Shackleton Dominant In Darwin AJMX For BCP Akrapovic Honda
It was a week to remember for the BCP Factory Honda Junior Motocross Team as star recruit Seth Shackleton put on a clinic during the 5 day-long National Junior MX Titles held at the Acacia Hills Motocross complex just outside of Darwin in the Northern Territory! With blistering heat and testing track conditions the young gun from Western Australia competing in the 250cc 13 to Under 15yrs class on board his Honda CRF250R would start the week with an impressive 30 second victory on day 1 and end up with a score sheet of 1-1-2-1-1 throughout the 5 points scoring finals! The only blemish in an undefeated week came from a race long battle with NSW rider Cooper Rowe finishing 0.5 of a second off the win. The Honda rider would bounce back on the final day of racing with comfortable wins in the final two races of the week, securing the championship with an emphatic 21 point gap on the rest of the field.
“This one feels good,” said Shackleton after the win.
“There was a lot that went into this! I’d like to say a huge thank you to my team and all of our sponsors. A big thanks to my mum and dad for everything they do! To Jarrod Pyne for building me a rocketship and a huge thank you to Levi and the Shipard family for their support behind the scenes. Aussie Junior Titles are really special and I can’t wait to finish the last two rounds of Pro MX now with this title under my belt.”
In the 125cc to 250cc girls category Darci Whalley would claim her second National podium in as many years with a solid 3rd place against the best girls in the country. Darci’s results started with a 6th place after a crash on day one but she fought back with two fourth place finishes, a second place and another fourth to round out the week!
“I was really hoping to be in a position to battle with Danielle and Madi this week,” said Whalley.
“After my tough race 1 I just tried to focus on riding the way I know how and not let the pressure of the championship get to me. Danielle and Madi rode extremely well and I’m happy to be up there on the podium again with them both for the second year in a row.”
The team’s surprise package for the week came from NSW rider Hixson McInnes participating in the 15 years 250cc class who constantly found himself fighting up in the top 3 throughout the week in both qualifying and racing. Hixson would finish the week with 5-3-7-5-2 for 4th place overall, while finishing just two points shy of the podium. A first turn crash and charge from last place up to 7th in the third final was quite possibly McInnes’s most impressive race of the week, while also proving costly points wise for the podium.
“Overall I’m really happy with how I rode this week,” commented McInnes.
“Other than my first turn crash I feel I had a good shot of securing third place but I gave it my best shot! I’d like to say a big thank you to my team, our supporters and my family.”
Team manager Lee Hogan spent the week in Darwin with the team in what is their most important junior event on the calendar.
“I couldn’t be more proud of Seth, Darci and Hixson along with their families,” said Hogan.
There’s so much stress involved with this event and the families are the ones that do all their preparation, travel, everything involved! As a team I think we presented really well and I can’t thank all of our sponsors enough who make this possible! Of course, a huge congratulations goes to Seth on his title and I feel I rode every bump with him through that final moto! It is way more nerve wracking to be on the sidelines than racing I can promise you that! A fantastic effort also from Darci and Hixson in their final year as a junior.”
As families from all over the country make their way back home from the far north we wait for the news in coming days as to the location and dates for the 2024 National Junior MX titles.
