A mixed bag for Heads & All Threads Suzuki at Hawkstone.
It was a mixed affair for the Heads & All Threads Suzuki team at Hawkstone for the fourth round of the British Championship this weekend.
Harri Kullas had a luckless day with technical issues in races one and three. It was a stray rock that damaged the RM-Z250’s water pump and forced Kullas to retire five laps into race one, and an electrical issue in race three that prevented him from starting.
After a bad start in race two Kullas sat just inside the top twenty, but the Finn pushed forward and climbed through the pack and took the chequered in 10th, for 19th overall.
“There’s not that much to say really, it’s motor sport, so sometimes you have these technical things, it is what it is. It’s in the past now so we’ll move on and hope for better luck next time.” — Harri Kullas, MX2, #51
Gary Gibson made his return to the team and the MX2 championship, and put in three solid rides. Despite finishing outside of the points, he is happy to be back riding in the championship and is looking forward to having a solid base to improve upon.
“I wasn’t really expecting much, I just wanted to see if I could go the distance. I had my pace and I kind of stuck with it all day and I finished the last race about as quick as I was in qualifying, so I’m pretty happy with that.
I was battling with a few guys that have been racing all year, so it’s good to at least know I’ve got pace to build on. I just need to work on confidence.
We’ve got a good basis to work with now, and we’ll look to improve from there.” — Gary Gibson, MX2, #4
In MX1 Irwin showed his speed in qualifying and claimed fourth gate pick, but after a good start in race one, he struggled with the aggressive power of RM-Z450 and crossed the line in 6th.
After taming the bikes ignition system, it was an off at the top of the notorious Hawkstone hill that caused Irwin to drop back down the field from 5th, but he pushed in the second half to salvage 10th.
Starting just inside the top ten in race three, Irwin charged all the way to line to put a last minute attempt pass on fellow Irishman, Martin Barr, in 5th just before the line, but it wasn’t quite enough and Irwin ended the weekend in 7th
” We struggled in the first race, the bike had a bit too much power — a little too aggressive. We changed the ignition to tame it a little for the second and it made it a lot better, but unfortunately I made a mistake and went down pretty hard, but I managed to get back to tenth.
I didn’t get the best of starts in the last race, and I just missed out on fifth. I tried to put a charge on to pass Martin in the last race, but he stepped it up on the last lap, so I just came in a little short, but overall it wasn’t a bad day.” — Graeme Irwin, MX1, #5
“I’m just gutted for a Harri really. A rock hit the water pump and he retired in the first race, and a electrical problem in the last.
He got a bad start in the second race but rode well to get back to tenth from eighteenth. The little RM-Z250 is going really well at the minute, it’s annoying that Harri didn’t get the chance to show what the little bike can do.
Graeme got three solid results, it’s a step closer in the right direction. He a big off in the second race, which affected his result, but his last race was the best of the day, which shows his strength.
It was a good three rides for Gary for his first time back in the championship. He was battling with guys that have been riding all season, so it wasn’t a bad return and hopefully we’ll get him into the points at the next round. ” — Neil Prince, Team Manager
Round 1 – 15th March – Hilton Park, Wolverhampton.
Round 2 – 5th April – Lyng, Norfolk.
Round 3 – 3rd May – Canada Heights, Kent.
Round 4 – 7th June – Hawkstone Park, Shropshire.
Round 5 – 28th June – Blaxhill Circuit, Suffolk.
Round 6 – 19th July – Foxhills, Swindon.
Round 7 – 23rd August – FatCats, Doncaster.
Round 8 – 6th September – Preston Docks, Preston.
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