The Geartec Husqvarna set up was stripped back to basics on Sunday as Elliott Banks-Browne went old school at the first round of the Bridgestone British Masters at Culham, and in the process turned in a good old fashioned double moto win the take the overall.
A last minute entry meant that Elliott’s team were already busy, so he turned back time, mechaniced for himself and got stuck into privateer moto life. His day didn’t go without issues though and a practice crash meant a damaged machine and limited track time before Moto one.
A poor start in Moto one saw EBB weave through the field from 11th up to 2nd on lap one, where British Championship Red Plate holder Jake Nicholls was holding the lead. After swapping places at the head of the field Nicholls came to grief giving Elliott breathing space at the front, but a back brake problem and a collision with a back marker reduced the lead, but not enough to stop Elliott taking the Race one victory.
An improved start in Race 2 saw the battle between Nicholls and EBB re-engage, with them both passing each other before Elliott pulled a slim lead. Another fall for Nicholls extended Elliott’s lead to 15 second’s when the chequered flag fell, giving the Geartec Husqvarna rider and team a more than satisfactory conclusion to their weekend with the overall victory.
Paul Mason – Team Manager
“It was strange not being there, but with it being last minute, I had already made plans. I was waiting on the results all day, and there was no information coming through so I had to wait for Elliott to call me at the end of the day, so it was great to hear that he won. For Elliott to get two wins shows we are moving in the right direction and we can roll on to Blaxhall with confidence. I feel now we have turned a corner with his set up, we just need to carry it through.”
Elliott Banks-Browne
“It was all last minute to do the race. I rang up on Friday and got an entry. I thought as Jake Nicholls and some other good riders were doing it, it would be good practice, and I was going to go practicing anyway, and there’s no better practice than racing. All the team were all super busy so I went on my own, mechaniced and did everything for mysel
“I had bit of trouble in practice and got caught out where it was quite slippy and wasn’t expecting it. The bike slipped out and went flying off the track, did a flew flips, and ripped the bars clean off. So I had to run back and get my spare bike and I only got a lap or so in on that, but the bike felt alright.
“In the first race I had really bad start, I don’t know what I was doing, I was asleep at the gate almost, I came from 11th to 2nd on the first lap, then me and Jake had a good battle for the lead. I passed him, he passed me back, then he fell off at the bottom on the 4th lap and I had a big lead after that. On the 5th lap, I think I boiled the back brake or something, and had to ride the rest of the race without it which was tough, then I hit a backmarker with three laps to go, so in the end the gap came down quite a lot, but I was happy to get a win.
“In the second race I had a lot better start; I was second off the gate. Jake was leading, and I passed him on the first lap, then I took a stupid line and got me back. Then we went pretty much at it for 5 or 6 laps, I passed him back on about lap 6 and pulled a little gap, but not a lot. Then he crashed again so in the end I had a 15 second lead. It was good to go there and to race with Jake who is leading the British Championships at the moment.
“I feel like I am in good form going into this weekend at Blaxhall, and I want to do the same there that’s for sure.“
This weekend the full Geartec Husqvarna set up will be at Elliott’s local race at Blaxhall in Suffolk for round 3 of the Maxxis British Motocross Championships where he currently sits in 4th in the standings.
