Team KTM UK’s Shaun Simpson was in outstanding form at the fifth round of the Maxxis British Motocross championship as he not only set the fastest time during qualifying and led every lap on his way to a double moto victory but also took the MX2 championship lead from fellow Scotsman Stephen Sword.
The Desertmartin circuit in Northern Ireland was in prime condition for the fifth round of the eight round championship despite poor weather conditions doing their best to dampen spirits on the day. The sandy, jump-filled circuit proved to be a real test for Britain’s best riders especially as it got much rougher later in the day.
Qualifying in first place on his KTM 250 SX-F ahead of former British Champ Carl Nunn and local hero Martin Barr, Simpson made his intentions to dominate on the day clear from the very beginning. Holeshotting both races Shaun was the only MX2 rider to post sub two-minute lap times during either race on the rough, technical circuit as he raced away from the pack to take a well-deserved overall win.
Now leading the championship by nine points with just three rounds remaining Simpson sits in prime position to take his and the team’s first major championship victory.
In the MX1 class team rider James Noble battled hard all day and although he finished on the podium in both races felt he could have done better. Riding a little tight in moto one the Yorkshireman fought hard for third place, finishing behind first time British Championship moto winner Ray Rowson and Wayne Smith.
Moto two saw James improve to second place although a mid-race crash stopped him from pushing on for the moto win. Finishing second overall on the day behind Smith, the Desertmartin round has been James’ best so far this year as he recovers from a nasty early-season dose of pneumonia.
With current series leader Billy MacKenzie missing the Desertmartin round due to injury, James is now just 23 points shy of the lead with six motos – two each at Foxhill, Brampton and Hawkstone Park – left to run.
The KTM UK team’s third rider Alex Snow qualified well in eighth position in MX2 but from there his luck took a big downward turn. Technical problems in moto one and a crash in moto two meant the current Under-21 series leader was only able to add five more points to his championship tally and slipped a spot in the series standings to 12th.
The next outing for Team KTM UK’s Shaun Simpson and James Noble will be at round eight of the Motocross World Championship on June 29 at Teutschental in Germany. While his teammates are on international duty Alex Snow will travel to Hawkstone Park where he’ll be looking to increase his championship lead in the under-21 series.
Roger Magee – KTM UK Team Manager
“I’m delighted Shaun was able to take over the lead in the MX2 championship by winning both races today, obviously the previous leader Stephen Sword was riding injured but that’s racing. Shaun’s now got a nine point lead in the championship with three rounds left – he rides Foxhill and Brampton very well and has already proved how fast he is around Hawkstone Park this season. “In MX1 James had a good day and is now only 23 points behind Billy MacKenzie so that means it’s game on for the win in that class too.“Alex Snow was a little unlucky today. He had a good qualifying session, a technical problem in moto one and a couple of crashes second time out.”
Shaun Simpson – MX2 1-1
“It feels good to lead the championship. Obviously I didn’t want to take over the lead just because Stephen was injured but you’ve got to be in it to win it as they say. Fair play to Stephen for even riding today because last week I thought he wasn’t going to be able to ride. I came here today looking to win both races and to leave with the championship lead and I’m definitely really happy to have done that.“In the first race the track was real easy – it was still quite smooth, there weren’t that many lines and everyone was going pretty much the same speed. In the second race it was much rougher, it had dried out and was more of a riders track – overall it was pretty good.
“I took the holeshot in moto one but Martin Barr passed me on the first lap. I passed him straight back and led every lap. The second moto was the perfect race for me – I got the holeshot and checked out and that was it job done.
“For the championship, today has been good for me and I’ve made up the points I lost at round one when my fuel line was split by a rock. Now I expect it will be a good battle between Stephen and myself in the last three rounds – it should be exciting for the spectators.”
James Noble – MX1 3-2
“I’ve been struggling with my first motos all year with a lot of arm pump and I’ve been struggling to find a rhythm and today was no different, I finished third which wasn’t too bad and beat my closest competitors in the championship which is important. Things went a little bit better in moto two than in the first race but I had a little crash, which stopped me from battling with Wayne Smith who was out front today.
“The track wasn’t great today, it was a little bit fast and when it got rough it was rough in a gnarly, scary way and a few of the jump take-offs were a bit nasty. It just seems to get faster and faster every time we go there and it’s getting less enjoyable to ride every year – it’s just getting worn out.“Overall today I’m reasonably happy because I beat Brad, Jonesy and TC today and that’s good for me in the championship as I’ve managed to pull away from them a little bit.”
Results
MX1 Series Standings
1 Billy MacKenzie (Honda) 200 points, 2 James Noble (KTM) 177, 3 Brad Anderson (Suzuki) 166, 4 Mark Jones (Kawasaki) 160, 5 Tom Church (Kawasaki) 157, 6 Wayne Smith (Yamaha) 157, 7 Mark Eastwood (Honda) 108, 8 Mark Hucklebridge (Kawasaki) 98, 9 Bryan MacKenzie (Kawasaki) 88, 10 Kenneth Gundersen (Yamaha) 78
MX2 Series Standings
1 Shaun Simpson (KTM) 207 points, 2 Stephen Sword (Kawasaki) 198, 3 Martin Barr (Yamaha) 181, 4 Carl Nunn (Suzuki) 127, 5 Jason Dougan (Suzuki) 124, 6 Neville Bradshaw (Honda) 120, 7 Elliot Banks-Browne (Suzuki) 112, 8 Marcus Norlen (Suzuki) 102, 9 Mel Pocock (Yamaha) 82, 10 Lewis Gregory (Suzuki) 81… 12 Alex Snow (KTM) 72
All riders highlighted in red rely on Moto-Master products.
Podium at Desertmartin: Left to right; Martin Barr, Shaun Simpson, Carl Nunn
Shaun Simpson is a star on the rise within KTM
Images courtesy: Ray Archer |
