Eglington takes 2nd in Angelsey Supermoto

July 27, 2003 - It was a long journey for what was effectively going to be a track day for Mike, but he ended up bringing home a 2nd place trophy after a superb day of racing.

Because Anglesey was only a one-day event, the organisers decided not to run the 450 classes. As Mike had already been accepted to race on the day, he was invited to compete in the Open Championship, which he readily accepted (anything for time on the bike!).

Because he was not seeded in the Open class, he was placed in the E Group for qualifying practice and managed to bag himself a pole position start in the 28-field grid for race 1.

Mike had a reasonable start which saw him take 3rd position in the race for 4 laps. He had some fairly close and competitive racing and managed to move into 2nd. On the penultimate lap, he overtook the leader with a decisive tactic to finish 1st, which earned him the right to move into D Group.

The quarter final saw him in a grid position of 23rd, having moved up from the top of Group E, he was put to the back of the grid in Group D. Again, he had a great start instantly picking up at least 8 places. He rode smooth and concentrated overtaking the field one by one, finishing 8th and picking up another 20 places.

The semi final saw Mike having to really work hard. With a starting grid of 8th, he rode well and had some close racing with a Buell that he eventually overtook to gain a 4th place finish.

The final was an amazing race. From his 4th place starting grid, Mike had a flying start and went straight into 1st place. He was ahead of Rider 500 and was pulling a gap when he made a mistake on the dirt and ran wide, allowing the Kawasaki by. He kept up the pace thought and soon there was a huge gap between him and 3rd place, and although he was making up ground quickly, he wasn't able to catch the KTM but finished a creditable 2nd.

It was an excellent day of racing and although the points earned in this race won't count towards his 450 Class bid, he impressed the other riders by moving up 54 positions during the day and walking away with a trophy.

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