Career Best for Mackenzie in Latvia

28th June 2009 – World MX1 Championship Round 10 – Grand Prix of Latvia, Kegums

CAS Honda’s sole representative at this weekend’s inaugural Motocross Grand Prix of Latvia, Bryan Mackenzie, scored a career best finish with 13th place in the second moto, following a retirement from the first race due to injury for round ten of the FIM World MX1 Championship.

In yesterday’s qualifying Mackenzie demonstrated a masterful start from 21st on the gate to shoot to the front of the pack, before making a few mistakes in the opening stages and crossing the line in 13th position at the end of lap one.

The 24-year-old Scottish rider soon found his rhythm and fought his way back to tenth in the following few laps of the 20-minute plus two-lap moto around the sandy Latvian track. On lap six and seven Mackenzie lost two positions and settled into 12th place where he remained until the chequered flag, which put him in good stead for today’s Grand Prix races.

However, in warm-up this morning, the CAS-Honda pilot twisted his right ankle and aggravated an old injury, leaving him in a considerable amount of pain ahead of the opening moto.

In race one Mackenzie didn’t get the best of starts, and came round in just 18th position at the end of the first lap. On lap five of the 35 minute plus two-lap moto Mackenzie caught his foot again, which caused him to crash, and although he tried to battle on, the unbearable pain in his ankle got the better of him, forcing him to retire on lap 10.

A bitterly disappointed Mackenzie received treatment from the Clinica Mobile post-race and he was determined to make amends in the second moto. The CAS Honda-pilot displayed another superb start, almost clinching the holeshot from Max Nagl by launching his CRF450R off the gate and into line for the tight first turn.

Mackenzie emerged out of the first few corners in sixth place and settled into 10th at the end of the opening lap. On lap five the CAS Honda-rider lost a place to Jason Dougan, but continued to push hard in the hot and humid conditions to retain his position. In the closing stages Mackenzie engaged in a tough three-way battle for 12th with Gareth Swanepoel and Lauris Freibergs to cross the finish line in a career-best 13th position.

Bryan Mackenzie #121: Race one: DNF Race two: 13th

“This weekend has definitely been a big improvement for me. I’m not one for doing one-off fast laps, so our pre-qualifying positions have given us a lot of work to do in the previous races. I got a good start in yesterday’s qualifying heat, then got two good laps in, which is another area I’ve been trying to improve, before finding my rhythm with some of the quicker guys. Unfortunately this morning halfway through warm-up I caught my foot in a rut and twisted it, which aggravated an old ankle injury. In the first race I was hoping I could ride through it, but I tweaked it again and crashed, which made it unbearably painful, so I had to pull in. I felt really angry with myself, as that’s the first DNF in a very long time that’s been my fault. I had some treatment from the Clinica Mobile before the second race, and some pain relief, which worked well. I got another good start, although I went a bit too hot into the first turn, to come out in the top ten. I just pushed really hard, didn’t rest at all during the whole race and I was kept motivated by my pit board. I wanted to make amends for the first race, so I dug deep and tried as hard as I could to achieve a career best finish at this level.”

Neil Prince: CAS Honda Team Manager

“We’ve seen another big improvement with Bryan’s performance this weekend and he did a good job today. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend the race, but I’ve kept in close contact with Bryan and the team throughout all of the sessions. His starts and first few laps of all of the races have made a big difference, because it’s much easier to find a good pace when running further up the field. It’s a shame he pulled out of race one, but he definitely made up for it in the second moto. Hopefully he can rest his ankle this week and continue making progress like this for the race next weekend in Sweden.”

Stuart Summers: Bryan Mackenzie’s Chief Technician

“Bryan has definitely moved forwards in the last few weeks, especially with with his qualifying, and this makes the job easier on race day. The first race was a bit frustrating, but the treatment he received obviously worked for the second heat. He got a really good gate in the second race, before making a little bit of a mistake into the first turn. He came out around about eighth, which is a lot better than we’ve seen in the last few races. He dropped back a few positions halfway through, but fought for the whole race and stayed strong in the last few laps to hold onto 13th place, which considering he’s in a bit of pain, was a good performance.”

Notes: CAS Honda’s Billy Mackenzie underwent surgery on his injured right thumb yesterday to repair the detached Ulnar Collateral Ligament and is now recovering at home in the UK. It is not yet known when he will return to the racetrack, but he will be replaced by American rider Matt Boni at the Grand Prix of Sweden next weekend.