PAR Honda’s Brad Anderson completed his near perfect season in which he has taken victory in the British Masters, Red Bull Pro Nationals, and ACU British MX1 Championship with a 1-2-1 scorecard at Hawkstone Park yesterday, to take the overall at the final round of the British Championship series.
Having already triumphed at the previous round in Duns, Scotland, Anderson was purely looking to end his season on a high aboard his CRF450R. Having taken pole position, Anderson led race one from start to finish around the sandy Shropshire circuit. In the second race Anderson got to the front early on, but made a mistake and went down. The gritty 30-year-old was unable to come back through and catch Martin Barr, to reach the chequered flag in second place.
In the final moto it was Tom Church who took to the front. Anderson enjoyed a good battle with Barr throughout the race, but as Barr fell, he managed to get his head down and reel in a runaway Church to take the lead three laps from the end to finish the day with his X overall of the season in the series and 98 points clear of second-placed Kristian Whatley.
In the MX2 class both Anthony Reville and Luke Hawkins are still not quite back to full speed, but the young guns both endured mixed fortunes during yesterday’s races. Reville got a superb start aboard his CRF250R in race one into sixth position at the end of lap one, while Hawkins gated into 16th. Reville crashed at the top of the notorious Hawkstone hill on lap two and rejoined the race around 25th, but put in a superb performance to fight his way back through the pack for an impressive 11th place, while Hawkins, who is struggling with a lack of race fitness, slipped back in the final few laps to finish in 15th position.
In race two Reville got another good gate just into the top ten with Hawkins completing lap one in 24th position. Reville made his way past Jordan Booker in the following laps and although seventh was unreachable, the 17-year-old Lincolnshire-man maintained his lead over Booker to take eighth at the chequered flag. Hawkins managed to fight his way through to 18th place.
In the final race of the day Reville clinched another good start and was around fifth into the first turn, although he was pushed wide on the second corner and went down. Reville took some time to rejoin the race and managed to get onto the back of the pack, when he tweaked the tibia break he sustained earlier in the year around the now super-rough track and was forced to retire. Hawkins gated into 17th, and despite battling to go forward the youngster concluded the race in 17th position.
Brad Anderson #60: MX1 1st Overall
“In the first race I led start to finish. In the second one I was leading again, but made stupid mistake come off and got sand caught in my clutch. In the final one Tom Church was checking out. Martin and I were having a good battle; as I made a mistake he got away, then he came off and I got the hammer down to catch Tom up to come away with a win to finish the season off. And what a season it’s been. I’d just like to thank Paul and Geoff for doing an awesome job. Route 77, Fox, Neil for helping me with my riding, I couldn’t have done it without everyone who has helped me. It’s all up in the air for next year. I’m 95% sure that I’m going to Australia but there’s still that five percent that I might not, but it’s been a great year and I’ve really enjoyed it.”
Anthony Reville #356: MX2 10th Overall
“Qualifying was okay today, but the track was really smooth with no bumps, so I didn’t quite get into it and finished 14th, but that’s not such a bad gate. In the first race I got a good start into sixth, and then I made a mistake at the top of the big hill, as I lost the front end on the stones and was then run over. I dropped right back outside the top 20 but I managed to get back up to 11th, as I just kept pushing all the way through. In the second race I got a good start again and just stayed in eighth after passing Booker. I was fairly consistent as seventh had already got away, and kept a gap to maintain my position. In the last race I got a good start but crashed in the corner and twisted my ankle. I felt it pop and tried to carry on but I was struggling to put any pressure on my leg. It was a disappointing end to a good day, but I’ll be going to get it x-rayed and hopefully it will be okay for me to be able to do some more races before the season is out.”
Luke Hawkins #12: 20th Overall
“I came into the weekend feeling fresh and positive, but I don’t really know what went wrong. This is my third race now since coming back and although I knew I wasn’t going to be where I was at the start of the season, I thought I could make at least a top 10. It turned out harder than I thought. I’ve got the fitness in the gym but I haven’t got the bike fitness. In the first race I could go as fast as I could for 20-minutes but in the last two laps I dropped back four places. My starts weren’t good and I need to get my confidence back, get my head right out the gate. Where I’m starting is in the 20’s and coming back through is hard as you get into other riders speed and routine. Today has just been hard. My plan now is hopefully to do the beach race at Weston, then have a rest and get everything right, get my head right and start training, ride a bit through the winter, put this year behind me and start fresh for next year. I’d like to thank Paul and Claire for not giving up on me, my parents, my girlfriend, all my sponsors for their support this year, as it’s not been an easy one.”
Paul Rowlands: PAR Honda Team Owner
“Well that’s it for another year. Brad went out in true Ando style with two wins to take the overall. He’s had a tremendous year winning all three championships and he’s given me 110% all season. We’re not sure if he will be staying with the team next year as there’s rumours he’s going to Australia, which would be a big disappointment, but we wish him the best of luck. With the young riders Rev came back and had a pretty good day to be fair and Luke has been struggling a bit with confidence, which we’ll be looking at over the winter. We’re now working on assembling the team for next year and going forward, and we’re pleased to announce we will be continuing with Honda.”
