Josh Gilbert clean sweeps UK Xtreme Academy round two

Honda Xtreme Academy rider Josh Gilbert dominated round two of the ACU British Youth Nationals last weekend with a clean sweep of wins at Salters Lane, Lincolnshire to take the overall in both the Academy and big wheel British series aboard his CRF 150R.

 

With rain in earlier in the week, track conditions were perfect going into the event weekend at the Salters Lane track. Gilbert immediately got to grips with the circuit by finding lines and showing good pace on the Bulidbase backed CRF 150R to take pole position in qualifying.

 

In race one on Saturday of the two-day meeting, Gilbert stormed into the first corner, grabbing the holeshot. The youngster put his head down while keeping a strong rhythm to take the first moto win. The CRF 150R pilot showed good pace all day, earning two more wins out of two further races. Sam Braithwaite was another Xtreme Academy rider that enjoyed good results on the first day, running in the top ten for the majority of the motos including fourth and fifth place finishes.

 

Sunday came around and the track was once again in prime condition for the top youth riders in the country. Gilbert was putting in consistently fast lap times throughout practice with the likes of Sam Braithwaite and Adam Day also showing they had the speed to run high up in the standings. Race four got underway and Gilbert emerged first, grabbing the holeshot one again. The Honda pilot capitalised on his good start to stay at the front for the remainder of the race. Braithwaite also showed good pace again while finishing inside the top ten in eighth place.

 

For the final race of the weekend it was the unstoppable CRF 150R pilot Gilbert who clinched his fifth holeshot of the weekend. It looked as if it was going to be a repeat of the previous races for Gilbert, until he had an incident close to the end of the race. The youngster kept a cool head and managed to get himself back into the lead to take the chequered flag and his fifth win from five races over the weekend. Braithwaite also had a strong ride to finish seventh.

 

Gilbert won the overall main class with Braithwaite finishing seventh overall. The Academy podium consisted of Gilbert in first, followed by Braithwaite second and Adam Day third. The next round of the series is at Wooley Grange on the 9^th and 10th of June.

For more information on the Xtreme Academy and the benefits of being involved, please visitwww.hondaproracing.com/xtreme-academy. To enter the series please visit: www.rhlactivities.com.