British BMX Series Round 9 and 10 – Gosport
A week after defending his 4X National Championship in Falmouth, Cornwall, it was back in the Dethleffs team truck and a drive down to Gosport on the South coast for rounds 9 and 10 of the 2018 British BMX Series.
It was back on the BMX bike as Scott attempts to qualify for the 2019 BMX World Championships in Zolder, Belgium next summer. After a strong 2 nationals at round 7 and 8 Scott was feeling confident.
Arriving on Friday the track looked fantastic. Big, technical straights with huge corners. Having never been to this track before Scott was excited to get out and have a play. On Friday evening there was an hour session that Scott made full use of getting the track dialled.
Saturday morning and it was blue skies. In his motos he took the win in his first race, third in his second race and second in his third race which would qualify him through as the second ranked rider.
In the final, with second gate choice Scott decided to move outside a little due to being rusty on the BMX again! He chose gate 4. The gate dropped and Scott was level into turn one but got a bump in there. Slipping back to sixth, Scott set off after the leaders. Railing turn two he closed the gap and moved into fourth. On the last straight he made more ground up but just missed out on third, finishing in fourth. Still some great points on the board towards World’s qualification.
Sunday morning and all the weather forecasts were correct. Torrential rain and strong winds. It really was horrible out there.
In his first moto Scott made an uncharacteristic mistake sliding in the first turn and nearly crashing. Understandable with how wet the track was. He re grouped quickly and set off from the back. By the finish line he was able to salvage fifth position which was a great result considering the mess he was in through turn one.
Due to the deteriorating conditions, a decision was made to cut the normal three moto format down to just two motos. So it was all to play for and Scott now needed at least a third to qualify. With a strong start and first straight Scott entered turn one in second. He played a smart race on the slippery track and settled into a strong second place for the lap. This qualified him comfortably through to the final.
In the final he took gate six. It turned out to be a wise choice. He focused on a strong first straight and stayed out of trouble. He flew into turn one in second and rode well all the way to the finish holding onto second. In the finish area Scott said:
“That was one of the toughest races I’ve ever competed in. It was like I was a passenger on the bike with little control. I pumped every jump and didn’t leave the ground once but it was the right choice. I am stoked with second.”
The team now returns back to 4X duties with the final round of the 2018 Schwalbe British 4X Series taking place next Sunday – 2nd September. Scott has a mathematical chance of winning the overall title. Due to having to miss two previous rounds of the series due to other race commitments, it is amazing that he is in contention. It is a very slim chance and will rely on other results going his way too, but whilst there is a chance we will be fighting.
Images – Sandra Smith