On a cold yet, near perfect winters day, Mitchell Evans kept his championship hopes alive taking a third place finish for the round while team mate, Jackson Richardson fell heavily in moto two and injured his shoulder and was unable to finish the race.
Evans started the day in fine form, winning the opening MX2 moto on his Serco Yamaha. Evans nailed a good start and found himself in second place and settling into the race nicely. By lap six, he had clawed his way up to the leader and piled on the pressure. He slipped by on lap seven and charged all the way to the end of the 30-minute race to take a nine second win over his nearest championship rival, Wilson Todd.
A poor start in moto two left Evans mid pack at best as the field roared off for their final moto of the day. With moto two only 20 minutes in duration, there was no time to waste and Evans put his head down and picked off as many riders as he could. He managed to find himself in fourth place after a desperate opening sprint but a fall slowed his progress and he remounted back in seventh place.
He made a couple more passes before the end of the race and scrambled back to fifth place and limited thee points damage in a spirited ride. His 1-5 results saw him claim third on the day and keeps him within eight points of the championship lead.
“I felt I was riding well today and I like the Shepparton track,” Evans begins. “The first race went perfectly to plan and it was a great way to start the day.
“Moto two was a bit more of a fight as I locked bars with a few guys off the start and was spat out the back pretty quick. I made my way through but as I was trying to pass into third, I got on the gas too early leaving a turn and the back just come around on me. I tried to be a little too aggressive and it didn’t pay off but I’m still happy with how I’m riding at the moment.
“Just three rounds to go now and the points are still close in the championship so there is lots of work to do. Port Macquarie is next and most of us haven’t been there before so we look forward to racing somewhere new,” Evans ends.
Unfortunately, the day wasn’t as good for team mate Jackson Richardson. Richardson entered round seven well placed in the championship in fourth place and well within striking distance of the leaders and hoping to gain more ground at Shepparton.
Richardson was in the heat of the battle in moto one and inside the top five until the halfway point. He fell on lap 15 and then again on lap 19 of the 20lap race and finished the moto in ninth place.
The North Queenslander was determined to get his day back on track in race two and was in perfect position when he moved into second place in the early stages. But just as he was ready to ramp it up for the final half of the race, he lost control of his bike and fell heavily on his shoulder. He was unable to finish the race and was taken to hospital to get further medical advice on his shoulder.
Jackson returned to the track later but will still go further tests during the week to determine the full extent of the injury.
“What a frustrating day,” Richardson said. “I struggled in race one but made a couple of changes and I felt much better in race two but as I came onto the finish line straight, the front end went from under me and hit the ground shoulder first.
“I had it X-rayed and there appears to be no bone breaks but I also need an MRI scan which I will get this week to so if there is any other damage. Its sore now, but hopefully it’s just some bruising and I can get back on the bike ASAP,” Jackson states.
The Serco Yamaha team now shift focus to round eight of the championship at Port Macquarie on July 30.
