By Future 7 PR. Jonny Walker ended his first ever participation in the HydroGarden Weston Beach Race in a strong sixth position, completing 20 laps during the three-hour race. One of the leading riders during the opening lap, Jonny held second position as he started the second lap.

Frustratingly, while in contention for the race lead Jonny crashed into lapped riders that had fallen on the down side of one of the many sand dunes. Although lucky to avoid injury the crash resulted in an unscheduled pit stop followed by a spirited near three-hour long charge that saw him improve from 20th position to his eventual sixth place result.

Walker said: “Riding at Weston Beach Race has been such an enjoyable experience – I’m definitely going to be back at Weston. I wasn’t too sure what to expect but the whole weekend has been so much fun. The start was such a buzz. I got a really good start, around the top three, and felt really good during the first lap. When I came round for the second lap I came over a dune and smashed into a pileup on the back of a dune. I was in the air when I saw the crashed riders ahead of me. It was a big one – I hurt my leg and tweaked my bike a little.

“It took a while to get going after that, then I had to pit, so we refueled and tried to get the bike sorted. I then had to play catchup from around 20th place. That one mistake cost me a lot. I feel like a podium was well within my reach, I certainly could have been closer to the front. I’ve learned so much so I’ll be much better prepared for when I do the event again. A huge thanks to KTM UK and my support crew, they did an awesome job. It’s been a great experience.”

Photo: RHL Activities / Nuno