Mitch Conway`s EMX 125 Debut at the Hawkstone Park International on the 25th February 2024.
A tough weekend for me at the 2024 Hawkstone International, EMX 125 class.
The day commenced with 5 minutes of practice gate starts and then immediately led into a foggy qualifying session. After having a few practice laps my goggles jammed up, with the roll off cord breaking and then had to be thrown, forcing me to try and put a lap in with no goggles and the spray and roost from the wet sand getting in my eyes, due to that I qualified in a disappointing P26.
Race 1 was extremely tough and tricky, due to having goggle issues again (fogging due to the mist) and also 3 crashes, I lost some valuable positions coming from near last to finish P24
Race 2 was slightly better with a good start and running P14 for 3 laps until I once again had a crash, crucial positions were lost again due to the speed of the riders, but still managed to finish P20, the track conditions at this point, were getting very deep and proving difficult to select good line choices.
Race 3 we noticed we had an issue with my rear brake from Race 2, where the rear calliper had fractured & dropped the retaining pin and brake pads, meaning we had to start without a rear brake, causing me to have an eventful time especially coming down the infamous Hawkstone Hill. In the later stages of the race my foot got caught in between the peg and the gear lever causing it to bend down and be unusable but I still managed to finish the race P23 with these issues.
I managed to actually score points, from the second race top 20 finish, which gave me a 24th overall for the day.
It was definitely a wake up call this weekend with a very high class field of regular EMX125 and British championship riders, but still great fun and invaluable experience.
My fitness felt good, with the nutritional benefits and guidance received from Coach Robb. Many thanks to all the NORA CRS team and supporters and also our own personal sponsors James E Smith Timber Products, Factory Motocross Graphics & Mission MX.
We are now looking forward to the Cotswold Youth and Amateur MX club championship starting, but the current weather conditions seem to be having other ideas.
Hopefully we can all get back on track, before too much longer.
