“Well, now we’re up and running for the 2019 MX season racing is coming thick and fast. The Maxxis British championship started last week, in terrible weather conditions and it was a tough opener for our lads when it started off with so much promise.”
Tough start to the Maxxis British championship for Team Green MX UK
The opening round of the Maxxis British championship didn’t go the way of Team Green Kawasaki UK. After heavy storms and lots of rain the FatCat circuit was heavy going, but team riders Lewis Hall, Keenan Hird and Kacey Hird were all confident and ready to go, if not all 100%. Unfortunately, after a promising start the results they were looking for never materialised.
Jeff Perrett – Team Manager
“After the speed the lads showed last week at the Michelin MX Nationals all three of them came into FatCat confident of solid results. Qualifying went well with Kacey second in MXY2 and Keenan 11th in the pro MX2 class. Lewis rode a little tight and qualified 17th but we all knew he was capable of more. It was a particularly good qualifying session for Keenan as we now know he was riding with broken foot from last week. He was in more pain after the race and has now had an X-Ray that confirms the injury”
“Lewis made up for qualifying with an awesome opening moto, coming from 17th to seventh and passing many established riders with years of experience on him. Unfortunately with one lap to go his bike expired. I was so gutted for the kid, not just just because he was having a stormer and was in the position he was in, but more so because I just wanted to him to get solid points on the board in the opening moto. Keenan had a great ride, especially now knowing what we know and battled hard for a 15th and his first pro points. I was pleased and proud of him for that”
“The second MX2 moto was a tough one for both Lewis and Keenan. Lewis was again coming through the pack and working his way up the field but unfortunately as he was closing in on the top 10 he caught the edge of a rut, went off line and into water filled ditch and that was that. The bike was so stuck in we had to get it out after the race with a digger bucket! Keenan started off well, but just started to struggle with his foot after a few laps, but to his credit he kept grinding out laps and just missed out on the points in 21st”
“Kacey had a day to forget after it started so well. He just chased it a little bit too hard and made too many mistakes that cost him big. An eleventh and a 9th is not what he wants or where he should be. I know he’s trained harder than ever for this year but he needs to find a level of consistency and iron out the mistakes pretty quickly or it’s going to be a long, tough season for him. He’s got the speed to run at the front but he has to put that into race trim. So, overall it was a pretty tough day for us, battling the conditions like everyone else but also a fair amount of bad luck. Up next we have the EMX250 at Matterley Basin at the British GP. Unfortunately it’s unlikely Keenan will be able to ride so I feel for the kid on that as it’s always special to ride at your home GP. This will be Lewis’ first full season doing EMX250 so I hope we get off to a solid start and he can qualify for the race. Realistically that’s his aim as a rookie”
Lewis Hall #9 – MX2 – KX250
“I was so gutted after that first race. I felt good and was riding well but that’s racing I guess and it happens to everyone at some point. I just wish it didn’t happen then. It would’ve been good to get my season off to a really good start but I have to take the positives. I passed a lot of good riders and it felt good. The second moto was just one of those things. It happened so fast because it was on a whooped out straight and before I knew it I was heading for the ditch and couldn’t stop. Because of all the rain we had the ditch was full. I was lucky not to go right under. Loads of pictures have already been posted in social media, I’ve already got a load more followers, but I’d rather not get them by getting stuck in ditches!”
Keenan Hird #429 – MX2 – KX250
“That was a tough weekend. I knew my foot wasn’t 100% but I wanted to get out there and get some decent points and get my championship underway. That’s definitely the toughest I’ve ever seen and ridden FatCat, it was brutal. I tried to keep my feet up as much as I could but the ruts were so deep it was nearly impossible. I’m happy to score points but disappointed I couldn’t push for more. The pain got worse throughout the day and the track got tougher so I’m happy to get through it, although I’m obviously gutted we’ve now found out my foot is broken and I may miss Matterley.”
Kacey Hird #28 – MXY2 – KX250
“It started off well but the races didn’t go nowhere as good as I wanted. I made an okay start in the opening moto and then crashed. It took ages to get going again as I was stuck under the bike for a while and then I just tried too hard to make up time and crashed a couple more times. The second moto I was seventh, I think, on the opening lap and again just made a stupid mistake and crashed. After that I just wanted to keep it on two wheels and try and move up the best I could. I kept plugging away and got up to ninth but that’s not where I want to be. I have to go away and find a way to turn my speed into race results. Hopefully by the next round at Lyng I would’ve worked out how to do that.”
Race report from Jeff Perrett
