Well it all got started on the 16th march with round 1 of NORA-MX/ BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP at Mepal MX Park , a very soft sand track that lived up to its reputation of giving a rough hard days racing! Ayrton qualified 9th overall and 3rd in his class so lined up on the front row of the 26 quad line up Race 1 went according to plan keeping out of trouble in the soft sandy turns and finishing 2nd in class 6th overall ,this would be the order of the following 2 races of the day only the winning margins of the fitter riders being the difference.
Round 2 at Grittenham ,wiltshire was a track Ayrton had no previous knowledge only the fact we knew it was hard-pack . He qualified 11th in what was the largest class of the day with some 36 riders on the double row start line . The DWT tires hooked up out of the start gate and he rounded the first turn in 7th place and leading the 250 mod class (air cooled engines) , he held on to the lead for the next 4 laps but it was only time before Daffyd Davies powered past on the long back straight , Ayrton was clearly lacking in power/top speed! This would be the same in race 2 ,only race 3 Ayrton didn’t have a good start and had to fight his way through from 19th on the first turn to a very respectable 5th overall and 2nd in class . Ayrton now holds 6th overall and 2nd in class in the overall NORA-MX/ BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP.
The 6th of April saw the start of the NETT CHAMPIONSHIP at FAT CAT MOTO-PARC , this is Ayrtons local club so coupled together with it being BRIAN WINROW MEMORIAL he was mega fired up for a win ! The first race went more or less to plan other than an engine misfire late on in the race allow Harry Carmichael in 2nd to close the gap to with in 6 seconds at the chequered flag . Race 2 and with the misfire sorted and a change of gearing Ayrton was ready! The gate dropped but Ayrtons quad sat still HE had selected second gear !!!. last round turn one the red mist came down and he attacked the now rough sandy track and by the end of the first lap he was up to 6th , it was plain to see he was on a mission by the end of lap two he was up to 2nd . That was as good as it gets lap 3 he changed his line over the big table top and it all went wrong ! the front end doug in and pitched him over the bars ! IT was a BIG one . Ayrton remounted and continued but it was obvious he was in considerable pain and the quad was badly bent . Medics diagnosed a broken collar bone or dislocated shoulder , and a trip A&E confirmed it was a broken collar and a 6 to 8 week lay off looked likely . Monday I made a phone call to Dr Simpson who booked him in for 3 sessions of lazer treatment on Wednesday to try and accelerate the recovery time . Ayrton commented on sunday night ” I am gutted I don’t want to let all my sponsors down and a really wanted the win , until the crash everything felt good and I was on fire ” “lets hope I can make it to the next round at Pontrilas in 2 weeks ”
