Hawkstone International

Wow Herlings almost a minute back ..... did he crash ?

That's still kind of surprising , but it is his first race back in awhile .

Also there is a race in France, Sommieres today.

Vlaanderen won race 1 with only a few seconds over Benistant (on the 250). Boisrame is 8th, Rubini 10th and Horgmo 11th.

Wow. Was waiting Herlings to run away.

Herlings in pit box before Race 1.
Apparently he spun up on metal start gate and got a bad start, 30 + on first lap fought through to 6th at flag. Was second to Coldenhoff in Moto 2.

I came away before third Superfinal race to beat traffic out of venue. Big crowd there, even at £40 a ticket!

I don't think he does, I remember in 2018 he won both motos but didn't look like he was putting in too much effort. And we all know that 2018 Herlings was an animal.

Also, what happened to Dylan Walsh? 

The results may seem a surprise for Herlings but honestly his riding was fine. He had the same speed as Coldenhoff and Febvre and he’s been out for over a year so not too much to worry about there. It will probably be a few rounds into the MXGP season before we see him at his best. The difference in speed between those at the front and those at the back today was very large and I think it was just a case of him being cautious in the first and last races not to get caught up with other riders. 
 

The standout rider of the day for me was Van Donninck, he got 2 poor starts and almost got up to the leaders in both of them and when he did get a start in the SuperFinal he pushed Coldenhoff all the way. 
 

Worth mentioning as well that the track was pretty dry and pretty tame compared to typical Hawkstone. It was quite simple for riders of that calibre 

It was a great day , weather was spot on , and a good crowd, entry not as strong in MX2 as it has been in previous years, but MX1 was a good field , shame the top home guys wern't there , why they dont want to ride in front of the biggest crowd of the year, on home soil and show off to the people that pay their bills is beyond me. 

Herlings was just being careful, Coldenhoff did enough to win, and Febvre looked like he had the pace, as was said, Van Doninck was impressive all day. 

This time last year , we had a GP to go to next week... 

When the gate dropped he didnt go anywhere apparently, we couldnt see the start, but we were told that he just didnt go when the gate dropped, despite obviously trying to. 

So either a bike issue, or he just wasnt in gear.

He took ages to come through, and by the time he had ,he was shaking arm pump out over the jumps in places, he barely gapped Ashton Dickinson over the last 3 or 4 laps, he knew there was no point pushing.

Did Dickinson and Martin Barr have a coming together in the 1st race?

The racing was good today, all classes were worth watching. Great day at my favourite track.

Barty was all over him for a few laps and then wasnt... i didnt see or hear anything about contact though

Dickinson went down off the start on race 2, in the fucking stupid new layout that had a huge bank on the outside of the turn, that was trimmed off sheer for the first 2 ft or so, would have been like hitting a wall if you highsided, 

So now the guy that holeshots goes to the bank and takes everyone else with them, and it narrows down too so everyone gets squeezed.

All so they dont have to use the digger between races. 

Dumb. 

Dickinson , and Rizzi were both good , as was Sterry too, he went downin the 3rd one, fought back , but went missing at the end when back inside the top 10. 

And it was a great day

Any news on the lad that crashed on the big table top on the 1st lap of the 2nd EMX125 race? When they took him away the medics put a screen up to stop the public from seeing him. 

I heard nothing , but i take the fact that there was no Air Ambulance as a good sign.

My thoughts exactly. 
 

What did surprise me today, no sighting lap. Any reason behind that? 

I’m sure Herlings will be back to form in a couple of races. I just hope he can stay off the deck. The 450 field looks stacked this year though. I’m looking forward to the races! I love traditional MX. 

It wasnt the same without Barry Turnbull though

Where was Barry anyway?  Missed seeing his 500 out there.  Van Donninck was riding like a wild man, had some serious speed on the section that leads to the bombhole.  Good old February day out at hawkestone, I’d be glad if they return back to separate mx1 / mx2 next year though. 

And I’m guessing I’ve just completely missed it but are Kawasaki not a monster team any more? 

Heard a rumour in pits that he had lost feelings in his legs. Sincerely hope it’s just temporary and he recovers okay❤️‍🩹🙏🏼🙏🏼

Looked a bad one, hoping all the best for him. 

I saw the the 1st turn pile up in the 2nd race that took out Dickinson and another rider in particular, I'm pretty sure that was Dickinsons 1st race back after having pretty much all last season off, shame it ended on such a bad note because like you say he was riding very well in the 1st race.

I saw him and Barr were together for quite a few laps, then they both dropped down to just outside the top 10 so I assumed they must of come together somewhere.

Van Donnick was a beast towards the end of the every moto, finishing strong.

Evans and Harrup were on the entry list but no shows, any in sight on that? Did Dylan Walsh get caught out in the 1st turn of the 1st race?

I'm shocked Herlings didn't absolutely obliterate everyone. I could understand him not trying very hard, I remember Ben Watson beat him in a pre season race during Ben's rookie year but these results just seem quite bizarre. I think he'll be fine once MXGP starts but it is a little concerning. I've been wondering how he's gonna go on the new bike too considering all the issues everyone had last year.

Herlings is fine, he looked solid and in control, and you could see at the times 'he turned it on' that he looked his old self. The way he was navigating some sections of the track was awesome to watch. It looked to me like he was content with being within his comfort zone and not going balls out for a win that isn't important. 

Hawkstone was dry, fast and dare I say it a little easier compared to other years, which meant the top guys all had a super fast and consistent pace. Hawkstone is a narrow track too and must feel pretty tiny for those guys on factory 450's