British heroes in Lommel

CNC Doors KTM’s Steven Clarke of Great Britain knows a little about winning championships. Having won the European 85cc junior world championship nearly a decade ago, and now the 2014 EMX250 championship Clarke is becoming something of an expert in winning away from home.

Last weekend in Lommel another young British rider in Albie Wilkie won the Honda European Championship EMX150 and secured himself a ride for the Honda Jtech team in the 2015 European EMX250 category.

With Bike It Yamaha Yamaha Cosworth rider Max Anstie going 1-2 and winning the overall in the MX2 class, it was a day of celebration for the British fans and riders alike.

For Clarke it was a no brainer to race the EMX 250 championship in 2014 after sampling the series in 2013 and finding it to his liking.

“I did two rounds of the EMX 250 championship in 2013 and finished eighth in one round, and second in the other. After those results I said to my dad I wanted to race the full EMX250 championship in 2014. The original plan was to do it with my British based team, but that didn’t work out and we came out with the family and my mechanic and just went for it. We went to Bulgaria and finished in fourth place overall, then led the championship from round two until the end. We got some help from Standing Construct KTM and that helped. We all put in a lot of hard work and it was a good finish in the championship. I wasn’t nervous coming into Lommel, I have a lot of experience compared to my rivals, and I kept a cool head and kept it on two wheels. I took it to the last moto and I didn’t really know if I had won the title, at least not until I saw my dad cartwheeling across the track after the finish line.”

For Wilkie it was a dream come true as he finished just two points ahead of rival Jere Haavisto in the series points, and claimed not only the 150cc championship, but also a ride for the 2015 season. The Eastwood Honda rider was solid all series and very much deserved his success.

“It didn’t go to plan on Saturday, but to come off with the championship victory, and to get that ride for 2015 is really exciting. I had never ridden Lommel before and it was the toughest circuit I have ever ridden in my career. On the smaller bikes on those big bumps was tough.”

It seems the British riders enjoyed the experience of Lommel and with two euro champions in 2014 anything is possible for the Brits in 2015 as they all look at trying to continue the success of one of the proudest motocross nations in the world.