Nicholls back in the fold with French GP points

HM Plant Red Bull KTM UK were briefly at full strength for the first time this season in the FIM Motocross World Championship and Jake Nicholls rode to a decent 11^th position overall at a stuffy St Jean D’Angely for the Grand Prix of France and round five of fifteen. Despite the return of the talented youngster after recovering from a broken ankle and after three weeks of training and prep the team were hit by fresh misfortune when a first moto crash by Graeme Irwin saw the teenager hospitalised. Examinations revealed four broken vertebrae and the Northern Irishman will soon be moved to a medical unit inParis.

32,000 spectators flocked to St Jean – site of the 65^th Motocross of Nations this coming September – and the rough hillside circuit was typically demanding and forced riders to fiercely concentrate throughout the entire duration of the 35 minute and 2 lap motos. The varying grip levels of the French dirt caught out some of the fastest riders in the world throughout the weekend.

Nicholls took his time finding his way back into the frantic and intense pace of Grand Prix racing and gave the members of the team an extra spring in their step with his typical fortitude. Two mediocre starts on a humid day of racing on Sunday pushed the Englishman to the fringes of the top ten and he completed a solid comeback to world championship duty with 11^th and 13^th positions.

Team-mateJordanBooker was 23^rd in both sprints and is increasing his speed to get near the points-scoring zone. He suffered from three crashes in the first moto and a dire getaway from the line in the second but applied himself to the task in-hand.

Graeme Irwin’s race-day lasted only minutes before a high-speed get-off down one of the steep St Jean descents saw him pitched into the ground from his 350SX-F. The Irishman was conversing with the team in hospital and the prognosis was good, although the recovery time from this latest setback is still too early to estimate.

Round six of the FIM series will take place next weekend at Agueda for the Grand Prix of Portugal.

Jake Nicholls:

“It was great to be back and nice to be at the races. I have been riding for three weeks now but it was still a shock to the system. I have worked hard but you can’t fully get ready for a GP especially around a track like this. Every Grand Prix is tough but everyone I’ve spoken to says that this has been the hardest track so far this season. Average starts cost me better results today, which I’m a bit annoyed about but to leave with an 11^th and 13^th I cannot really complain at my first GP of the year. I was too nice out there and didn’t have enough snap to make good moves but I enjoyed being back with the team and getting them back up there.”

Jordan Booker:

“It was a bit up and down. My first start was not too bad. I was mid-pack which is where I want to be but I ended-up colliding with someone in the first turn and washed out. I started coming back through not too badly but then lost the front end stupidly. I reached 23^rd position twice and that is where I finished. It was one of those races where a decent start and good first laps would have meant points and I just couldn’t do that today. My jump from the gate in the second race was terrible. I was dead-last around the first corner and then started to work my way up to 23^rd again where I found myself in a lonely spot with no-one around me.”

Roger Magee, Team Principal:

“It was really encouraging to see Jake back on the track and he rode a sensible grand prix, not getting too carried away and just finding his feet again. Jordan was on the edge of the points and seems to be getting closer all the time. Graeme was unlucky with his crash and while it is a hefty injury we hope he can recover in good time. In hospital he had found his sense of humour and once he is moved to Paris then we should be able to know more about immediate plans.”