So close to double podium for Buildbase Honda at Lyng

By Team TMX on 15th Apr 19

British Motocross Championship Lyng Josh Gilbert

Buildbase Hondas Josh Gilbert and Lewis Tombs almost made it a double podium celebration on Sunday at the second round of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship supported by Pro Clean at Cadders Hill, Lyng, on Sunday.

Racing in the MX2 class on his CRF250R, Josh topped qualification and holeshot the opening 25-minute plus two lap moto and led until over half-distance before dropping back to second. In race two his start wasnt as good but he fought hard and an eventual fourth-placed finish was good enough for second overall.

Im happy, said Josh. Its been a really good day. Thats the first time Ive ever poled qualifying which was a great start Ive been working on that and it seems to have paid off.

In moto one I got a perfect start and got away a little bit for the first five or six laps but then I tensed up and Conrad Mewse closed up and passed me which Im a little bit annoyed about.

There was a little bit of argy-bargy off the start in race two and I ended up about fifth or sixth and had to scrap for the whole race. It was tough but I was actually happier with the second race than I was with the first because I was more relaxed and my fitness felt fine.

Viewed as a 250 specialist, Lewis form on a 450 has been a revelation since hes joined the team and he showed that his third-place finish at the opening round of the series at FatCat last month was no fluke by qualifying fourth and running 4-4 in the points-paying races for fourth overall.

Its been a good, solid day, he said. I was fourth in qualifying which I was chuffed with because I dont normally qualify that well and that set me up for a good gate pick.

I didnt get the best of starts in race one but managed to work my way up to fourth and got third off Mel Pocock towards the end of the race but he passed me back. In the second one I started third and stayed there until Harri Kullas got me near the end.

The Buildbase Honda CRF450R is such an easy bike to ride and it handles like a dream Im also quite big so it suits me.

Competing in the MX2 Youth class, Japanese teenager Shiaru Honda got a score on the board with 19th in race one to seal the deal on a successful day for the team.

Team boss Dave Thorpe was very happy with how his riders performed at the challenging Norfolk circuit.

Weve had a great day, he said. Lewis qualified fourth he got pipped by Harri Kullas on the last lap and battled really, really hard in the first race. It was a bit of a dogfight for him.

He had a slightly better start in the second one and for 10 minutes he stayed right behind Tommy Searle which was great to see but then he tightened up a little bit and Harri got him which cost him a place on the podium. To be fair he rode absolutely fantastic and we were all really pleased for him.

Hes been given an opportunity to show everyone what he can do on a 450 and hes grasped his chance with both hands. As a team we cant fault his attitude, hes been absolutely brilliant.

Josh holeshot the first race and for the first six laps he was outstanding and had a good 15 seconds on Conrad Mewse but he possibly got a little tired riding at that pace with the grand prix boys which is understandable.

In the second race he didnt quite make the start and got caught up in a real battle. The last lap was frantic but Josh did what he needed to do to get second.

Shiaru, our guest rider from Japan, scored his first points in the MX2 Youth class and while its still a very steep learning curve for him it was great to see. Its a big challenge for him to come to Europe and hes rising to it.

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