Sunday October 21, 2018 at 8:12pm
Jens Walvoort and Bailey Johnston battled the mammoth dune course to take the HydroGarden Weston Beach Race victories in the 85cc Big Wheel and Small Wheel classes today (Sunday).
While Dutch racer Walvoort had a good start around the challenging dune course, it was Sam Davies that was on fire in the opening stages of the 1hr 30min 85cc race. Davies led for the first 45 minutes, but Walvoort recovered from an early crash to catch and pass the youngster at the halfway mark. Walvoort, who won the race last year, never looked back and maintained his advantage to the chequered flag. Davies finished second, with Sam Atkinson, who was sixth on the opening lap, taking the final podium position.
Johnston rode a strong race aboard his 85cc Small Wheel machine. The youngster, who currently leads the Judd KTM British Youth National Championship Powered by Parts Europe, gated into ninth overall at the end of the first lap. While the Judd Orange Brigade rider had some technical issues throughout, he coaxed his machine to the end to take the victory, which was certainly sweet having missed out on the win in 2017 due to technical issues. Husqvarna rider Henry Life was second with 11thoverall, and Ben Zeale was third with 12thin the class standings.
JENS WALVOORT
“It went well today. I started in front, and then I crashed, so I was demoted to second. I rode back to first and that was it. I won last year and it was my first time. I was a bit nervous before coming here, but I am proud of the result. I really like this event, I like racing on the beach. The dunes were pretty difficult here, but I only crashed once. There was a lot of traffic, but I had two perfect pit-stops and it’s good to be going back home with the number one trophy – it feels great.”
BAILEY JOHNSTON
“I got a good start. I was first into the first corner, and then I just tried to stay on the bike as much as possible. The first couple of laps were pretty hard because all of the dunes were really soft. I struggled on the first lap, and I had a problem with my back brake. The track eased up a bit, but the clutch went so I had to pit. We couldn’t sort the issue out so then I tried to just finish the race and to keep it together on the bike. This year I really wanted to win it after the problems I had last year, as I was so gutted not to win after leading for so long. It’s amazing to have finally done it today. I’ve had an awesome year. The Judd Orange Brigade have given me so much help, and I’m leading the British Youth National Championship, which finishes here next weekend, where I hope I can wrap up the title.”