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Irwin and Mewse talk Redsand!

Irwin and Mewse talk Redsand!

The third round of the 2018 MXGP season introduced the beautiful Spanish setting of Redsand MX. While the fast, burgundy surface was new to the calendar, it was a familiar playground for a big part of the grid; the spectacular course on Spain’s east coast serving as winter training ground for many a rider.

The welcome was not as warm, with clouds covering the proceedings throughout race day but it was positive competitive debut at the track for the Hitachi ASA KTM UK team, with Conrad Mewse tantalisingly close to a podium finish in the MX2 class, while Graeme Irwin worked hard in MXGP to conquer the Spanish track and add a handful of points to his tally.

MX2

The #426 KTM of Conrad Mewse had another productive weekend on his KTM 250 SX-F in the sands of Vilafames, the British rider equalling his best result in the world championship with a fourth place in the first race of the day. After qualifying 15th, Mewse charged into turn one and claimed second position, ahead of the factory Red Bull KTMs of Pauls Jonass and Jorge Prado.

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The world championship leader was hard to resist as he took over the lead of the race soon after and Mewse was left battling home favourite Prado for the second spot on the podium. Halfway through the race, Prado was closing in on Mewse, but the British rider was not making it easy and fought back when he was finally attacked in the final two minutes.  The squabble between them allowed Thomas Kjer Olsen to join the battle for second. A small mistake by Mewse saw him demoted to fourth in the final two laps, after running second for the best part of 18 laps. With Jonass once again dominating the class, Mewse took home a generous 18 points from Race 1.

Race 2 looked to be going the right way too, with a fast-starting Mewse climbing into fourth position, but as the sand soaked up some drops of rain, a small mistake saw the British rider drop three positions. He went on to run unperturbed until the final five minutes, when a late charge from Calvin Vlaandered and Ben Watson pushed him back to ninth.

While Jonass made it six out of six at the top of the podium, Mewse added another 12 points to his tally, finishing the weekend as sixth in the combined standings and gaining one position in the championship classification to fifth.

Conrad Mewse #426 “We started the weekend not great with a rough Saturday for the qualifying race with the track so fast and everyone being the same speed it make it so hard to pass after I got a bad start. But we got our head down Sunday with two really strong starts and running up front in both motos.

“In the first one I was second until almost the end when I made a slight mistake and two riders got by me, which was a bit disappointing. The second race delivered another solid top ten result with ninth and looking at the long game, we’ve now moved up fifth in the championship. So, it was a definite positive weekend and I’m looking forward to the first round of the British series.”

MXGP

After a difficult qualifying on an unfamiliar track, Graeme Irwin made steady progress at the start of Race 1 and found himself in 11th position by the end of the first lap. Despite losing some ground to 15th position at the halfway mark, the #55 was still part of a sizeable group balling for 11th place. A late attack from Arminas Jasikonis dropped Irwin to 16th position and the British rider picked up five points from the first run of the day on his KTM 450 SX-F.

Race 2 was a real challenge for the premier class grid, with rain falling intermittently after the gates dropped. Irwin faced a difficult start in 26th position and had to find his way through unfamiliar company outside the top 20. The Carrickfergus rider made it as high as 22nd on the timesheets and the chequered flag saw him finish 24th, as steady rain set in once again.

Graeme Irwin #55: “Qualifying 18th yesterday gave me a great gate pick and in warm-up I was 14th day, so I started the day with good speed. 

“In the first race I had a good start, battled through to 12th, a couple of bad laps with 10 minutes to go, regrouped and came back strong towards the end to finish 16th. I was happy with my pace and just seven seconds separated me from 10th place.

“I got a bad start in Race 2 when the guy beside me hit the gate, so I went from last to 22nd but then a small crash lost me my rhythm. I’m really disappointed as I wanted to have two solid rides, but there are also a lot of positives to take away from the weekend. Next up is the first round of the British series and I intend to start there very strong.”

The factory Red Bull KTM team ruled the roost once more, this time with reigning champion Antonio Cairoli getting the best of teammate Jeffery Herlings twice, on a completely new track for the Italian. The two are now tied on points at the top of the championship standings, while Irwin climbs one place to 22nd after three rounds of the season.

The next stop on the calendar for the Hitachi ASA KTM UK team is Round 1 of the 2018 Maxxis British Motocross Championship at Culham Moto Park in Abingdon on April 1.

Pic: KTM Images/Ray Archer

Words: KTM Press Release