Date: 22 September 2008

The 8th and final round of the Maxxis British Motocross championship has taken place under sunny skies at the former GP circuit of Hawkstone Park. Molson Kawasaki racer, Gareth Swanepoel, claimed his first podium spot of the campaign having missed numerous rounds while recovering from a wrist injury. This also marked the South African’s final outing in Molson Kawasaki colours as he moves to the Factory MX1 squad for 2009.

Swanepoel has no fond memories of the hilly and fast circuit, as he fell victim to a high speed start crash in 2006 which landed him in hospital with a separate shoulder. Putting his fears aside, ‘Swanie’ rode a strong first moto having to come through the pack after a mediocre start. He made good progress throughout the race and seemed to be closing in on Matiss Karoo and Zach Osbourne before he lost his rhythm and had to settle for 5th.

A much better start in moto 2 had Swanepoel placed in 3rd however he lost some positions in the opening laps before settling into a his race pace. Swanepoel was handed 3rd place after Zach Osborne’s was forced to retire with mechanical problems. With team-mate Stephan Sword taking the victory, Swanepoel chased home Shaun Simpson to claim third with two out of the 3 podium spots occupied by Molson Kawasaki riders.

“I’m glad to be on the podium, especially at this track,” admitted Swanepoel. “I had a huge crash here in 2006 and am pumped that I have been able to turn that bad memory around into a positive result. It’s been a brilliant day for the Molson Kawasaki team with Stephan, Tom in the MX1 class, and myself on the podium. I’ve had four amazing years with the team and I’m sure going to miss them.”

MX2 Race 1
1 Stephen Sword
2 Shaun Simpson
3 Zach Osbourne
4 Matiss Karro
5 Gareth Swanepoel
6 Elliot Banks-Browne
7 Neville Bradshaw
8 Shane Carless
9 Lewis Gregory
10 Marcus Norlan

MX2 Race 2
1 Stephen Sword
2 Shaun Simpson
3 Gareth Swanepoel
4 Matiss Karro
5 Carl Nunn
6 Neville Bradshaw
7 Marcus Norlan
8 Scott Elderfield
9 Daniel Arnold
10 Mel Pocock

Mx2 Overall results:
1 Stephen Sword 50
2 Shaun Simpson 44
3 Gareth Swanepoel 36
4 Matiss Karro 36
5 Neville Bradshaw 29
6 Marcus Norlan 25
7 Elliot Banks-Browne 24
8 Shane Carless 23
9 Scott Elderfield 21
10 Daniel Arnold 21

Overall championship standings:
1 Shaun Simpson 342
2 Stephen Sword 333
3 Martin Barr 245
4 Neville Bradshaw 206
5 Carl Nunn 190
6 Elliot Banks-Browne 185
7 Jason Dougan 162
8 Marcus Norlan 155
9 Mel Pocock 137
10 Lewis Gregory 136
11 Zach Osbourne 103
12 Pascal Leuret 103
13 Alex Snow 93
14 Gareth Swanepoel 90
15 Jake Nicholls 89