They say that talent will always rise to the top, and just like the Brazils in a bag of mixed nuts, Jeffrey Herlings and Antonio Cairoli did exactly what everyone expected them to in Valkenswaard, grabbing the top steps of the podium yet again in front of a capacity crowd. But neither of them had anything like the easy time they might have expected, with the two champions having to blast their way through the pack in both races to eventually claim the wins.

MX2
Thanks to his disqualification in the qualifying race on Sunday, Herlings started from the extreme right of the start gate, and with the first corner consisting of a left / right chicane, it was always going to be tough to get a good start. It was his KTM team mate Jordi Tixier that got out in front, with Max Anstie in a brilliant second place for the first six laps. Herlings got by on the seventh lap and had his sights set on the 911 bike ahead of him. But Jeffrey was not the only KTM on a mission and Jake Nicholls made swift progress from his first lap seventh place, climbing up to a fantastic fourth by lap five.

In the press conference the day before Herlings had said he’d only manage to get to the front ten minutes before the end, but in fact he managed to overhaul Tixier with eleven minutes to go before the 2 lap board went out. From that moment little changed with Anstie too far ahead for Nicholls to have a chance to overtake the fellow Brit, and Herlings gapping Tixier by a comfortable margin by the time the chequered flag was waved.

The race 2 start left Herlings with far more to do, his outside gate leaving him way back in the middle of the pack at the first turn. It was Tixier yet again that had the speed to hit the front ahead of qualifying winner Glen Coldenhoff and Jake Nicholls who was on blistering form. Nicholls speed was good enough to get past Coldenhoff by lap four, but at the same time Herlings was slicing through the pack like a serial killer. Anstie was having a harder time of it and his chance of the podium he might have hoped for was looking decidedly slim. Elliott Banks Brown must have had a hell of a pep talk between motos, managing to convert a 36th place finish into seventh place by the sixth lap, a position he would keep until the end. Herlings got past Nicholls with six laps to go, and was able to jump past Tixier on the top part of the circuit three laps later.

Nicholls strong performance was enough to land the Nestaan KTM rider on the third step of the podium for the overall, and in the press conference you could see just how much the achievement meant. His third place was at the expense of Anstie in fourth, and with Pocock grafting his way to seventh overall it was a good day for Team GB.

But the GP belonged to Herlings, and the fact that he had to work hard to get there was so much better than the whitewash we might have expected.

MX1
Predictions had Cairoli to walk this one, and with an inside gate pick thanks to a strong qualifying position, you had to think it would be a cakewalk for the six time champ. But Ken DeDycker and Evgeny Bobryshev had other ideas, pushing Cairoli hard in the first moto, Ken briefly snatching the lead for a brief two laps in the middle of the moto. But the astonishing result came from Tanel Leok, keeping his privateer MVRD Honda in fourth place from the start to the finish of the race. The top ten saw hard battles between Nagl, Paulin, Strijbos, Philippaerts and Searle with Tommy the coming out the worst of the fight. Second place in the Championship Clement Desalle had a nightmare start to the race, clouting the bank in the first chicane to leave him buried in fifteenth by the end of the first lap. The Suzuki rider had to use all his energy to pull back his eventual eighth place finish.

Cairoli got the win in front of Bobryshev and De Dycker to leave things on track for the second outing.

From the off in Race two, it was clear that DeDycker had the bit between his teeth for a home win, smashing Bobryshev’s first lap lead and going on to dominate the race in fantastic fashion. Cairoli had a poor start yet again, leaving him to fight his way forward past an extremely fast top five. Kevin Strijbos was on a mission too, squeezing past the Honda rider to hold second place for nearly half the race before Cairoli came knocking.

Ken’s lead looked unassailable with the win very much a formality, but AC222 was not going to let the win go without a fight, clocking in frighteningly fast laps in pursuit of the leader.

On the last lap, DeDycker was already celebrating as he crossed the jump by the Monster Hospitality Stand, clearly unaware that Cairoli was within a few bike lengths behind. But Ken’s luck would hold, crossing the line in front of Cairoli by a whisker, his joy evident from the enormous, if slightly ungainly Nac-Nac he pulled in celebration.

But the overall win was Cairoli’s, his 1/2 scores beating DeDycker by two points to give him the top step and maintain his championship lead. Bobryshev got the final position on the box, taking him to seventh in the world championship and no doubt giving Honda’s Roger Harvey something to smile about.

With Natalie Kane getting an overall third to add to Jake’s achievement, this was a good day for the Brits and a cracking Grand Prix.

Next stop Italy in two weeks’ time….

Words by Julian Challis
Images by Ray Chuss

Great to hear Estonian Gert Krestinov is back racing in the UK with a new team, Apico Ansatech Kawasaki.

With the demise of the Rob Hooper’s Suzuki team Gert was searching for a ride which would help him continue racing here in the UK, thankfully Kawasaki stepped forward with an offer.

“I have known Gert for some time” said Team Green Coordinator, Ross Burridge. “I’ve got a lot
of respect for his riding style and single-minded commitment to success.
Off the back of a superb year in 2012, I am confident that he can be back on the podium in
2013. Sure it has been a rush putting together a deal with the team, but I am sure they will put
all their considerable skill behind Gert and steer him to renewed success”

Rob Hooper’s Suzuki team will not take part in this year’s Maxxis British championship due to sponsorship issues.

Lewis Gregory, Stuart Edmonds, Gert Krestinov and Jamie Skuse now have a couple of months before the start of the new outdoor season to find rides. The press release appeared online late last night only a day or so after the official photo shoot by Ray Archer. By the tone of the release one sponsor promised backing and pulled out at the last minute leaving Rob and his team devastated and unable to compete this year.

Press Release:

It is with regret that Rob Hooper’s team has had to withdraw from competitive racing in 2013 due to financial constraints.
The team had been promised substantial sponsorship which has not materialized, and Rob has decided not to carry on in 2013. Rob would like to thank all his other sponsors who have stood by him for the 2013 season, including Apico, Suzuki, MX Zone, Maxxis Tyres, Putoline Oil, K Tech Langcourt, The Heritage Company, Samco, Venhill and Pro Carbon.

Rob Hooper: “It would not be fair for our team and sponsors to try and carry on through the season without the financial stability we really believed would be available to us in 2013. I have taken this decision now as it’s only fair to the excellent riders I had lined up to try to get a ride with other teams. I’d like to personally thank every one of my riders, mechanics and sponsors for their support over the years and wish them luck with their future racing”.

Image by Ray Archer

Crazy season has kicked off again and to be honest it probably isn’t that crazy.

Hooper Suzuki to return with two new 450 riders with sources suggesting its Gert Krestinov and Stuart Edmonds.

Neil Prince looks set to run with Suzuki and one rider heavily mentioned is Graeme Irwin to ride the RMZ250 in MX2, talk a few weeks back Graeme was leaving MBO Yamaha for KTM UK but that now looks on the back burner.

Martin Barr is still not found a team as far as we know, but a possible move back to MX2 could be on the cards.

More as it comes through on the MOTO-BAT phone…

Bleary-eyed from a tough weekend at the 66th Motocross of Nations at Lommel, Route77energy MVR-D Honda made the last trek of the year to Little Silver just outside Exeter this past weekend. Although harsh weather was forecast, things changed in time to leave the hillside venue with perfect conditions for one last chance to make up some more points for both MX1 riders of the team.

Qualifying on Sunday morning saw Jason Dougan qualify in sixth with team-mate Gert Krestinov in eighth, positions that were unchanged after the super-pole.

Dougan’s first race was a roller-coaster ride. Downed at the start, he soon found himself just outside the points, but issues stemming from several more crashes needed a pitstop to rectify, which in turn dropped him back into the back of the pack. Determined to finish the race in the points, Dougan put everything he had into the race and leap-frogged his way to twentieth, then to sixteenth where he was unable to quite reach his rival in fifteenth as the chequered flag waved.

In the second race, order was restored with a great start in fifth. From here, Dougan found himself embroiled in a battle with returned class rival Brad Anderson, reeling him in but time once again running out for a fourth in the race. With the first two races tallied up, Dougan was still ninth overall, putting him through into the super-final race at the end of the day. But here things ended in disaster. First down in the first corner, and then, after a restart, caught up in a crash fest after the second corner, Dougan was forced to retire with a severely bruised hand, ending his race before he’d even gotten started, leaving him in twelfth overall on the day. All was not lost as Dougan moved up to eleventh in the championship.

For Krestinov, the day’s proceedings were entirely the opposite. Off the first race start in front of the majority of the pack, he was forced to settle into a steady rhythm, keeping at bay KTM’s Jamie Law for much of the race. A small opening cost him a position, ending the race in eighth. In the second race, a mid-pack start was soon followed up by a fast and furious chase during which rival after rival was picked off. With a third of the race to go, Krestinov re-entered the top ten, continuing to pick off rivals as he went, ending the second race in seventh for a comfortable seventh start in the super-final.

The super-final’s format and the restart set Krestinov up perfectly for a great start. Eighth around the first lap, he soon settled into a good rhythm and displaced Alex Snow for fourth, wedged between MX1 class champion Kevin Strijbos and MX2 title contender Mel Pocock. The fourth gained in this race together with the other two race results gave Krestinov a fourth overall on the day, confirming his third place in the championship.

Commented team principal Mark Chamberlain: “It’s been so-so in all honesty, but I’m glad everyone’s come through it ok, Gert secured third in the championship so he’s done his job, which we are really pleased about. Thank you to him and the team, the mechanics and everyone else who’s been involved. That’s been a solid year for him. And it’s been a mixed day for Jason, he’s been up and down, had a good second race but crashed out of the last one. He’s ok and in one piece, that’s the main thing. Now we just put our head down for 2013.”

Gert Krestinov (#37): I was eighth in practice, and in the first race I had some trouble with my goggles and I couldn’t see anything, so the goggles came off and I had to settle for eighth. The second race wasn’t all that special and I got a seventh. In the last race I got a really good start, had really good lines and was able to make some passes and get a fourth. I’m sad I didn’t get to pass Strijbos on the last lap, I had him in sight but he passed me back, but fourth was good enough and fourth overall as well. I’m really happy with the season.

Jason Dougan (#17): I went down a couple of times in the first moto and had to make a pit stop, but managed to salvage some points for sixteenth. I had an average start in the second race but came through to fourth and was happy with the way I was riding. In the last moto got wiped out in turn two and bashed myself and the bike up, so DNF. It’s definitely not what I hoped for today, roll on 2013!

With bad weather forecast last weekend, Route77energy MVR-D Honda found itself setting up camp at Culham in Oxfordshire early on Saturday morning to take part in a reversed schedule for the final Red Bull Pro Nationals round. Also joining the team was MX2 rider Bradley Pocock, recently recovered from injury and chomping at the bit to get some bike time.

In the qualifying session, the team’s MX1 riders, Gert Krestinov and Jason Dougan, qualified in fourth and sixth respectively, positions that gave both a good start, while Pocock qualified in twelfth.

For Dougan, the first race was for the lack of a better expression, perfect. Into the lead within seconds, he kept at bay not only his class rivals, but also a very strong assault by MX2 class leader Graeme Irwin all the way to the end. The second race however got off to a horrific start. Off the track in the second corner and restarting in virtually last place, Dougan made amazing progress in the first two laps, only to find himself with a jammed back brake that resisted all efforts to unjam it. With Krestinov past him and the brake finally barely functional, Dougan felt it safer to return to the paddock rather than risk injury. Second result notwithstanding, Dougan ended the day in ninth.

Krestinov could not have wished for a better ending to his season. Holding a steady sixth place in the first half of his first race, Krestinov turned up the heat in the second half. In third with only a lap to go, he made a pass on runner-up Martin Barr to streak across the finish line in second. The second race was perfect. Escaping a second-corner melée, Krestinov took ruthless advantage of the chaos behind him to build up a sizeable gap. Untouchable throughout, Krestinov ended the race with a ten-second gap, taking the day overall and cementing his third place in the championship.

Pocock’s first race got off to an excellent start too. Fifth in the MX2 class after the first lap, Pocock kept the momentum going for several more laps before slipping back down the pack to end the race in thirteenth. The second race did not go to plan at all. After getting off the blocks in eighth after some initial mechanical gremlins, Pocock had a tough time battling against the larger 450cc bikes in the race, first slipping to tenth, then recovering to ninth. Then disaster struck. With the timer ticking down to the last few minutes, Pocock was unable to recover from a downhill swap and went down hard at the bottom of the hill, tweaking his knee in the process and not ending the race. A fifteenth overall was the end result.

With team principal Mark Chamberlain indisposed, brother and mechanic Gareth Chamberlain commented on the team’s performance at the end of the day: “The day started off really good, the first moto Jason and Gert were first and second and both rode really well. The second moto looked good again, they both got great starts, Jason just in front of Gert into the second turn, and someone else went into the turn a bit hot and ran into Jason, took Jason and himself out, and a couple of others, and Gert got away, which was good. He won that comfortably.

“Jason was coming through the pack really well, but unfortunately damaged the rear brake lever and bent it in under the case, so he had to stop and try to pull it out. He was unable to get his foot to the back brake really so he called it a day, which was a bit unfortunate. We’re just really happy that Gert got third in this championship after he started out injuring himself at the first round and struggled that day, and rode really well ever since to get third in the championship. Hopefully he can go to Little Silver in a couple of weeks and tie up third in that championship as well.”

Gert Krestinov (#37): First race started off slowly, but then I managed to get second by passing Martin Barr on the last lap, which I was really happy about, and in the second race my hope was to get a really good start, I focused on it and I did it. That was my first holeshot of the year! I just put some fast laps in and then I had a pretty big lead and it was hard to concentrate. When you don’t concentrate you make mistakes, but I really wanted to win this race and I did it and I’m happy.

Jason Dougan (#17): Started the day struggling, didn’t like the track, didn’t get a good time, but I knew that if I got the start, I could be good. In the first race I gated fourth, got up to second in the first lap and then passed Martin a lap or two later, got away a little bit and then struggled with arm pump, but managed to get the win, which I was happy with. Second race I got the holeshot, made a little mistake coming out of the first turn and let the others behind me get closer and then someone t-boned me in the second turn, went off the track and got going again and was going good, but then I caught my brake lever on something and it forced it under the case and it jammed on. By the time I got that straightened up I was getting lapped and that was it for the day.

Bradley Pocock (#321): Today started off alright, had a good qualifying, just steady away and had one fast lap, but I didn’t try all that hard, I just wanted to stay on two wheels. In the first race I got a really good start, followed Nathan Watson the whole way around, we both did the same sort of thing, then I passed up into fourth in the MX2. Cut to fourth lap and that was all my energy done, I’m not quite to race fitness at the moment, but you know, get there slowly, and I ended up dropping back a lot. I just rode my own race in the end. In the second race we had a bit of a dilemma. By the time I had my holeshot device done, there were no good gates left, so I was just winging it. Didn’t get a good start or anything, couple of people made mistakes and went down, ended up around the top ten area and a couple of people got past me in the end. Then I ended up coming down the hill, got a swap going and and tweaked my knee, and need to have that looked at.

RedBull runner-up for Route77energy MVR-D Honda’s Krestinov

Route77energy MVR-D Honda made the long journey back up to Shropshire on the Summer Bank Holiday weekend to not only represent the brand at Honda’s dealer day, but also to participate in the penultimate round of the Red Bull Pro Nationals this weekend, with the team’s rider Gert Krestinov wanting to build on his recent Dutch success.

On Sunday morning, Krestinov put down the third-fastest time in the MX1 class in his qualifying session, setting the bar for the remainder of his day. A veteran sand rider, Krestinov is at home on this circuit, and the start in fourth and a swift move into third in the first race showed that. Unfortunately, Krestinov was not able to make a pass for second stick, instead finding himself in a very lonely third with fourth far behind and the leaders several seconds ahead of him.

Promising himself to do better in the second race, Krestinov got off the gate even faster, soon finding himself in third again. A challenge to pass into second failed, but the Estonian was not done yet. Biding his time, he pounced again with but two laps to go, taking ruthless advantage of a mistake made by Martin Barr in second. Setting his sight on the lead, he closed the gap to leader Nicolas Aubin to a mere second before the chequered flag waved in the wind.

After taking the runner-up position on the podium, Krestinov now moves into third place in the championship with a good chance at second place at the last round.

Team principal Mark Chamberlain commented on the day: “Gert’s been in Belgium training all week and it shows. He’s put the effort in, but in the first race he wasn’t in touch with the guys in the front. In the second race in the first ten or so minutes he was in touch, then lost it. Then Barr made a mistake and Gert kept on him. That early work paid off by getting that spot, because if he hadn’t put that work in early, that opportunity wouldn’t have been there. I’m definitely happy with today, that was a good ride.”

Gert Krestinov (#37): In the first race I was pretty fast but in the middle I lost my rhythm and the guys got away a little bit. I was a bit slower than them and finished up third. In the second race I wanted to improve my result and I reached my goal and was second. Riding again was good in the beginning and I kept those guys in sight, but in the middle of the race I lost something again and my breathing wasn’t that good. Then I saw that Barr made a mistake and I realised that he wasn’t that fast, and so I made the pass with two laps to go, got second and second overall. It’s been a pretty good weekend, but there’s always room to improve.

Maxxis home round podium glory for Route77energy MVR-D Honda

Returning home from a strong weekend at Hawkstone Park, Route77energy MVR-D Honda stopped off at Langrish in Hampshire for the penultimate round of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship.

With Jason Dougan joining team-mate Gert Krestinov, qualifying got under way mid-morning. Dougan soon showed that while not one hundred percent fit yet, he was very much capable of sticking with his healthy rivals by qualifying in second, and then in the super-pole, snatching pole from Belgian leader Kevin Strijbos. Krestinov put in two consistent times, qualifying in the super-pole in seventh.

With qualifying out of the way, Dougan continued his assault on the pack with a stunner of a first race. Although no match for the Belgian, Dougan continued to dog Strijbos for much of the race, before coming under pressure from Grand Prix rival Shaun Simpson. With two laps to go, Simpson succeeded in passing Dougan, much to Dougan’s dismay. Hoping to continue on the high set by his first race, Dougan again came out of the gate in second, but a small incident with Simpson at the top of the hill cost him everything. Restarting in last, Dougan set to work again, gaining a few positions every lap and returning to the top ten at the chequered flag.

In the final race, Dougan found himself outgunned on the start. Chasing after Simpson for his third place, Dougan made some progress mid-race, only to find himself hunted down by his own team mate, and passed on the last corners by KTM-mounted Jamie Law. With a fifth place in his pocket and his previous race results, Dougan ended the day in fourth, six vital points off third place.

For Krestinov, Langrish was a completely new track to learn, and the Estonian relished the opportunity. Mid-pack around the start chicane, Krestinov patiently reeled in his rivals to move into eighth place with half a race to go. Bumping into some tough competition, he made only modest progress in the latter half, ending the race in seventh. Learning from the first race, Krestinov chose a better line and got off the start in fifth, moving into third shortly after. With leader Strijbos long gone, Krestinov set his sights on Simpson instead, reducing the gap between them to fourteen seconds, not nearly enough for second place.

Krestinov’s final race would be his best. Although outside the top five in the first lap, Krestinov again reeled in rival after rival, eventually squeezing past team mate Dougan for third and taking third overall on the day.

Team principal Mark Chamberlain declared himself very pleased: “Today went very well really. To be fair it was Gert’s first time here and Jason is not yet 100%, but I thought both rode really well. Gert improved throughout the day and he was on the pace in the last race of the day, and Jason was good in the first race, and the second one woulda-coulda-shoulda been good, but he came together with Simpson and it was a bit harsh, but that’s racing really. It messed Jason’s rhythm up a little bit for the last one; he tried a little too hard but overall I thought he’d done well. And a third and a fourth, we can’t complain at that.”

Gert Krestinov (#37): Langrish is a new track for me, so it was exciting for me to learn something new. As the day went on I got better every race. The last race was really good for me, I made some nice passes and got some really good lines and my goal was to get on the podium and I made it, so I’m really happy about it.

Jason Dougan (#17): Overall I’m happy with how I did. I got pole in qualifying, and in the first race my speed was good. I had a coming together with Simpson in the second race, went from last back to ninth and in the last race I just struggled. I had no energy left, I felt a bit sick today but yeah, fourth overall, not bad.

At the weekend, Route77energy MVR-D Honda joined British and foreign teams at the most hotly awaited event, the British Motocross Grand Prix at Matterley Basin. Billed by promoter Youthstream as the MXGP Festival, the weekend doubled the number of days of racing.

As is customary, the MX1 class qualified on Saturday after a free and a pre-qualifying practice session, in which sole enlisted rider Gert Krestinov qualified in twenty-third to begin with. The qualifying race later in the afternoon though mattered for the starting positions, and here, in roasting conditions, Krestinov got off to a good mid-pack start that led to a rise to fourteenth before tough competition and track conditions forced him back to eighteenth.

On Sunday morning, it was clear that the bright sunshine and already high temperatures would mean another tough day ahead. The first race got underway with Krestinov in twenty-second after the first lap. After settling into a rhythm, Krestinov made a move that propelled him into nineteenth, only to go down and lose the hard-fought positions. After restarting outside the top twenty, Krestinov fought back to end in seventeenth at the chequered flag.

The second race started disastrously. A damaged pair of goggles in the first lap after a rock strike required a pit-stop. Restarting in second-last, Krestinov battled his way forward only to struggle to close the gap between himself and the riders blocking his way into the top twenty. With the time ticking to zero and the one-lap board out, Krestinov ended the race in twenty-second, ending the day in twentieth overall and moving up into the top thirty of the world championship.

Commented team principal Mark Chamberlain: “It was an ok weekend for us. The competition out there is tough at the world level. The first race Gert ended in seventeenth from not a good start, so it was alright. In the second race, Gert’s goggles broke, they had a hole in the lens so he had to get them changed. You can’t get back into the points when you’re that far behind, but he tried nonetheless. All in all, it was an alright weekend, but it’s the British GP so we’re glad to be here.”

After several months of injury time, Route77Energy MVR-D Honda welcomed back team rider Jason Dougan to the Red Bull Pro Nationals championship at Canada Heights in Kent this past weekend. Rejoining colleague Gert Krestinov in the hunt for points, Dougan hoped to ease back into the game, but at the end of the day proved that he was more than prepared for his comeback.

The Red Bull Pro Nationals introduced a two-stage practice system for 2012, and in the free practice session first thing on Sunday morning saw both riders put in nearly identical times. In the qualifying session however, Krestinov put in the second-fastest time of the MX1 class, with Dougan some positions down in eighth.

After a heavy downpour passed through the area, the first Pro class race went to the line. Here Dougan was in his element, getting off the line and through the tight first corner in second. Holding his position throughout the race, Dougan built up an extensive lead over his nearest rival whilst attempting to keep his own distance to the leader to a minimum. In the second race, Dougan found himself restarting in last after going down on the start. A rapid move up the pack followed with Dougan making short work of several rivals a lap and returning to the top ten by half time. The pack spread out, progress was more modest in the second half of the race, with Dougan moving into seventh place and holding fast to the end of the race.

Krestinov’s races were virtually the opposite. In the first race, he struggled to get off the start, and with some equipment trouble, was not able to make as much progress as he would have liked. Several small crashes on the slippery clay surface cost him time and positions, but he was nonetheless able to make late gains to end the first race in seventh. The second race was near perfect. Off the start in third, Krestinov maintained his position from start to finish, ending the second race virtually where he started.

With the points totted up at the end of the day, Dougan ascended the podium in third overall with Krestinov in sixth, a mere two points adrift.

Team principal Mark Chamberlain was pleased with the result at the end of the day, commenting: “We’re very pleased with today’s results. Jason’s just come back from injury and to return with a podium is a great start. I’m very pleased to see him back up there. Gert also did well riding the way he did whilst suffering from the flu, and with only two points between him and Jason, it’s been a good race weekend.”

Jason Dougan (#17): Overall I’m happy with how I was riding and the result at the end of the day. Coming into today I wasn’t expecting anything really, I just came here to get two rides under my belt and my confidence to where it should be. So, I was a bit unlucky going down on the start in the second race, but I managed to get third overall, so I’m happy.

Gert Krestinov (#37): Coming into the weekend the prognosis was not so good because I fell ill on Wednesday. I came here to see what I could do, and I could make one fast lap in qualifying and was second. In the first race it was just so slippery and I had some trouble with my front brake, so I just couldn’t concentrate and had a bad race in seventh. In the second race my goal was to get a good start, and I did it, so I could hang on for third place which was pretty good. I gave everything and I’m really really tired, so I’m going to take the week off and try to recover and be really good at Mill next week.

Round 3 of the Redbull Pro Nationals took place yesterday at Duns, Scotland. High winds on Sunday made conditions slightly tricky but after weeks of rain around the country, it was a welcome break to have a dry day of racing.

Gert Krestinov still the lone rider for Route77energy MVR-D Honda has had a hectic schedule the last couple of weeks. He competed in the GP of Latvia riding to 15th and 14th respectively. Mid week he raced in his home country of Estonia grabbing a win and then some much needed time at home.

Gert arrived in Scotland after a mixed start to the Redbull Championship. Injury at round one and by his own admission an average round 2, he needed a turn around weekend.

After qualifying 4th fastest the opening moto got underway. Gert didn’t start to well and after the first lap was down in 15th with a lot of work to do. He made quick work of some good riders to move into the top 10. It was apparent that he was one of the quickest riders on the track and at the end of the race finished just behind the Suzuki pair of Sword and Barr.

Race two Gert started slightly better inside the top 10 and got his head down straight away. He got into 3rd after 15 minutes and started to close on Sword. He got to within a couple of seconds before Sword made a mistake and Gert moved into second behind Buuldbase Honda rider Aubin. He finished the race 6 secs off the lead for a well deserved 3rd place overall and moves to 4th in the series.

Gert “I felt good on the bike today and I was pleased with my riding. I need to start better to have more of a chance to run with leaders but I’m happy and look forward to Hawkstone Maxxis next week.”

Mark Chamberlain “Gert was riding nice today. He was moving well on the bike and had some good corner speed. His pace is good and hopefully that will continue now until the end of the season.”