Tommy Searle’s rookie MX1 series was a positive experience. A 6th place overall in the series standings was respectable by all standards, and if not for poor starts suffered during the season, Searle might have been in the top 5. His starts at Lierop were similar to the rest of his season. A poor start in moto 1 forced him to come through the pack to an eventual 7th place moto score. The second moto start was better for the talented English rider, and he was able to finish in 8th place at the checkered flag. The 7-8 moto score netted him 6th overall for the event. “This track is always tough, and I finished seventh and eighth in the two motos. I can’t be really happy with these results, but in the first moto, the track was more enduro than motocross! Maybe I need to come and work on my sand technique a little bit more often; if it had been important for the championship, I would have done it but it has been a long season and I came here just to do my best. The season is over now; we need to make a lot of improvements on our setup and we’ll do that this winter.” Searle will now prepare to represent Team Great Britain at the Motocross of Nations in Germany on September 29th. MX2 teammates Arnaud Tonus and Alessandro Lupino both experienced difficult first motos but ended the season strong with top 10 finishes in the second moto. Tonus’ first moto 20th place was backed up with a 6th place second moto for 11th overall. An off-track excursion by Lupino in the first moto cost him any results but he rebounded for a 10th place in moto 2 and 17th overall. Lupino ended the season with a career best 8th place in the standings. “It was a pretty good weekend,” said Tonus following the event. “I had trained hard for the last two weeks and I was happy with my rhythm on Saturday. In the first moto, I crashed pretty hard when I was in the top ten; my feeling with the track was not so good as usual because I never saw Lierop like this. The second race was better; I had a better rhythm and could keep my sixth place for the entire race. Now I will practice on a 450 for the MX of Nations, and next week I have a Swiss championship race, also on a 450, so that will be good training.” Lupino also commented on the difficulties of the track. “I never saw Lierop like this, and it was another tough weekend for me. I improved my riding in the sand, but I must stay more focused on these tracks; I made a couple of mistakes, and in the first race they disqualified me because the jury told that I went outside the track on one jump. The second moto was better, but the result is not what I want. The team and I know what we need to improve for next season, and we’ll work on it as I want to get more podiums than the two I managed in 2014!” Like his teammates, Lupino will be representing his country at the Motocross of Nations in Germany at the end of September. With the series completed, the Bel-Ray-backed Team CLS Kawasaki scored excellent results with two riders who completed the entire season inside the top 10 in their respective classes and Tonus showing potential after recovering from his injuries. All three racers have re-signed with the team for the 2014 season and will spend the winter building on their 2013 results with the hopes of a successful 2014 racing season. |
