British champ Conrad Mewse gave the bumper Easter Sunday crowd a stunning display of incredible speed and determination as he chased down five-times world champion and fellow Honda rider Jeffrey Herlings in both British championship races at Preston Docks in Lancashire.
Although the Dutch sand specialist managed to fend off attacks from the Brit to the flag in both motos, it was an epic performance from the CrendonTru7 Honda man who took second overall and closed to just three points of the championship lead at round two of the series.
Mewse, who missed a lot of pre-season riding to recover from surgery, said: “I wasn’t too stressed after Hawkstone but the boys there were on a different level to me. It wasn’t a true reflection of what I’m capable of. Since then we’ve done a lot of testing, come back strong and I’m riding more like myself. “It was a good race in the first moto. I felt solid, made some passes, and I’m feeling much more like myself.
“It’s one thing catch up to someone like Jeffrey but it’s another thing to get past him. We were both riding very hard so to make a pass would have meant finding somewhere I was a lot faster than him or for him to make a mistake. He’s so good, that chance never came.
“In the second race I had a lot better start and got into second then tried to keep him in my sight. I need to try to learn from him, latch on and go with his pace. Overall, without him here as a wildcard, it would have been a 1-1 finish and I’d be leading the championship. So I’m happy with how I’m riding.”
Team manager Ryan Thorpe said: “A solid day for the team with some great riding, results and no injuries on a tough track. “Of course, Conrad was the star and after finding it difficult at the first round, he looked back to his usual self. Challenging Jeffrey Herlings for wins in both races show what a great talent he is and how much he has come on in the past few weeks. And it was great to see Jamie so near the front in the first MX1 race on a track that doesn’t have good memories. He’s getting back to form after such a long time off and it’s great to see.
“For Charlie, he rode incredibly well in both races but it was his starts both times that hurt his results. Of course, it’s his first year on a 250 four-stroke after racing a 125 two-stroke in the youth ranks. So we have come up with a plan where he will do lots of testing and working on his starts over the next few weeks. Once he gets that sorted, he’s going to be a real force in the class.”
