completing the top three.
In race two, Smiths Racing
BMW celebrated its debut race
win in the BSB Championship, as
Hickman delivered a hard-fought
victory.
Dixon had again got off to a
lightening start to lead Hickman
and race-one winner Brookes
on the opening lap. Byrne was
determined to be back in podium
contention and he had moved
second by the end of lap two as
Bradley Ray (Kawasaki) ended
his race prematurely with a crash
whilst running inside the top 10.
Byrne had hit the front of the
pack, but Dixon fought back
strongly with a determined move
at the chicane, only that a lap
later, the defending champion re-
paid the move in the same place.
Hickman was then ready to get
involved in the fight for the lead,
and on the eighth lap he nudged
his way ahead to capture the top
spot.
Byrne regained the position,
but Hickman wasn't giving up
and a lap later he was back at
the front of the pack, as Brookes
had launched himself through to
second place on the Anvil Hire
TAG Yamaha.
The Australian was then push-
ing for the lead, claiming the top
spot on lap 14, as Byrne was
dropping back dramatically be-
fore retiring from the race.
Brookes led until the penulti-
mate lap when he crashed out
unhurt, leaving Hickman to hold
the advantage with Dixon in sec-
ond place at the finish, and Leon
Haslam (Kawasaki) in third. CN
VOL. 54 ISSUE 31 AUGUST 8, 2017 P43
ROBERTS STUNS WITH 10TH ON DEBUT
A
new American has joined the GP cir-
cus, after a dearth of U.S. riders since
the departure of Nicky Hayden. He is 2015
MotoAmerica Superstock 600 Champion,
Joe Roberts, who has moved from the
AGR Spanish CEV Championship team
straight into the same squad's Moto2 team
in place of the departed Yonny Hernandez.
The Columbian had been struggling to
replicate his earlier Moto2 form after five
years in MotoGP, and was dismissed after
a first half of his return season in the middle
class after scoring points just three times,
with a best result of ninth in Spain.
Roberts (20) started strongly at the Brno
MotoGP round, placed 14th in the wet at a
track familiar from his Red Bull rookie days,
but was 32nd in the dry afternoon.
Rain for a restarted race was a godsend.
"I was pretty strong in the wet in FP1,
but to get a top 10 in my first GP is some-
thing I wasn't expecting," he smiled. "The
race was intense. I found out these guys
are pretty aggressive, and they push you
around a lot, so I had to throw my elbows
out a bit and not let people in.
"I learned a lot, and it was pretty fun, and
cool to beat some good riders.
"I've always liked the wet, but in the dry it
was more of a struggle, but I was only 2.1 sec-
onds off, working with a new team and bike.
So, there's a bit of an adjusting experience.
"I'm on for the next four rounds, until the
flyaways, then we'll see," he said.
Michael Scott
Joe Roberts'
calm and
measured
ride will do
wonders for
the young
Californian's
hopes of a
full time gig
next year.
