After a tough start to the year as he recovered from a pre-season foot injury, Buildbase Honda Racing’s Kristian Whatley fired back to top form on Sunday with a double win in the MX1 class at round two of the Pirelli British Masters at Brookthorpe.
The former British champion started the day with the fastest time in qualifying aboard his 2016 CRF450R and backed it up with two race wins to top the podium and fire a warning shot across his rivals’ bows that he’s back on his A game.
Kristian’s team-mate Graeme Irwin, a double winner at the series opener, suffered with a crash and then a puncture in the first race but hung on for sixth. In the second moto he exerted race-long pressure on Kristian but couldn’t make a pass.
“You can’t really beat that,” said Kristian. “Qualifying first then holeshot, win, holeshot, win. I’m really happy with that.
“Qualifying went well for me – I always go well on tracks that are rutty and technical – and I felt good. In the first race I got the holeshot and carried my own speed and felt pretty happy with it. I made a few mistakes and Graeme managed to get past me and then half-a-lap later he went down so I ended up winning that one.
“In the second one I had another holeshot and was able to ride my own race. Graeme was pushing me but halfway through I found some better lines and felt much more comfortable.
“Graeme caught me up with around a lap-and-a-half to go so there was some pressure but I felt relaxed and ended up winning that one as well.”
Graeme, despite losing his championship lead to Kristian, remains as upbeat as ever.
“I’ve had a little bit of bad luck but it was a really good last race,” he said, “I just came up a bit short but me and Kristian were streets ahead of everybody else.
“In the first race I’d just made the pass for the lead and washed out the front wheel. I got back up and knew I could still win it but then I got a puncture and the tyre came off the rim so I was lucky to finish and it messed up my chances of the podium.
“In race two I gave Kristian a little bit of a gap to try and find some more lines and I did and then put the push on right to the chequered flag. It was a good race – obviously it would have been better with a different outcome but it is what it is and we both rode really good.”
Heading to Brookthorpe running 1-2 in the MX2 Pro division, Martin Barr and Lewis Trickett both put in solid performances although Martin was disappointed to lose his unbeaten record in the series after recording 2-3 finishes.
“Today wasn’t one of my best days,” he said. “In the first race I got onto the back of Steven Clarke but made a mistake and twisted my ankle in a deep rut and kinda lost my rhythm for a lap or two and ended up second.
“In race two I made a lot better start and it was pretty good racing. Bryan MacKenzie was out front and I was second but Clarkey got me with two or three laps to go and I ended up third and third overall.
“It was a disappointing day really but I picked up some solid points and I think I’m still leading the championship. We’ll regroup tomorrow and get back on it for Hawkstone Park next weekend.”
Lewis Trickett, the team’s second CRF250F rider, made hard work for himself in the opening race after struggling out of the gate but made amends second time out with a much better start.
“In the first race I had a bad start,” he said, “and pretty much spent all my time working through and picking people off and got back up to sixth in MX2.
“In the last race I had a much better start and was running up front with the top three guys and felt pretty good but I cooked the back brake. I didn’t have it for a few laps in the middle and I dropped off their tail so came home fourth.
“I’m happy with my speed and I feel like I’m building as the season goes on which is a real positive for me.”
Team owner Dave Thorpe is happy with his riders’ performances and is already looking ahead to their next event, round three of the British championship at Hawkstone Park next Sunday.
“The track was in prime condition and to be fair all four rode really well,” said Dave. “We’re just going to get our heads down this week, everyone’s going to work very hard in the sand and we’re looking forward to Hawkstone.”
