settled in to more rain overnight. As a result the racing was delayed by an hour on Sunday morning as well to allow the track to solidify somewhat, a decision that was once again undone by another heavy shower during MX2 qualifying practice.
The team MXY2 rider, Vytautas Bucas, qualified well in sixth in tough company. Jamie Lewis and Mark Jones in the MX1 class qualified in eleventh and thirteenth respectively, Mark having had trouble with his gearbox throughout the practice session.
Vytautas posted a solid performance in his two races; the first was marred by a crash and some bike trouble that set him back from a very strong position in thirteenth, the second showing much promise with a move to tenth in the second lap and a return to twelfth after another get-off, for a top twenty result on the day and in the championship.
Jamie suffered a puncture in the first race while in tenth, which brought his race to a slippery halt, but the second race more than made up for this with a solid run in eleventh for the majority of the race and an end in the top ten. A top fifteen on the day keeps Jamie in the top fifteen in the championship.
Mark continued his strong performance from Canada Heights with a start in second in the first race, to which he returned in the last lap after a small crash early in the race. The second race was a race for time as another crash left Mark with twisted bars in last. Moving up the pack in leaps and bounds, Mark was able to return to seventh at the checkered flag, ending the day in fourth overall, and continuing to keep his place in second in the championship.
Team owner Mark Bishop declared himself satisfied with the day's results: "Another good day for us, Mark in fourth overall and second in the championship, so I'm very pleased. Jamie unfortunately had a puncture in the first race, but top ten in the second, and Vytautas having bike trouble in the first but a solid twelfth in the second race. So we're all happy."
The team next races at Dean Moor in Cumbria this coming weekend as part of the British Masters Motocross series, returning to the fourth round of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship on the Early May Bank Holiday weekend at Lyng in Norfolk.
