Luke Norris
Race Report
Future West British Supercross Championship
Liverpool Echo Arena
Rounds 2 & 3
The Echo Arena was the setting for rounds 2 & 3 of the British Supercross series, the track layout was superb with some good jumps and technical rhythm sections. The surface was similar to coarse building sand but with the addition of some building materials! During the 2 days some large rocks and house bricks caused major problems. Also Luke was still suffering with a heavy cough and cold so physically it would be demanding as well.
Round 2
The day started with practice at around 9am Friday, Luke looked fairly confident and quickly dialed the track in.
Due to the low number of 85cc big wheel riders they were able to get 2 races in before the evenings final, Luke got 2 holeshots during the mornings riding and was easily the quickest on the circuit.
He went into the first nights final qualifying in 1st position, Luke got a good start pushing into the first turn right at the front, things then became very busy as the first rhythm section tightened things up, Luke went for the outside line at turn 2 and to our amazement crashed in the loose sand berm.
He got the bike up as quickly as he could but had lost around 25 seconds on the lead rider.
This was going to be a tough one, he got into a fast rhythm and was running around 3 seconds a lap faster than everyone and clearing more jumps than all the riders. He was able to make good progress throughout the eight laps and soon moved up to 4th place.
With 1 lap remaining he was closing rapidly on 2nd & 3rd positions, with 1 corner left Luke was right on the wheel of them but just couldn't’t make the pass in time. He ended up 4th.
To say he was gutted would be an understatement, a rock according to Luke or may be just a lapse in concentration!
This had moved him from 3rd overall after Sheffield to joint second, he was 3 points off the lead.
Round 3
Luke’s cold wasn’t helping, he had been sick during the night so we dosed him up with as many cold remedies as possible which certainly helped during the mornings activities. During practice and the 2 races Luke looked awesome, he won his qualifying race by 10 seconds and had dialed in some more jumps, he was super confident for the final.
The final was around 9.45pm, things were not looking good, Luke was really suffering with his eyes streaming and his chest getting tighter.
He went to the start line first and was ready. He got another holeshot by ½ metre and as the previous night things then became very busy, he had dropped to 4th, not what he had planned.
Luke worked hard over the next few laps to move up to 3rd position and was right in contention, the 2 riders in front weren’t able to do a tricky step on jump but Luke made it work for him and got up to 2nd then took the lead through the whoop section.
Great! Just what he needed, he quickly took advantage of the situation and moved away by about 50 metres, with 1 ¼ laps to go he made a huge mistake going too high on one of the loose berm sections and crashed out!
We couldn’t believe it, both 2nd & 3rd place riders went through, Luke again got the bike fired up and quickly got back into the race. The 2nd place rider fell just before the whoop section allowing Luke to close right in again, by this time the leader was about 5 seconds clear.
Luke just ran out of time and crossed the finish line in a well deserved 3rd place finally making it on to the podium.
Jack Burnical who was commentating for the evening (Eurosport commentator) interviewed Luke infront of the many thousand crowd, Luke was gutted to have thrown away the win.
Summary
Wow what a weekend, Luke had been sick during Saturday, could hardly speak during the interview at the end due to chest and was even coughing throughout the race!
We were all so disappointed for him especially as he had looked so good during the mornings races, this has moved him into 2nd, 5 points away from the lead with the final round to go at the O2 arena on February 23rd. There is still a chance he can get the title with a bit of luck, fingers crossed.
Matt Norris
Race Report
Future West British Supercross Championship
Liverpool Echo Arena
Rounds 2 & 3
The Echo Arena was the setting for rounds 2 & 3 of the British Supercross series, the track layout was superb with some good jumps and technical rhythm sections. The surface was similar to coarse building sand but with the addition of some building materials! During the 2 days some large rocks and house bricks caused major problems. Also Luke was still suffering with a heavy cough and cold so physically it would be demanding as well.
Round 2
The day started with practice at around 9am Friday, Luke looked fairly confident and quickly dialed the track in.
Due to the low number of 85cc big wheel riders they were able to get 2 races in before the evenings final, Luke got 2 holeshots during the mornings riding and was easily the quickest on the circuit.
He went into the first nights final qualifying in 1st position, Luke got a good start pushing into the first turn right at the front, things then became very busy as the first rhythm section tightened things up, Luke went for the outside line at turn 2 and to our amazement crashed in the loose sand berm.
He got the bike up as quickly as he could but had lost around 25 seconds on the lead rider.
This was going to be a tough one, he got into a fast rhythm and was running around 3 seconds a lap faster than everyone and clearing more jumps than all the riders. He was able to make good progress throughout the eight laps and soon moved up to 4th place.
With 1 lap remaining he was closing rapidly on 2nd & 3rd positions, with 1 corner left Luke was right on the wheel of them but just couldn't’t make the pass in time. He ended up 4th.
To say he was gutted would be an understatement, a rock according to Luke or may be just a lapse in concentration!
This had moved him from 3rd overall after Sheffield to joint second, he was 3 points off the lead.
Round 3
Luke’s cold wasn’t helping, he had been sick during the night so we dosed him up with as many cold remedies as possible which certainly helped during the mornings activities. During practice and the 2 races Luke looked awesome, he won his qualifying race by 10 seconds and had dialed in some more jumps, he was super confident for the final.
The final was around 9.45pm, things were not looking good, Luke was really suffering with his eyes streaming and his chest getting tighter.
He went to the start line first and was ready. He got another holeshot by ½ metre and as the previous night things then became very busy, he had dropped to 4th, not what he had planned.
Luke worked hard over the next few laps to move up to 3rd position and was right in contention, the 2 riders in front weren’t able to do a tricky step on jump but Luke made it work for him and got up to 2nd then took the lead through the whoop section.
Great! Just what he needed, he quickly took advantage of the situation and moved away by about 50 metres, with 1 ¼ laps to go he made a huge mistake going too high on one of the loose berm sections and crashed out!
We couldn’t believe it, both 2nd & 3rd place riders went through, Luke again got the bike fired up and quickly got back into the race. The 2nd place rider fell just before the whoop section allowing Luke to close right in again, by this time the leader was about 5 seconds clear.
Luke just ran out of time and crossed the finish line in a well deserved 3rd place finally making it on to the podium.
Jack Burnical who was commentating for the evening (Eurosport commentator) interviewed Luke infront of the many thousand crowd, Luke was gutted to have thrown away the win.
Summary
Wow what a weekend, Luke had been sick during Saturday, could hardly speak during the interview at the end due to chest and was even coughing throughout the race!
We were all so disappointed for him especially as he had looked so good during the mornings races, this has moved him into 2nd, 5 points away from the lead with the final round to go at the O2 arena on February 23rd. There is still a chance he can get the title with a bit of luck, fingers crossed.
Matt Norris
