Mackenzie Makes Progress in Turkey

12th April 2009 – Round Three of the World MX1 Championship – Istanbul, Turkey

CAS Honda's sole competitor at the inaugural Grand Prix of Turkey, Billy Mackenzie, made further progress to his 2009 World Championship campaign with improved performances over his recent form in both of today's races, despite finishing in 16th position overall.

Mackenzie's regular MX1 teammate, Cedric Melotte, was ruled out of this weekend's proceedings with a back injury, leaving the task of representing the CAS Honda team solely down to the reigning British Champion.

Although the CAS Honda-pilot is still recovering from the wrist problems that have plagued him since the start of the 2009 season, Mackenzie began to show his true form with a strong performance throughout Saturday's practice and qualifying. The CAS Honda pilot managed to finish the qualifying race in tenth position, despite crashing heavily on lap two and injuring his right ankle.

With heavy strapping on his severely bruised ankle, Mackenzie made a good start to the opening moto today, and was in the top six positions into the first turn. An unfortunate small mistake in the early stages saw the 25-year-old CAS Honda pilot drop back to tenth place aboard his CRF450R.

The super-fast Istanbul track made it incredibly difficult to make up time or progress, but a fighting Mackenzie stepped up the pace to pass Josh Coppins for ninth place on lap two of the 35-minute plus two-lap moto. The Honda pilot lost a few positions mid-way through the race, dropping back to thirteenth, but despite the injuries he is carrying, Mackenzie managed to battle back to 12th on lap 15, where he remained until the chequered flag.

In the second moto Mackenzie got a steady start into tenth position by the end of lap one. The Scottish rider pushed hard in the opening stages to work his way to eighth position, when a coming together with another rider caused him to stall his machine over one of the drop-off sections of the track on lap three.

Mackenzie re-started into 28th position, but charged through the order, despite the limited passing opportunities at the Turkish track. The CAS Honda pilot maintained good speed and determination until the closing stages of the race, although he was only rewarded with 20th position at the finish line.

CAS Honda's next World Championship outing is in Valkenswaard, Holland in two weeks time when it is hoped that Melotte will make his return to racing after intensive treatment on his lower back.

Billy Mackenzie - #211 - 16th Overall

"Things went really well throughout practice but I crashed hard in the qualifying race and hurt my ankle, which has caused me quite a lot of pain today. We strapped the ankle up and I got a good start in the first race, but made a small mistake, which dropped me back to tenth. The track really had only one line, so it was difficult to make passes, but my aim was to be as smooth and consistent as possible. Although I slipped back a few places, I was able to maintain a good rhythm to the end, which is something we've struggled with recently because of my wrist injury. Now I can spend more time on the bike, the situation is definitely improving. In the second race I got another fairly good start, but I stalled the bike on one of the drop-offs and remounted almost at the back of the field. I fought really hard to come through the pack, and made another mistake towards the end of the race, but again we showed a little more strength than we have done in the last few races. Overall the results are not good enough, but we do have some positives from today. Hopefully in the next few weeks I can get plenty of practice time on the bike, and we can be much more prepared for Valkenswaard."

Neil Prince: CAS Honda Team Manager

"While we're not here to finish outside the top ten, we have many positives that can be taken from this weekend's performance. Billy has been much quicker throughout practice and his consistency is improving too. His staying power has been a problem due to his lack of bike fitness with the injury he's had, but I'm confident that we are making progress. The bike is working well, and although his qualifying injury has hindered him today, he still needs to iron out some of the mistakes he's making, but hopefully we now have something to build on. The track was very fast and difficult to make progress, so any mistake was very costly. It's also important for the team to be positive too, because although the results can be de-motivating, we must continue our hard work as I'm sure it will pay off in the long run."