The sandy soil of Kegums hosted the Grand Prix of Latvia and the second of three consecutive rounds in the FIM Motocross World Championship for the HM Plant Red Bull KTM UK team as Jake Nicholls negotiated two physical races in sunny and hot conditions to finish 11th overall.

The rapid bumps and ripples of the eastern European venue provided a testing surface and a different test compared to the hard-pack of Germany the previous week. Nicholls had made a good start and rode a consistent race on Saturday earning 8th place for the same choice of positions in the gate for Sunday.

Kegums was coated with even warmer temperatures and a fair crowd on race-day as a total of 17,000 (weekend figure) rolled into the circuit 70km south-east of Riga. Nicholls’ first moto began with a slip to the floor on the first corner and meant a trawl through the pack. The 20 year old was fighting with Matiss Karro for a creditable 13th – which he won – but not before the duo became involved with the race leaders pushing through on the last lap which led to some ill-judgement from Karro and frustration on Nicholls’ part.

The second moto saw a much better start and the HM Plant Red Bull KTM UK rider was running in fifth place through the opening exchanges. After finding his feet with a consistent speed Nicholls crossed the finish line in 10th. He holds 11th in the MX2 world championship standings and 5 points from the top ten.

Meanwhile back in Northern Ireland, Graeme Irwin made a return to competition following his shoulder operation at the prestigious John Donnelly Memorial Motocross at Downpatrick MX circuit in Co Down. After setting a timed practice lap 2.5secs faster than any of his rivals, he struggled out of the gate in each moto on his KTM 250SXF against the majority of his rivals on 450s. Moto 1 saw him progress to 2nd at the finish to local KTM rider Gary Gibson despite suffering arm-pump due to his lack of bike-time.

Moto 2 witnessed Irwin also finish in 2nd at the line but due to a red flag incident just before the finish he was demoted to 3rd as the result was eventually taken by positions at the end of the previous lap. Moto 3 saw Irwin take the lead on the first circulation only for the race to again be red flagged. After the restart, he resumed his position at the front of the pack which he held for the duration. He was pipped for the overall victory and the John Donnelly trophy by just 1 point by Gibson- arguably as a result of the occurrence in the second sprint.

At the same event, Irwin's team-mate Natalie Kane was presented with her 2009 FIM Bronze medal from the Women’s World Motocross Championship by the President of the Motorcycling Union of Ireland Trevor Callaghan. Natalie is still recovering from a broken bone in her right wrist. Her next outing is at round two of the British Ladies Motocross Championship in mid-July.

HM Plant Red Bull KTM UK will travel north this week to Uddevalla and the Grand Prix of Sweden for round ten of the series. A three week break will then precede the fifth round of the Maxxis British Championship at Foxhills on July 25th.