It's all over. The fat lady sang. With an absolutely beautiful and sunny weekend the Maxxis British Motocross Championship came to a close at the iconic Hawkstone Park venue in Shropshire. The weekend kicked off for everyone with a party hosted by an energy drinks company, after which everyone crawled into bed and woke up to yet another beautiful day and the final round of the 2008 season.
ARB Tuning Kawasaki's two MX1 riders Mark Jones and Jamie Lewis qualified in fourth and twenty-first, after which both had several hours of a break before their first race at one o' clock. Both riders put a solid effort into their first race, Mark starting his in seventh and Jamie running just outside the top fifteen into the first lap. Mark's efforts rewarded him with a steady rise to fourth, moving up a position every three laps or so. Jamie had a slightly tougher time, making good progress in the first few laps before getting stuck behind Alex Rockwell and Gordon Crockard with arm pump. A position just outside the top ten was the end result.
After another two hours of rest, both riders went out again for their final race of the season. While the championship was decided in the first go-around, all was not lost and precious points could still be awarded. Both riders had better starts in the second race; Mark was out of the gate in fourth and Jamie in ninth. Both again made good progress, but it was Mark this time who dropped the bike and struggled to get it going again, frustratedly watching two thirds of the pack go by. Jamie posted his best yet season finish by ending in sixth behind Bryan MacKenzie, while Mark wrung every bit of power out of the bike to improve the twenty-sixth position he had been dealt. Reeling in first three and two positions per lap, progress slowed to one position a lap in the latter stages of the race.
The day result saw Jamie in tenth overall, while Mark snuck into the top fifteen in twelfth. The season standings see Mark retain his fourth place in the championship, while Jamie's brilliant result in the second race catapulted him into a tie for tenth with second race winner Ray Rowson.
Mark Bishop, team owner, was enthusiastic about the final round. "Shame about Mark's mishap, but he got fourth in the championship. Jamie got a joint tenth, and we're very pleased with Jamie's second race, a sixth, for his best result this season. Overall it's been a good season and we've enjoyed the day, especially with this lovely weather."
With the season over, this spells goodbye from the team. ARB Tuning Kawasaki will provide support to Team Lithuania's Vytautas Bucas at the Motocross of Nations at Donington Park this coming weekend, after which the team will disband.
