the opening MX2 race Nicholls fired away from the start and was at the front of the pack with Shaun Simpson into the first turn. Ken Roczen and Simpson managed to edge their way past the 19-year-old before the end of the first lap, but the HM Plant Red Bull KTM UK rider concentrated on settling into a good rhythm and being consistent aboard his KTM 250 SX-F.

On lap three of the 25-minute plus two-lap moto Nicholls was able to take advantage of Simpson crashing, and took up second place, although as he put the pressure on, arm-pump towards the middle of the race caused the KTM pilot to drop back a few positions resulting in a solid fifth place finish.

Meanwhile Irwin had recovered from a steady start and was up in eighth position, when he crashed and lost some time. Thankfully unscathed, the KTM rider fought his way through the race to finish in 14th place.

In the second race both riders got good starts with Nicholls in second and Irwin in fourth by the end of lap one. Nicholls, who had refined his set-up for the second moto, rode hard and fought Dennis Verbruggen in the closing stages for what looked to be sure of a second-place finish. However, after a spectacular last lap battle, Nicholls lost out on the final corner of the race and was forced to settle for third position while scoring a superb podium finish in the process.

Irwin, who is recovering from a recent shoulder injury, also rode a strong race after a number of falls in the opening stages of the moto around the notoriously difficult Hawkstone Park track, and after dropping back to fifteenth while struggling to find his rhythm, the 18-year-old Irishman finished in twelfth place to secure fifteenth position overall.

HM Plant Red Bull KTM UK now heads to Foxhill for the opening round of the Red Bull Pro National series next weekend.
 
Jake Nicholls #45: 3rd Overall
“Today has been really good, as I came here aiming to be in the top seven, so finishing on the podium is great. Qualifying went well, although the track was frozen a little to start with and I put two good laps in early on. I was third, but dropped back a few places to end up sixth, which I was happy enough with. In the first race I got a good start, in fact I pretty much holeshotted with Shaun Simpson close by. He got past me with Roczen and started to pull away, so I just rode my own race. When Simpson crashed it gifted me second, so I put some pressure on myself, got a little arm pump, then just had to ride it out to the end to finish fifth, which was okay.  In the second race I got a fairly good start; I made a few moves and was in third on the first lap. I moved up to second and rode the whole race tight. Dennis Verbruggen kept catching me and then I’d pull away; the track was rough, so it was hard to be consistent. He caught me on the last lap and we had a good battle, but he just got me on the last corner. I wasn’t happy about that but knew I’d done enough for the podium so overall we had a successful day.”

Graeme Irwin #555: 15th overall
“In qualifying I ended up 13th, which wasn’t the best and it wasn’t a perfect lap, although I was happy enough because I knew I could do more. It took a while to get back into sand riding mode, as I’ve not don’t so much of it so far this year. In the first race I got a bad start and worked my way through to eighth. I felt I had a good rhythm and things were going well when I took a big crash and ended up 14th, but thankfully I was just a bit bruised. I got a mega start in the second race into second place, then fourth by the end of the first lap. It was all a bit downhill from there, as I struggled having had little bike time recently due to an injured shoulder. I dropped back a long way, but managed to fight back to a top twelve after a big push in the last few laps. We’ve got a lot of work to do, and now the shoulder is feeling a little better I’ll be working hard this week to come out next week stronger.”

HM Plant Red Bull KTM UK Team Manager: Roger Magee
“Today has been another good day for the HM Plant Red Bull KTM UK team with Jake finishing on the podium after two solid rides. Graeme rode consistently after a few crashes, and came through in the second race to finish top twelve. Both riders were advised not to push the boat out, as it can be quite gnarly at Hawkstone and it caught a lot of people out today. We use this event as a warm-up for the main championships we compete in to get the riders into race mode, but I’m happy with the result. Next week we’ll be heading to Foxhill for the first Red Bull Pro National event with the complete team”


HM Plant Red Bull KTM UK would like to thank its sponsors:  HM Plant, Hitachi Construction Machinery, Red Bull,  KTM, Trucks ‘R’ Us, Motorex, Tourism Ireland, Fox Racing, Race-World.com, Bott, Motorpoint, Pirelli, Cholwill Plant and Equipment Hire, Cycra, Venhill, FMF, Volleberg Motorsport, Renthal, Edward J Magee, Press commercial bodyworks, Wiseco, TwinAir, EBC Brakes, Silent Sport Premium, Pro Carbon Racing, NGK, CTi, Samco Sport, GSPMX, Petersen Racing, Pulse Racing Products, Empire logo mats, High5 and Stolen Bike Co.