Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1151987
VOLUME 56 ISSUE 31 AUGUST 6, 2019 P25 loved since I was a kid and to make it into my career. I'm grateful for the support from my fans and many sponsors throughout the years. "I'd especially like to thank Honda, who has been behind me for my entire career, supporting me through the ups and downs. I'm grateful to have been part- nered with such a great brand. I'm looking forward to this next chapter and to seeing where the future takes me." Team Honda HRC Manager Erik Kehoe said, "I was a little surprised at first when Cole mentioned retire- ment, but after speaking to him, I could see where he was coming from. It makes sense, and I think he's making the right choice for himself at this time. It's been such a pleasure working with Cole. I can still remember the first time I saw him riding supercross out at the old Red Bull facility back in 2009, and I thought, 'Man, that kid is talented!' So now it's very special to have worked with him and seen how his career has grown, par- ticularly with Honda over the past 10 years. Cole is so talented that his abilities on a bike are only part of what he's capable of, so I think that's going to carry into every aspect of his life. I know he'll be successful in whatever he decides to pursue next." Some of Seely's career high- lights include winning five 250cc AMA Supercross races, finishing runner-up in the 2014 250cc West AMA Supercross Championship, earning Monster Energy Super- cross Rookie of the Year in 2015, winning his first 450SX main event in Houston in 2015, and repre- senting the United States at the 2017 Motocross of Nations. CN Irwin, Brookes Share Thruxton BSB Wins D ucati's Josh Brookes and Hon- da's Andrew Irwin took the two race wins on offer at the Thruxton round of the 2019 British Superbike Championship, August 3-4. Irwin's first-ever BSB win came after a thrilling race involving himself, Brookes, Ducati's Scott Redding, BMW riders Peter Hick- man and Christian Iddon, and the Yamaha of Jason O'Halloran. The factory Honda rider, Irwin, defend- ed the number-one position right to the line over Redding. "It is such an amazing feeling!" Irwin said. "I think I passed Jason going into the last lap or something like that, and I felt like I had some tire left. The pace was funny, it went up and down a lot with whoever went to the lead. I just wanted to put a strong lap together on the last lap. It is a dream come true, it's been a tough road to get here, the best road and I've learned a lot along the way. Race two was a fractured af- fair with two red flags because of rain hitting the Thruxton track, then another a because of a crash and Glen Irwin's BMW dropping oil on the track. However, Brookes was the man on all three occasions for race two, taking a commanding win with Redding over the line in second place ahead of Irwin and Hickman. But Brookes was later hit with a time penalty for cutting the chicane that dropped him to 22nd and out of the points. This, in turn, moved Irwin into second and Hickman third. "I got pushed around a bit too much on track and needed to find a little bit more confidence, so the second race win has given me exactly what I needed, and it's great to be back on the top step," Brookes said. Redding still leads the champi- onship with 246 points to Brookes' 226 and Ducati rider Tommy Bride- well at 207. CN