The scene was set for a thrilling weekend at Cusses Gorse in Wiltshire last weekend for the fifth and final round of the Michelin MX Nationals British Motocross Championship. After dry conditions through the week some much needed rain was forecast for the Saturday of the event, but as always the track was impeccably prepped and watered for racing.
The GRT Holeshot KTM squad for the weekend consisted of Kyle McNicol in the ‘Fastest 40’ Pro MX2 class on board his KTM 250SXF machine (riding Sunday only), Finley Evans wildcarding in the Open 85cc group (big wheel class) on his KTM 85SX and Cole McCullough in the Open 85cc group (small wheel class), also on his KTM 85SX.
Cole McCullough had dominated the small wheel class in the Open 85cc group coming into the last round, winning all but one of the races he started and mixing it up with the older riders on big wheels – and this weekend was no exception. Cole took Pole Position in qualifying by a clear 4 seconds and went on to dominate race 1, finishing over a minute in front of 2nd place. Another dominant win in race 2 again by over a minute saw Cole lapping up to 4th place in the small wheel class. Race 3 on Sunday morning was more of the same, Cole winning by over a minute and lapping up to 5th place. A few slip offs in race 4 gave Cole a lot of work to do, but he battled to 2nd position at the flag, giving him the overall win for the weekend and taking the crown of MX Nationals British Champion in the small wheel 85cc class, the GRT Holeshot KTM teams first ever British Championship title.
Finley Evans came to Cusses Gorse confident after his 2nd overall at Landrake and looked very comfortable on his way to Pole Position in qualifying, 1.5 seconds ahead of the competition. In race 1, Finley took a commanding win, his best lap time being nearly 4 seconds faster than the other riders. Finley followed this up with a comfortable win in race 2 to set the scene for Sunday’s racing. An unfortunate first turn crash in race 3 on Sunday morning left Finley with a lot of work to do, but he battled his way up to P2 at the flag. In the final moto Finley crashed on the first lap, again giving him a mountain to climb but he took 4th place in the race, giving him 1st place overall for the weekend.
The sun was out, and the track in prime condition for Kyle McNicol on Sunday morning, and a solid 12th position in the MX2 gave him a good base to build from over the course of the day. A crash on the first lap of race 1 made things difficult, but Kyle soldiered on for a 14th place finish. Race 2 saw a much better start and first lap for a creditable 10th place at the flag, giving Kyle 10th place overall.
Team Manager Jon Giffard said ‘It was a great weekend for everyone involved at Cusses Gorse, the team came with the intention of leaving as British Champions and Cole did it, he brought home our first ever British title. It was another strong weekend for Fin, he showed the speed we all know he is capable of and he goes into the last 3 big meetings of the season full of confidence. Kyle finished the season with another solid top 10 finish, all in all it was a really good weekend for the team.‘
GRT Holeshot KTM will be making the long journey to Duns in Scotland this weekend for round 8 of the REVO ACU MXGB Championship and are looking forward to welcoming Teddy Merriman on his Holeshot supplied KTM 65SX back to the squad. The team would like to thank all their fans, sponsors and supporters and are looking forward to seeing everyone at Duns.
Words: Press Release
