'From the Horse's Mouth #5

‘From the Horse’s Mouth recaps the mud, ruts and glory of those at the penultimate round of the G&G Ross Irish Motocross Championship at Seaforde, Co. Down

Robert Hamilton (Expert 1^st, 2^nd, 2^nd): “Today was another strong result for me. It was tough early on this morning when the track was muddy and sloppy. I knew the start would be important in the first race so I took the second gate from the inside. I got the hole shot , stayed in front and controlled things from there. Again I favoured the same gate for the second moto and it paid off with a hole shot. Gary Gibson got past me but I knew he hadn’t been racing all year so he wasn’t a threat for points. I kept the pressure on and when he crashed I just tried to hold on for the win. Missing three races at the beginning of the year has been tough so I’m just trying to get as many wins as I can and see what happens. Hopefully I’ll continue this good run of form until the season ends!”

Richard Bird (Expert 5^th, 2^nd, 1^st): “Pleased with today’s efforts! Unfortunately the opening race didn’t go to plan as I got collected in Davey’s crash but I managed to come back through to behind Tommy without goggles. I thought there was a gap to make a pass, I got tangled up and went down but regrouped for 4^th. Race two I started behind Robert and there I finished. It was very one-lined and I couldn’t find a way through. The final race I managed to find a gap and got out front to pull away for the win. It’s a good way to finish the day and help me focus towards next weekend’s Motocross of Nations. I’m really looking forward to that. I’m going to try my best and we’ve got a lot of support coming over for it too so I can’t wait to get going at it now!”

Tommy Merton (Expert 3^rd, 3^rd, 3^rd): “For me the name of the game at the minute is just to be consistent and control my points lead as best I can. I did that today with three thirds. My speed was great in the second race and when I got a clear track I was able to close right up onto the back of Robert and Richard but with the way the track cut up it became very one-lined and without risking a silly pass there was no real way around them. Richard is my closest rival and he took some points back on me but I’ve still got 19 in hand. He still needs to win whereas I need to keep in the top three. It lessens the pressure on my shoulders a bit. It’s been a long year but with just one more round remaining hopefully things will go my way!”

David Gorman (Expert 4^th, 5^th, 5^th): “I started off this morning pretty good with second in qualifying. Coming into the first race, I thought I had the hole shot; I thought I was first but Gibson thought he was first too and with nowhere to go I grabbed way too much front brake and down I went. From dead last I gave it everything to come back to 4^th. Race two was fairly trouble free and I ended 5^th. Again in the final race I hit the deck in the first corner and had to come from last back to 5^th. I definitely made it hard on myself today, I’m still 4^th in MX1 but I’m hoping for 3^rd. I’ve still a round left to go in Gormanstown, I like that spot… sure it’s named after me, so it ain’t over yet!”

Ed Allingham (Expert MX2 2^nd, 1^st, 1^st): “I’m feeling happy with how I rode to today, I felt strong all day. Even though I crashed in both the first and last race I came right back up through the pack. The two wins in MX2 was nice but getting 4^th overall in race two was better! Everything is coming together well, I’m growing in confidence and today with Gordon Crockard helping me I learned a lot. He helped make a difference. I’ve also got picked to race the Under 21 team race in Belgium so that’s been a big bonus!”

John Meara (Expert MX2 1^st, 2^nd, 2^nd): “I felt I put in three strong rides today going 2:1:1 in MX2. It’s tough running an MX2 bike in the open race against the bigger bikes especially on these hills. The starts were crucial today and I managed to get three decent ones and pushed hard on the opening laps to make passes while everyone was bunched up. From a championship point of view I’ve closed the points gap from 24 down to 13 so with one round left it’s still all to play for!”

Ross Brown (Expert 9^th, 8^th, 10^th): “I’m still struggling with race fitness, I’m not yet over my broken wrist that sidelined me for most of the season. Towards the end of the race I’m getting arm pump and end up having to back it off a bit but I’m gradually getting there. I’d two bad starts in the opening race which didn’t help but in the last one I got away 5^th and held it for a few laps. Once I got up front I felt I had the speed to run up there, it’s just my race fitness that’s letting me down so I just need to keep building on that.”

Ross Brown is racing his way back into fitness...

Glenn McCormick (Semi Expert 2^nd, 1^st, 1^st): “Today probably couldn’t have gone much better with two wins. Even though it was wet this morning it was fun. As the track dried out the berms got more tacky and the lines worked in my favour. My starts were dialled in today, I hole shot the second race and won it well. In the last race I had a good battle early on with Andrew Gill for the lead but once I got past I was able to hold it to the flag.”

Gordon Clarke (Semi Expert 9^th, 5^th, DNF): “It was nice to give motocross a go instead on enduro. Actually, I nearly got the holeshot in race 1 but didn’t know where the corner was. I started turning left and everyone went right! Down I went, but managed to ride from last back to 9^th. Rookie mistake! Race two was better and rode for a solid 5^th. The final race was fairing even better. I was running third and having a good fight until I washed out the front end on a slick off-camber and went down hard. Overall though it’s been good fun, I’m not used to banging bars and defending lines but enjoyed the racing today.”

Chris Lappin's leading the Clubman MX1 points chase

Andrew McKee (Clubman MX2 Champion): “Coming into today the nerves were at me slightly. You think of all the little things that could happen, like the bike breaking and other stuff like that! I just tried to block that out of my head and treat it like a normal race. I focused on each race as they came and it worked out for the better, two wins and a second let me wrap up the championship today so I couldn’t have asked for better really… roll on the prize giving!”

Chris Lappin (Clubman MX1 2^nd, 3^rd, 1^st): “It turned out pretty good today despite the conditions. In practice the track was actually ok when it was still very wet and fresh but once the first race turned around it was a different story. It was very difficult with the claggy mud; some riders were stuck on the hills too which really added to it! Race two I finished third. In the last race I got a bad start but got a lucky break when the leaders crashed and I took the win. I came here behind in the points chase and now I’m leading it. It’s still all to play for between me and Marty so we’ll have to see how things go in Gormanstown!”

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