Rough night in Sheffield for Apico Husqvarna
Sheffield’s Motorpoint Arena marked the scene for the seventh round of the 2015 Arenacross UK tour. With just two rounds of the tour remaining both the Apico Husqvarna Motorcycle riders were looking for good results.
With a great track laid out inside the arena both Franklin Nogueras and Kade Walker settled into the track early on. After the two qualifying sessions Franklin posted a lap time that gave him 10th fastest, with Kade just behind in 15th place.
Once the seats filled up it was time for the opening heats of the evening and in the first heat Kade lined up on the outside and was pushed wide on the opening corner. As the race continued Kade tried to push forward but was unable to make progress and finished in 8th. In the second heat race Franklin made a strong mid pack start on the tight first turn and was looking strong early on. As the race progressed Franklin was looking to move into 4th place when he crashed heavily on the finish line triple, Franklin remounted a lap down to finish in 8th place.
The second round of heat races saw Franklin line up in heat three and make a great start in 3rd place but unfortunately as the race progressed Franklin slipped down the order and would finish 6th. In the fourth heat race Kade started in 5th place but a couple of small mistakes saw him slip back to 8th at the finish.
Unfortunately it meant that both Franklin and Kade had to go to the LCQ, but it was decided that Kade would sit the race out due to a lack of confidence and to avoid injury. As the race started Franklin started in 2nd place but was bumped back to 3rd and pushed hard all race but was unable to transfer to the Main Event.
Richard Clarke: "Tonight has been a really tough night for the team, both riders felt okay on the track during practice. Unfortunately once the races started things just didn’t go our way, Franklin was riding well but crashes and mistakes stopped him transferring to the Main Event. We now have two weeks before the final round to regroup."
Pic © Nuno Laranjeira/e22 Sports
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