With weeks of rain turning into blistering sunshine, the scene was set for the GRT Holeshot KTM squad to attack the first round of the Michelin MX Nationals British Motocross Championship at Fatcat Motoparc near Doncaster over the May Bank Holiday weekend. After a week of superb weather, the track was in perfect condition and ready for an action-packed weekend of racing.
The GRT Holeshot KTM squad for the meeting consisted of Kyle McNicol on his KTM SXF250 in the Michelin Pro Expert MX2 class, Ollie Colmer on his KTM SX125 in the Youth MX125 class and Cole McCullough on his KTM SX85 small wheel in the Open 85cc class.
Feeling more at home on the familiar terrain of Fatcat Motoparc, Kyle McNicol put in a strong performance in qualifying to take 16th place amongst some of the country’s top riders. 14thplace finishes in both motos on Saturday put Kyle in a strong position for the Fastest 40 motos on Sunday, an 11th place in the first moto on Sunday being a sign of things to come and a 10thplace finish in the second race being Kyles best ever Pro MX2 result. 12th overall for the weekend gives Kyle a much-needed confidence boost to keep moving forward this season.
Overall, it was another solid weekend for Ollie Colmer, riding well to take a convincing 3rd place in qualifying. In the 1st moto, Ollie battled up to 2nd place mid-moto past the fast-starting 250cc machines and stayed there to take P2 at the flag, with a P3 finish in moto 2 rounding out Saturday’s racing. Unfortunately, after two crashes in the 3rd moto on Sunday morning and a red flag 5 minutes from the end, Ollie was left down in 14th place. A strong P2 in moto 4 gave Ollie P2 overall for the weekend, and he sits in P2 in the Championship going into round 2.
From the moment Cole McCullough arrived at Fatcat, he was never challenged in the 85cc small wheel class. After taking P1 in Qualification by over half a second, Cole took 1/1/1/1 finishes in the motos across the weekend for 1st overall, not only winning the 85cc small wheel class but finishing ahead of many of the older riders in the 85cc big wheel class in each of the motos.
GRT Holeshot KTM Team Manager Jon Giffard said ‘It’s been another really strong weekend for the Team, with a standout performance from Cole McCullough on his JGR Performance tuned KTM 85SX. Kyle McNicol is making steps forward every week, and his best ever finish in the Pro MX2 class is evidence of that. It was another solid performance from Ollie Colmer too, who now leads 2 of the 3 UK National Championships and is in 2nd place in the third, overall a fantastic start to the season for the team’.
The GRT Holeshot KTM team are feeling confident moving forward in the 2021 season and are looking forward to the team’s home round at Canada Heights for the REVO MXGB Championship which takes place this Sunday 6th June.
Words and images: GRT KTM