Good race day for KTM's Max Nagl at Hawkstone Park

2010-03-08 18:38
Red Bull KTM MX1 factory rider Max Nagl of Germany put in a successful day on the track at Hawkstone Park in the U.K. on Sunday finishing second overall in the MX1 class in this pre-season international.

Nagl said it was the first time in the pre-season races that he went out with the intention of pushing and he was more than happy with the results.

"I had three very good starts, including two holeshots. We changed the settings a little bit and this made a big difference for the starts. It was for sure a good weekend for me and this is a good track" Max said after the race.

The German racer is well known for his blitz action out of the start gates and last season notched up an impressive amount of holeshots in the collective MX1 World Championship motos. He was the only member of the MX1 factory team to race at Hawkstone Park this weekend and he will continue his preparation for the season opener in Bulgaria with another race in Germany next weekend.

Simpson's run of bad luck continues
After a great start to the pre-season events in Mantova, Italy, Nagl's MX2 Red Bull KTM factory teammate Shaun Simpson has had his share of bad luck including a crash on Sunday at Hawkstone Park. Shaun was faster than Ken Roczen in the morning session to snatch pole position but early in the first race he crashed heavily into a rocky bank that left him bruised and battered with a cut under his eye and another deep cut to his ring finger. As a precaution he received treatment and x-rays at the local hospital, which did not indicate any other problems. He is being held under observation overnight to receive intravenous antibiotics.

This left Dennis Verbruggen and Joel Roelants of JM Racing KTM and Jake Nichols of Red Bull KTM UK keeping the flag flying for the Orange family in the MX2. They succeeded in finishing second, sixth and third respectively.

Good weekend also for Herlings at French Championships
Meanwhile the youngest member of the Red Bull KTM Racing Team, Jeffrey Herlings of the Netherlands raced in the French National Championship this weekend at Sommières. Jeffrey told KTM Racing that he was well satisfied with his racing, making steady improvements in both his starts and finishes in Sunday's three motos to wrap up the weekend in second place overall in the MX2 class.

MX 1 Results Hawkstone Park
1. Steve Ramon, Belgium, Suzuki 15-20 - 35
2. Max Nagl, Germany, Red Bull KTM Factory 13-17—30
3. Tanel Leok, Estonia, 20-10---30
4. Clement Desaille, France, Suzuki, 11-15—25
5. Gareth Swanepoel, Honda, 10-13—23

MX2 Results Hawkstone Park
1. Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki, 20-20—40
2. Dennis Verbruggen, JM Racing KTM, 15-17—32
3. Jake Nicholls, Red Bull KTM UK11-15—26
4. Ceriel Klein Kromhof, Yamaha, 10-9—19
5. Nick Triest, Honda, 7-10—17
6. Joel Roelants, JM Racing KTM

Source: KTM-Sportmotorcycle AG

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