Team Revo Seven Kawasaki rider Dylan Walsh battled for the MX2 Elite class victory at the historic Hawkstone Park venue during round 5 of the Michelin MX Nationals on Sunday.
Report by Ben Rumbold – Images courtesy of Elliot Spencer
Less than a tenth of a second behind the fastest time in the MX2 class during qualifying, Walsh was clearly on the pace. A mid-pack start in race 1, amongst the 450s in the mixed-capacity event, didn’t stop Dylan moving to 7th on-track, 2nd MX2 at the end of the first lap. Even with minimal sand riding time this season, he tore through the 450s over the next few laps, but the MX2 leader had made enough ground that the class win was out of reach.
Despite a couple of 450s using all of their power advantage up the hill and through the sand to pass him, Dylan held on to 2nd in the MX2 class and would fight again in race two, which was a wild and chaotic affair amongst the MX2 leaders!
Race 2 began with Dylan much further up the field, crucially ahead of main 250cc rival Jorgen Matthias Talviku. The pair had a thrilling battle, even involving a pair of 450 riders, with Walsh in particular pulling a stunning move on the big downhill to pass his Estonian opponent.
That was broken up by a massive crash for JMT which also eliminated 450 rider John Adamson. Dylan was “feeling much better in race two, I was able to fight it out with Jorgen in the sand until he went down.” He was then clearly leading MX2 and passed Josh Gilbert to briefly run 2nd on-track.
“I made a mistake all on my own at the bottom of the downhill. The front end dug in, and I got up quickly but then I couldn’t restart the bike.” said Dylan ruefully.
Team Manager Mark Yates and his crew inspected the damage when the KX250 got back to the pits. “The crash had damaged the electric starter, and with a bit of adjustment to the switch, she started first time. We had fitted a second button to one of our bikes after Culham, but this was more of a spare machine that we hadn’t fitted it to yet.”
Mark added that “We’re happy with the day, two motos on a tough track without any engine issues, even with Dylan pushing it against 450s.”
The team are now looking to finish the two domestic series strongly to take momentum into what’s going to be a busy winter of preparation for 2023.
