OThe second British Championship race was held this weekend at the Canada Heights circuit. The Gabriel SS25 KTM team entered Gyan Doensen and Oriol Oliver. With the MX2 race split into two groups again, both boys topped their qualifying groups, with Gyan in group 1 and Oriol in group 2.
Race one: Gyan had a good start and was at the forefront of the battle for the lead, but unfortunately the race was stopped due to a fallen rider. Oriol didn’t have the best start but was in the top 10 when he crashed with another rider and another crash, which caused a bent front brake disc, which caused him to finish 17th as the race could not be restarted.
Race two: Oriol took the holeshot and rode a calculated race, gradually pulling away from second place. He won by 29 seconds. A tougher race for Gyan, who tried to break through from outside the top 20 at the start, which earned him an 8th place.
Gyan finished the day in 4th place overall and Oriol in 6th place.
Oriol: “It was nice to race in Spain on Saturday and in the British on Sunday. I got those 5 points in the qualifying series and flew to the race in Canada Heights. I was impressed by how well the track was prepared and by all the people there. I got pole position but the first moto didn’t go as planned after some unfortunate situations. But in that second moto we could at least show what we can do and it was a good feeling to win it. I even tried some new things on the bike because the track was similar to the GP, so I got some positive things out of it and I’m looking forward to the next rounds.”
Oriol Oliver
Gyan: “Canada Heights is over, the second round of the British Championship. I finished the day fourth overall with 2-8 in the motos. In the first moto I had a really good start but Tommy pushed me wide in the first corner, so I was second and I was fighting with him the whole time, but then the race was flagged. That was a shame because I think I had the speed and fitness to win that moto, but it was a positive moto, just a shame it wasn’t restarted. In the second moto I had a really bad start, I think I was outside the top 20 in the first few corners and I moved up to 8th. I did pass for 7th but lost it straight away. Unfortunately another mixed weekend, but we’ll be back for the next races and thanks to my team and everyone around me.”
Team Manager Shaun Simpson: “It was a bitter pill to swallow last weekend at Canada Heights as we had the two fastest riders in the MX2 class but no podiums overall. It was great to see Gyan out front in the first moto and pushing for the win before the red flag, and Oriol showed his true class in the second moto to win by 30 seconds. But consistency is what wins you championships and we didn’t have that again this weekend. We need to work on the starts of both riders to put ourselves in a better position at the start of the race. The start is more important than ever before and it has been very inconsistent for our riders recently. There is still a long way to go in the British Championship with six rounds to go, but I can’t help but be frustrated after this weekend’s races as I really feel we should have been first and second overall.
We will continue to work with the riders to improve our weak points and come back next weekend to fight another day in France.”
JHMX-photo
