Anstie minutes from victory at home Grand Prix!
Monster Energy Dixon Racing Team Kawasaki's Max Anstie
played a key role in a memorable 2015 British Grand Prix by leading almost all
of the first moto around the distinctive curves of the Matterley Basin circuit.
Relishing the support and enthusiasm of a passionate 35,000-strong home
following, Anstie gathered fifth position overall and was again close to his
first podium honours in MX2 this term.
The seventh round of the 2015 FIM Motocross World
Championship brought the contest to Matterley for the fifth year on the bounce
and some pleasant late May weather meant sunny spells and friendly temperatures
with only a smattering of light rain late Sunday afternoon.
Two weeks after Max had charged into the top three in Spain,
'99' was hoping for another bright showing but this time on local turf and
setting off from sixth in the gate in the first moto he was at the front within
the first few corners. Valentin Guillod gave hard chase and applied pressure
and Max admitted that he tensed in the second half of the thirty minutes plus
two lap distance. Jeffrey Herlings also drew near as the laps counted down and
when Guillod move to relegate Anstie Herlings also pounced. Two circulations
away from the win, Max finally had to settle for third place.
Any designs on a champagne spray at Matterley faded with a
difficult start in the second moto. Max was submerged in the pack and had work
hard to gain more than five positions to arrive to sixth, where the distance to
Jeremy Seewer was too hard to breach. 35 points in total still represented his
second highest of the season so far and Anstie has taken a top three moto
result in the last three Grands Prix.
The team had representation in EMX250 and the fourth round
of nine in the series thanks to American wild-card Darian Sanayei. The
youngster had only a few days to acclimatise to his first trip to Europe for
competition and to get used to the Cosworth-powered KX250F. He was fantastic in
the initial moto to catch and pass Adam Sterry and take the chequered flag at
his first attempt. The second race was pushed to the end of the race timetable
after the opening MXGP sprint had to be restarted. A light blanket of rain
meant the Matterley terrain was slicker but for Sanayei the decision to use
roll-offs on his goggles backfired when he had a problem and then crashed
together with another rider in the formative stages of the second EMX250
outing. Sanayei fought back to twelfth to finish his first EMX experience with
a decent fourth overall.
Both the team and the many fans wandering around the paddock
were happy to welcome Mel Pocock back into the awning. Mel chatted with friends
and supporters, signed autographs and went for a lap of Matterley in a
high-power buggy.
After a busy weekend Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki now have a
few days at the workshop to clean, overhaul and inspect race equipment before
starting the journey across the channel and down through France to Villars sout
Ecot for round eight of the FIM series.
Max Anstie:
"The first race was amazing and I have never led in front of
my home crowd. I got about fifteen minutes in and I did tighten up a little
bit, I thought 'God, this race is going on for a long time'. I pushed as hard
as I could in both races and the second one did not go to plan with the gate
but I came though and many as many passes as I could. Improvements each week
and two solid motos. Hopefully we'll be on the box pretty soon.”
Darian Sanayei:
"It was a pretty good experience. We came over for a week
and rode at Max Anstie's and Mel Pocock's house and I really enjoyed the bike
and the team. I was in the EMX250 class at Matterley and I was seventeenth in
qualification with some issues with the bike so I couldn't get many laps done.
I had a good charge in that first moto and to win was pretty cool; I might be
the first American to win in the series. It started raining on the sighting lap
of the second moto and I put some roll-offs on but had a problem with them and
also came together with another rider on the second lap. I could up to
thirteenth and I think it was fourth overall.”
Steve Dixon, Team Principal:
"A busy weekend but the atmosphere and the people here are part of the reason why having a Grand Prix in this country is so important. We had a good weekend and it would have been great to get on the final podium in MX2 but Max showed that we are getting very close. Having Mel back around the team at a Grand Prix was a nice experience and to see the reactions to him being here was great to see. Darian came in and did a superb job in EMX250. He prepared and handled the situation like a Pro and it will be interesting to see what he can do in the future; one to watch.”
