So the 2012 motocross season kicks off in the UK with the traditional running of the pre season international at Britains oldest motocross track, Hawkstone Park in the picturesque Shropshire countryside. The Samsung Yamaha race team of 2011 having a minor face lift to now be running under the title of Samsung RFX Yamaha were there ready to put practise into race conditions with there completely new MX2 rider line up consisting of Irishman Graeme Irwin and Frenchman, Steven Lenoir adding some international flavour to the team.
So with 2 new MX2 riders team manager, Jon Gifford had his work cut out to ensure things got off to a smooth start to the season with the top priority being to get both riders through the day unscathed and hopefully gaining valuable race feedback from the new riders. Qualifying seemed to go extremely well with both riders evenly matched and within a second of both being top 5 qualifiers. Moto 1 saw both riders gate inside the top 10 with Irwin getting the best jump coming round to start lap 1 in 5th place, remarkable feat considering his lack of bike time without taking into account a new team! Both the Samsung RFX Yamahas seemed to be running smoothly and both riders looked to be in good form. Watching from the pit signalling area Jon Giffard looked on apprehensively later quoted saying he was glad to get that one over and done.
Irwin held 5th for practically the whole race briefly climbing to 4th after Banks-Browne departed from his KTM until he re-grouped and re-took the position. Lenoir suffered from arm pump (lactic acid build up) and although still showing good speed sucummed to the riders worst nightmare slipping back out of the top 10 to finish a respectable 13th in good company while Irwin finished where he started in 5th. Moto 2 saw Irwin get caught up at the start and came round to complete the first lap in a lowly 32nd place, rapidly picking off riders to move up the field to 23rd before a mistake took him to the back of the field once more. Working his way through the field a second time up to 21st before again hitting trouble sending him back down the order and calling it a day to that race on lap 8.
Lenoir's Samsung FRX Yamaha had had minor suspension adjustments between races to compensate for his first race armpump and it seemed to be just the ticket as he again came round on lap 1 inside the top 10. Battling hard with several riders saw his placing change both up and down the field right the way through to the end of the gruelling race finally crossing the line in 9th. Both riders qualified for the Superpole final which pitted the fastest MX1 (450cc) and MX2 (250cc) riders together in this crowd pleasing end to the day. Nothing to gain from this race apart from bragging rights so instructions where given to the Samsung RFX riders to bring it home safely and thus using it as more valuable race testing time in readiness for the all important first round of the British Maxxis motocross championship the following fortnight.
So with great weather for that first Maxxis championship round it was off up to South Yorkshires Fatcat motoparc for the first time in the British championship calendar, round 1 of 8. The deep man made sandy track surrounded by spectators eagerly waiting to see what the new team line ups would produce in race conditions where packed in clambering for the best vantage points camera flashes going off arms waving on there chosen riders. It was almost inevitable that there would be a Yamaha topping the MX2 podium as last years defending champion Tonus was still riding for the same team albeit now named Monster Energy Bike-it Yamaha and his team mate Osborne was coming ito the season from competing in the American AMA supercross series and had surprised most by gaining several podium places, those two on top form (Tonus won all 3 races at Hawkstone) and they also had a third team member, Mel Pocock, so with the added Samsung RFX Yamaha squad of Graeme Irwin and Steven Lenoir Yamaha looked good for a minimum of a win.
Qualifying went well with the Samsung RFX Yamahas both moving forward to the superpole qualifying and both riders coming away from that with better qualifying gate picks, Irwin up to 3rd behind Osborne and Tonus and Lenoir inside the top 10 less than half a second off of being in 5th place.
With only one MX1 rider again this season the Samsung RFX Yamaha squad had nothing to cheer about as MX1 rider Jake Shipton is out injured due to a pre season practise crash leaving him with ligament damage to both his knee and wrist, Jake's response to his season start was '' I was so pumped to be on Samsung RFX Yamaha team. This is the first year ive put so much money and effort into training and to be one of the top youth riders in the Pro class riding on one of the top teams missing the first round due to injury sucked! All the time and effort to miss it was made me feel gutted. I hope to make my return at Canada Heights at round 2 im getting back to strength so should come back and hopefully surprise a few people.'' Jake will have his work cut out in such illustrious company as an influx of international GP competitors have committed to the British MX1 campaign this season. His goal will be to finish races and hopefully bag some points and in his words surprise a few people including his team manager too!
So MX2 Race one, the music built up to a crescendo the crowd looking on and the gate dropped, for Samsung RFX rider Lenoir as buried in the pack but team mate Irwin was on a mission, up to 3rd by lap 1 and holding his own well, the expected Tonus/Osborne battle at the front had the crowd captivated but they noticed a big shake up in the running order seeing the fluorescent Samsung RFX graphics of Irwins Yamaha storming past in 3rd. The Irishman looked at home even after such a relatively short time on the new machine and held 3rd for almost hald the race before the 3rd Monster Energy Bike-it Yamaha of Pocock managed to wear him down and make the pass. Hot on Pocock's rear wheel was Elliot Banks-Browne, another rider on a new team for 2012, now KTM mounted he was fired up after falling in the early stages and charging hard to get back to a podium position, he passed both riders to move into 3rd pushing Irwins Yamaha back to 5th, but Irwin wasn't finished and came back to make the pass on Pocock finishing in 4th. Lenoir had his work cut out after passing the timing truck in 17th on the opening lap but he made steady progress picking off his rivals one by one on the tough circuit getting inside the top 10 at one point but having to settle for 11th place after the time ran out.
Moto 2
A horrific start for Lenoir saw him almost last but the talented 2010 European champion set about the task in front of him and scythed through the pack overtaking 16 riders inside 2 laps, by lap 4 he was 10th. Meanwhile team mate Irwin had the measure of this start gate and again powered his Samsung RFX Yamaha into turn 1 with the front runners, by lap 3 he was 3rd again and really lapping up the tough deep sand circuit. Irwin had displaced fromer Red BUll champion Bradshaw in his charge to the podium but now had the attentions once more of Banks-Browne, lap 8 saw EBB pass Irwin but then crash gifting Irwin back the podium position. While all this was going on the second Samsung RFX 250f machine was still moving up the ranks in an inspiring ride Lenoir had climbed up the order to cross the line in 6th with Irwin holding onto the final podium position.
Moto 3
Both the Samsung RFX pilots came out fighting for the final encounter of the day as the crowd witnesses Yamaha domination as the first 5 places where all YZF machines with the Monster Energy riders hitting a 1-2-3 by the end of the opening lap it left team mates Irwin and Lenoir in 4th and 5th challenging Pocock for 3rd. Irwin came under increasing pressure from Lenoir and the two team mates started there own private war for supremacy. Lenoir, the smaller framed of the two managing to dig deep into his reserves to win the battle but getting caught himself by the slow starting KTM of EBB, still crossing the line for his best place finish of the day in 5th with a huge grin on his face while Irwin made a rare mistake in the deep sand demoting him down the order to finish 8th.
Wrapping up the day with an overall podium finish of 3rd for Irwin and 6th for Lenoir the Samsung RFX team principle Roy Emberson was pleased with his riders efforts and Yamaha dominated the MX2 proceedings with an overall clean sweep of the podium.
Next outing will be in the Kent countryside at Canada Heights on the 1st April, where hopefully MX1 rider Jake Shipton will join the fray, Jake, 2 time runner up in the Red Bull 'Rookie' class will be keen to get onto the scoring sheet to make up for missing round 1, so the team wish him a speedy recovery.
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