Mackenzie looks back at British GP and ahead to season finale
August 30, 2007
Factory Kawasaki motocross racer and the UK’s top rider in the premier FIM MX1 World Championship, Billy Mackenzie, was unable to send his many fans home happy at last week’s British Grand Prix. The 23 year old Scot from Edinburgh led the first moto of the penultimate round of the series across the jumpy layout at Donington Park (attended by 28,000 noisy spectators) but a stall saw him take eighth position. In his quest to make amends in Moto2 he hit neutral out of the gate and then fell several times in the first laps trying to come back through the pack. Overall it was not the Grand Prix that the winner of the Japanese round and member of the British Motocross of Nations team wanted. Now the current leader of the British Championship wants to end his maiden campaign in the MX1 class on a positive note as the Grand Prix of the Netherlands in the sand of Lierop represents the fifteenth and final meeting of the FIM competition this weekend It wasn’t the best weekend was it?BM: Well, no! It was awful. It was the opposite of what I was expecting. For around 15 minutes I had things under control but that one slip dropped that whole moto for me. My arms went and then the day developed from bad to worse. I was desperate for a good result in the second moto and that attributed to the mistakes; I was just trying too hard. Everybody has races like that during the season and it was a real shame that my came at the British Grand Prix. How was the experience being there again though as one of Britain’s best?
BM: Yeah, it was great. The day rightfully belonged to Tommy (Searle, MX2 GP winner) but I loved being among the fans and hearing all the cheers and people willing you on. I think the GP was good overall. I know there was a lot of people doubting whether a motocross race would work at Donington Park but I hope it happens there again next year. You now have the last GP ahead of you, in the sand of Lierop. Your expectations?
BM: I did well and made the podium in 2005 but had a bit of a nightmare last year. I have not done that many races with the Kawasaki in the sand and we went riding at Lommel in Belgium this week and I still wasn’t that happy with the set-up. We will work on it during practice on Saturday and obviously I want to pick things up from Donington and finish the season satisfied. And your evaluation of your first season in the premier class?
BM: I’m not that happy. I am tenth and will probably finish there unless something major happens to Tanel (Leok, team-mate). I wanted to be better than that. The second half of the season has been positive but I was fighting some pressure in the first part with this being my first works ride and then there was also the problem with my food because I was not eating the right stuff for my allergy. Japan was a turning point and the obvious highlight. I’m proud of being the first Brit to win in both MX1 and MX2 and give the KX450F its first victory. The team and Kawasaki could not have done more for me and the quality of the package was such that we hardly had to touch the bike throughout the year. http://www.mac211.com
Billy hitting neutral in MOTO 2
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