GRT Impact KTM: this former youth team is breaking the boundaries of their potential
By Team TMX on 20th Apr 22
British Motocross Championship Jamie Carpenter Foxhill
In a first for GRT Impact KTM and their MX2 pilot Jamie Carpenter, an overall victory was celebrated at Foxhill; round two of the Revo ACU British Motocross Championship fuelled by Gulf Race Fuels.
"It's an incredibly proud achievement that the whole GRT team, friends, family and riders have been working towards achieving," said the team.
"We are extremely proud of Jamie, and the whole team. We are seeing all of our hard work paying off reaching the height of British motocross, which comes after our first MX Nationals Pro overall just a few weeks ago."
Carpenter started the day off well, qualifying in third position, splitting up the two Hitachi KTM riders, Isak Gifting and Kay Karssemakers.
The first turn at Foxhill is a vitally important one, as it can be difficult to pass, so a good gate pick and a solid start are imperative for the motos.
In moto one, Carpenter got a good jump he needed and quickly established himself in the top five. Towards the end of the moto, he was setting faster laps than Karssemakers ahead in third, however, Carpenter ran out of time to make up the distance. Still, Carpenter crossed the line in a very respectable fourth, behind three MXGP calibre riders.
In moto two, Carpenter found himself another good start, this time in second place behind Karssemakers. The pair matched each other lap for lap but on lap three, Karssemakers had a small fall, promoting Carpenter into the lead.
Carpenter managed to lead the race from there for nearly 20 minutes. Then, with two laps to go, he came under attack from Conrad Mewse, and despite his best efforts, he was unable to hold off the defending champion. Still, Carpenter had just secured a career-best finish of second place.
Controversially, Mewse was docked 10 positions, handing Carpenter the race win and with a four-one scorecard, he won his first-ever ACU British championship race, and the overall a first for the team too!
Carpenter's first British championship win came on the back of an impressive display at the opening round of the Michelin MX Nationals where he raced to a double moto victory at a challenging FatCat Moto Parc.
It's a fantastic turnaround after recovering from an ACL injury and together with GRT Impact KTM, they are breaking the boundaries of a once youth team's capabilities.
125 takes on the 250 machines
Not only did GRT Impact KTM celebrate the win for Carpenter at Foxhill, but they also enjoyed success in the Youth ranks too.
The team had two riders racing the 250cc Youth class, in the form of Finlay Evans and Ollie Colmer, and with the 125 class not in action, Colmer pitted his 125cc KTM against the bigger bikes.
Evans showed amazing speed all weekend, which wasn't reflected in his results.
He got off to a good start in moto one, starting in fourth place and was making up places, getting as high as second position, but unfortunately, a coming together with another rider caused Evans to fall. He didnt have much time to regroup but still brought it home in ninth.
In moto two, Evans was involved in a first turn crash, as his bike tangled with another. Evans was left with a lot of work ahead to catch the pack. Matching the lap times of the top three, Evans pushed to secure 13th at the chequers. A weekend to forget, perhaps. However, he can be happy with his pace going into the next round.
Colmer, racing against the bigger bikes at Foxhill, started moto one in sixth place out the gate. A difficult feat against the four-stoke 250cc machines he was battling. He showed determination and had great flow, which helped him to nail third position.
Moto two started in a similar way for Colmer, as he found himself around the top five on the opening lap.
Unfortunately, an early fall cost his chances of battling with the front runners as he dropped outside the top 15. Colmer had to dig deep to pass more than 10 riders on his way to a fantastic fifth place. That was good enough for third overall made even sweeter with the young gun mounted on a 125 in a class full of bigger bikes. A remarkable feat!
In the Big Wheel 85 class, red-plate holder Billy Askew was in action for GRT Impact KTM.
He showed fantastic speed in qualifying, lapping three seconds faster than his competitors.
Despite being the fastest on track, Askew started in second position off the start of moto one and immediately set his sights on the lead.
In an intense battle all race with championship rival Jake Walker, Askew claimed the top spot by 0.7 seconds at the line.
Moto two was a similar story, but this time Askew made his way into the lead earlier on.
The pair showed great pace throughout the moto, and with Askew unable to shake off Walker, spectators enjoyed another intense finish. However, in the end, Askew would just be pipped at the post by 0.1 seconds.
A one-two scorecard put Askew in second overall; however, no points were lost to his rival, so he still claims the red plate going into round three.
GRT Impact KTM head to Landrake in Cornwall next for the MX Nationals in two weeks' time, where they will have the red plate in the Pro MX2 and BW85 classes.
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