Mackenzie Fights to Fifth in Front of Home Crowd

31st May 2009 – Round seven of the World MX1 Championship – Mallory Park, Great Britain

CAS Honda's Billy Mackenzie concluded a tough home Grand Prix weekend today at Mallory Park, Leicestershire, which was hampered by the hand injury he is carrying, with fighting performance to take a fifth place in the second moto after retiring out of race one.

Billy has been struggling recently with a hand injury sustained in Portugal over three weeks ago and it has recently been confirmed by a specialist that the 25-year-old Scottish rider has completely detached the ulnar collateral ligament in his thumb, which may require surgery. While the injury itself won't heal, the pain that it is causing Billy should subside with treatment over a period of time. At present this is giving him great discomfort, and the situation will be closely monitored in the next few races.

Billy got a steady start to yesterday's qualifying heat, and whilst mid-pack at the technical Mallory Park track, he collided with another rider in the opening stages of the 20-minute plus two-lap moto. Billy remounted outside the top 20, and pushed hard throughout the race, despite not having the use of his damaged front brake, to earn himself 12th place on the gate.

Following a pain-relieving injection into his thumb, Billy got off the start gate into tenth position in the opening MX1 race of today. However, after seven laps the CAS Honda pilot's lap times plummeted, due to the pain relief quickly wearing off, which left him struggling to hold onto his race machine. Due to the excruciating discomfort that Billy was in, and a crash that damaged his bike, Billy reluctantly retired from the race on lap nine of the 35-minute plus two lap moto.

Prior to the second race, Billy received further treatment and improved strapping to his hand, to try and eliminate the intense pain that he encountered in the first stint. The CAS Honda-ace got a good start into third place, much to the appreciation of his home fans.

On lap seven and eight Billy lost two positions as he suffered with arm pump. However, with the fans cheering and blasting horns to encourage him, the Honda pilot dug deep to regain his momentum, fending off attacks from Mickael Pichon as well as Tanel Leok to hold onto a strong fifth position at the chequered flag.

Teammate Bryan Mackenzie was given a tough reintroduction into the World Series this weekend, as a technical problem with his machine in the qualifying heat left him in just 33rd position on the gate.

This made his job today super-difficult into the tight first turn, and in race one he tried to force his way around the outside of his competitors. Bryan fought through to the battle for 18th place, but after his hard work suffered with arm pump, which thwarted his progress. The 24-year-old managed to bring his Honda CRF450R home in a points scoring position, crossing the line in 19th place.

In the second moto Bryan gated well, but crashed spectacularly over one of the huge tabletop jumps. A battered and bruised Bryan remounted his race machine into 32nd position to fight through to 22nd place, just outside of the points.

Billy Mackenzie #211- Race One: DNF Race Two: 5th

"The first race was a bit of a disaster for me, as I couldn't hang onto the bike with the pain I was in. I've had a lot of treatment on my hand recently, and it's been confirmed that I've completely detached the collateral ligament in my thumb, which is why it's taking some time to heal. The doctor gave me pain relief before race one, but he didn't go deep enough to numb the joint and it quickly wore off as I rode. I was feeling really annoyed with myself, and I had a small crash, but my race was over only a few laps in because of the pain. Before race two we evaluated the situation, and spoke to the doctor, who gave me an injection much deeper into my hand. I had no pain, but I just suffered with a bit of arm pump mid race. The crowd was a lot more behind me this time and this definitely helped, so I managed to get my pace back to finish in fifth, which to be honest I really didn’t think was possible today after how much pain I was in during race one. It was definitely a good finish to a bad day."

Bryan Mackenzie #121 Race One: 19th Race Two: 21st

"The problem in qualifying wasn't anyone's fault, it was just one of those things, but it made it difficult for me today. I got a bad start and was right at the back of the pack, so I got my head down to try to work my way through. I was behind a group of slower riders, but once I got past them all I felt like I'd been holding my breath the whole time. By the time I got a bit of clear track I could ride how I want, rather than switching lines to make passes, arm pump began to set in and I finished in 19th. In the second race I had a monstrous crash on the first lap and got run over, so I ended up right at the back. My bars were quite bent so I just did what I could and my aim was to get back in the points. As much as I'm disappointed, I'm glad I got away with that big crash, the bike is working really well and although 19th and 21st isn't great, it's a start for us."

Neil Prince: CAS Honda Team Manager

"It's been quite a tough weekend for CAS Honda at our home race, but I'm pleased with Billy's second race performance. We have to accept that he is carrying an injury, which we are still learning how best to deal with to enable him to continue racing. In the first race his hand was a mess, and he was in a lot of pain, so while I'm sure he was as disappointed as I felt at pulling in, especially with so many British fans here, but there wasn't really much more he could do. In the second race he had an injection deeper into the joint and we changed the way he strapped the thumb, which definitely improved things. Mid race he did drop two seconds a lap for just two laps with some arm pump, which cost him two positions, but it was good to see him fight back to hold onto a strong fifth position. Bryan had a tough weekend through no real fault of his own. In the qualifying race he had a small technical problem with the bike, but with such a low gate position, it was a big challenge to get a good start and to make ground here. His second race crash was huge, but he brought the bike home in both races, so now we can build from there."