Hammal will also contest the Fastest 40 championship – previously known as the MX Nationals – on a Honda CRF450R. Nicholls will also step up to the 450 to race the UK Arenacross series that starts in January.

Hammal is a former MX2 GP rider and was the best UK finisher in the British GP this month. He finished second in the British MX2 championship this season, with a win in the Schoolhouse round. It was a welcome return to form after two injury-ravaged seasons.

In the newly-christened Dirt Store British MX2 championship next season, the 23-year-old from Winchester will line up with the 33-year-old former GP rider Nicholls, who is managing director of the Tru7 Group which backs the team.

Nicholls, who retired from full-time professional racing following an injury in 2022, helped  support the Tru7 Honda riders this season. He also contested several one-off races, including the Hawkstone Park International where he finished on the podium, one spot in front of Hammal. He now wants to race again in the British MX2 championship as he loves riding the CRF250R so much.

It’s fitting because 2024 is a big year for Honda in the MX2 class following the launch of the Honda CRF250R Cup which will be run as two separate championships. This is for amateur racers in the Fastest 40 series and AMCA championships where there are four brand new bikes up to be won.

Once again the team will to be managed by triple world 500 champ Dave Thorpe, running alongside the current Crendon Fastrack Honda squad which will be led by British MX1 champ Conrad Mewse who will be joined by Callum Green who raced for Tru7 Honda in 2023.

Jake Nicholls said: “I fancied racing again! I had 18 months off to concentrate on work and then we had another baby girl so life changed a lot in a hurry. I realised I miss my racing and I really enjoy it.

“I chose 250 as I spent a lot of time on 250s – almost ten years – and it comes more natural to me. I can jump on a 250 and still be fast, consistent and competitive.

“My goal is to enjoy myself. But I’m still serious as when I turn up to race, I want to win. And I also want to help the team and it’ll be cool to help Taylor step up. I have a lot of experience and lot to give so I can help with bike set up and pushing him around the track.”

Taylor Hammal said: “I’m looking forward to getting on the Honda as I’ve never raced one before. It’s brilliant to be part of the Tru7 Honda Racing team. Just being around Dave Thorpe and Jake Nicholls means I can learn so much. I’ll just be soaking up whatever I can as the amount of experience here can really help me as a rider and boost my confidence. I’ll be going to the track knowing I’m fully prepared.

“I was second in the British MX2 championship in 2023 and next year I’m aiming to go one better. The goal is to win it, but I know it’s going to be tough. I’m not going to put too much pressure on myself, just ride like I know I can and get a few more wins.

“And it’s exciting to be racing the CRF450R in the Fastest 40 championship. I raced a 450 this season in the Patchquick and Marshfield Good Friday events and really liked it even with no practice beforehand. It’ll be good to see how I go with more time on a 450.”

Dave Thorpe said: “The focus of the team is slightly different to the 2023 season but I’m really excited to see what Taylor and Jake can do on the Honda CRF250R as I’m sure it’ll be a great package for both riders.

“Working with Jake has always been a pleasure and it’s exciting he’ll be back racing in the British championship again with us on Honda. He has so much experience and talent, it’ll be a great asset to the team to have him around at the races and I know Taylor will really benefit from that. And when Taylor races the 450, it’ll open a few eyes, I’m sure.”

Nicholls retired from motocross racing earlier this year, after a professional career that started in 2007, to focus his efforts on the family business Tru7 Group as Managing Director. However, racing has always been in his blood and once he heard about the plans for the all-British Arenacross, he dusted off his race boots and signed up for the full six-round series.

The 32-year-old from Ipswich will form part of a two-man Tru7 Honda team aboard a 250. This won’t be his first foray into the indoor racing ring though. He contested the first Arenacross back in 1999 in Exeter, where he won the 65cc class ahead of a young Tommy Searle.

Talking about his upcoming return to the motocross ring, Nicholls said; “I’m really pleased to be involved with Arenacross next year. I’ve wanted to engage with it for a number of years but could never fit it in around my racing commitments. However, I’m now at a stage of my life where I can be open to different things and feel Arenacross is a great opportunity to showcase the sport as well as, perhaps, get through to the younger generation that it’s important we all do this indoor stuff. I do feel I missed out on a skill set in my career by not doing a series like this. I raced Arenacross in 1999, but never did one again.

“I think it really needs to become part of the British motocross and supercross scene, then hopefully the youth racers will see what we’re up to and want a piece of it. Equally, I’m looking forward to racing with a lot of guys I’ve grown up racing with since the age of six or seven. It should be good fun and it will be great to go to the different stadiums and experience the atmosphere.”

Arenacross promoter Matt Bates added; “I’ve personally been a long-time fan of Jake and have followed his career since the early days of him competing in the 65 class at our very first indoor race in Exeter in 1999 – so it’s great to see him back racing with us at Arenacross. I can’t thank these great British riders enough for their support. The depth in quality and the interest that we now have is amazing and, as a fan of motocross, I can’t wait for the first race in Belfast.”

The 2023 Arenacross Tour:
Round 1: Friday 20th January – SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Round 2: Saturday 21st January – SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Round 3: Saturday 28th January – P&J Live, Aberdeen, Scotland
Round 4: Sunday 29th January – P&J Live, Aberdeen, Scotland
Round 5: Saturday 4th February – The Resorts World Arena, Birmingham NEC, England
Round 6: Saturday 18th February – The OVO Arena, Wembley, England

Visit www.arenacrossuk.com for more Arenacross news and information on how to book tickets.

“Well, this was one too many for me… Since the end of 2018 mx has kicked the absolute shit out of me, last week was no different, suffering a big crash mid week where I was inculpable but came off with a concussion and a broken shoulder.

“This means the end of the road for me and top level racing, for no other reason other than I’m fed up of it beating the shit out of me like it has. I will still play at it – ride and race because I love the sport, I’m grateful I can still do it and it is such a big part of my life from friends to my only way of switching off, and I’m still half decent at it! Focus though now is on family/friends and evolving our business!

Thank you to my team @hondaracingmx for understanding/helping me make this decision, Dave you are a true friend. Thank you to all my sponsors and supporters, I will still be out there every now and again so you won’t be able to completely forget about me ;-).

Not a sob story, I’m gracious in defeat, fortunate to be where I am and still smiling (Although fairly f**d off inside).

Febvre posted: “What counts is that is your own decision! For sure it’s not easy to make that decision because you still love riding, but when you have enough of the others parts (to be in shape, practicing, injury and pressure and many others…) then it’s time! Congrats on your career and effort, you are still the best team mate I ever had! Hopefully you will still enjoy a lot riding and hopefully we can still ride and see each other some days! All the best on the new chapter!”

Searle commented: “Fair play mate! Huge respect for the effort you have always put in to it and the results you got at the very top level. Heal up, see you soon.” 

Dean Wilson said: “Such a tough call mate but you had a mint career and was so good being team mates Colorado MXON . See u again.”

Steven Clarke said: “First Ando retires and now you ? Uk mx is running very low on chicken wingers, sad to hear this!! Heal up fast dude.” 

Lewis Tombs said: “What a career mate. When you’re healed up, let’s do that track day we’re always talking about.”

His Crendon Honda team boss, triple world champ Dave Thorpe, said: “Injuries are never easy to deal with short term as we both know! But the facts are throughout your career even from a young age you have had to deal with injuries more than most!

“The highs and lows of Mx are well documented, you have raced at the very highest level that many people can only dream of. In our eyes you were our British Champion in 2018.

“As you quite rightly say you have been lucky compared to others let’s not push that boundary any further!”

And road race superstar Alex Lowes said: “Get well soon mate.”

Nicholls’ last race as a full time pro was at the Lyng British championship round where he took third overall, his first time on the podium since 2018.

For Derbyshire-based Searle, it will be his third year with the Honda team which is run by triple world 500 champion Dave Thorpe. In his debut 2020 season, Searle won the only professional championship to run in the UK, the MX Nationals. And in 2021, riding the all-new Honda CRF450R, he is currently at the top of the points table in the ACU British championship. The penultimate round at Duns in Scotland is on Sunday.

Tommy Searle said: “I’m really happy to be staying with Dave Thorpe and the Crendon Fastrack Honda team for another year. Everyone there really puts in 100% week in, week out and I’m pleased to be a part of it again in 2022.”

Nicholls stays with Honda for his fifth consecutive year in 2022. The Suffolk-based former MXGP rider is currently recovering from a shoulder injury that has kept him off the bike for most of this season. He will not contest the final two ACU British championship rounds in a bid to be fully fit for next year.

Team manager Dave Thorpe said: “As always our goal is to be the dominant team in British championship racing and with Tommy and Jake we have everything in place to continue with that. We have the best machinery, best mechanics and best technical partners.

“With Tommy, he is in a great place now as we head into the last two rounds of the season. After some test sessions he’s confident the bike is fully dialled in and he’s really hitting his best form of the year.

“Jake has been able to ride but a nerve problem is his shoulder means he’s not 100% for British championship races so he will now focus on the 2022 season.”

With Honda revealing an all-new CRF250R for 2022, the team’s plans for the MX2 series will be unveiled shortly.

The break was not diagnosed and Nicholls has been riding – although in a lot of pain – in a bid to het back to race fitness. It now seems he’ll be off the bike for another month.

He said: “Following further consultation last week, I was informed yesterday that I have a fractured shoulder blade. Pretty embarrassing that this was missed to start with but we put our trust in surgeons who are all so professional, but they don’t always get it right.

“No doubt me riding a handful of times 4-5 weeks after the crash hasn’t helped the situation either but I was trying my hardest to be ready without being aware of the damage I was causing and after years of being a professional athlete and enduring well over 40 broken bones, it’s amazing how good you become at tricking your mind and body when you need to.

“I’m not going to lie it’s been a really tough few weeks mentally with not knowing what was going on, getting better then getting worse, missing the start of the series, missing one of my local national rounds and favourite tracks… I’m fortunate to have the work to keep me focused and somewhat on track.

“Whenever I get injured I always try to redirect my drive and focus, I am an obsessive person who needs a sport or a hobby to draw all my attention, at 31 yrs old I still sit and watch mx videos all night…. I splashed some cash on a new bicycle recently which has helped no end for me to distribute all my energy outside of the daily grind and on the weekends, as well as raising my level of fitness which will aid my return to racing.

“Bit of clarity now though, I can work to getting back on a bike in 4 weeks and from there on out do my absolute best, as always.”

You can spend a day riding on the Fatcats track alongside British champ Tommy Searle, and his Buildbase Honda team-mates of Jake Nicholls and Steven Clarke, under the watchful eye of triple world champ Dave Thorpe on October 1. With advice and coaching from the team, it’ll be a day never to forget!

And MotoHead will be on hand during the day, shooting video and taking photos so you could end up being a star on our social media pages, magazine or YouTube channel.

The exclusive day was initially scheduled last month but was rained off. But it’s now Thursday October 1 at Fatcat Moto Park near Doncaster, and is limited to 50 riders on 125cc bikes or above. The fee is £100, but all of this goes to the GoFundMe account to help support the MX Nationals.

With Covid-19 hitting racing scene hard, the MX Nationals is the only major championship to keep top-level motocross alive in the UK this year. With no spectators allowed and hugely increased demands for far greater medical and security facilities, the costs to run big events has rocketed. So let’s stick together and show support for organisers who put on big race events.

To secure your place for this awesome event on Thursday 1st October please hit the link – https://www.goracemx.com/event.php?eid=2325

With the season badly disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, organisers of the MX Nationals series took the brave step of kicking off the championship at the iconic Shropshire venue and their courage was rewarded with two bar-to-bar 25-minute plus two lap Pro races.

Racing a pair of CRF450Rs, Jake drew first blood when he topped Pro MX1 Qualification by almost a second with Tommy slotting into third. Jake then holeshot the opening race and dominated to win by over five-and-a-half seconds, despite suffering from arm-pump from the mid-point of the moto.

Tommy, who was making his debut for the team and for Honda, also suffered with arm-pump but he toughed it out and was rewarded with third at the line after making a late pass.

Tommy started race two at the sharp end and by mid-race was holding second. After losing a couple of places he fought back and came out on top of a four-man fight to take second in the moto and second on the day as Jake recovered from a slower start to clinch the overall by one point from his team-mate with a dramatic last-lap pass for fourth.

“It’s been a weird start to the season – I was really nervous and I’m never like that – but I’m always happy to get the win,” said Jake. “I felt good in practice and then put in a decent lap in qualification which helped calm the nerves a bit.

“I holeshot the first race and just ran away really. After about 15 minutes I got savage arm-pump and started to ride a bit tight but to be honest I think everyone did. In the second moto I didn’t get a great start but I came through to fourth which was hard work.”

Tommy was satisfied with the second step of the podium in very testing conditions.

“I’m happy with that,” said Tommy. “It was obviously a bit of a struggle in the first race when I pumped up but everyone was in the same boat and it was good to get a race under my belt on the Honda. The track was very rough and I’m happy to get that out of the way to be honest.”

Also making his debut for the team, Steven came out swinging with a strong second in Pro MX2 Qualification. With the MX Nationals running a mixed-capacity ‘Fastest 40’ format with the classes scored separately, Steven was at a disadvantage up the long, uphill Hawkstone start straight on his CRF250R against the 450cc machines.

The experienced Midlander is, however, well known for his never-say-die approach to racing and despite pitting for fresh goggles in the opening moto he crossed the line fourth in class and then backed this up with a storming second in race two to secure second overall.

“I’m buzzing,” said Steven. “It wasn’t an easy one by any means – the track was mega-rough, probably the roughest I’ve ever seen Hawkstone and I’ve been riding there since I was a kid. I loved it – the rougher the better!

“I’m not a fan of having to go off the gate alongside the 450s because it’s so unfair but it’s the same for all of us so you just need to get on with it.

“The second race was great. About four laps from the end I was seven seconds behind Josh Gilbert and I crossed the finish line side-by-side with him so it was good for myself and the team. Onwards and upwards.”

Team boss Dave Thorpe was delighted with his riders’ performances.

“It’s been a really good day,” he said. “The boys rode well in really difficult conditions and the second race in particular was very tough.

“Jake rode a textbook opening race. He got the holeshot, pushed hard to make a gap and won it quite comfortably. Tommy was in a bit of a dogfight with Dylan Walsh and Brent Van Doninck – I think he pushed really hard to get them and then tightened up a little bit.

“In the second race it was very close. Van Doninck made a move four laps from the end but Tommy, Jake, Harri Kullas and Evgeny Bobryshev were all fighting hard which made it a really good race to watch.

“I’m delighted for Steven – second overall is a great result for him. In the first race he thought the roll-off pulley on his goggles had snapped so he came in for a fresh pair and lost several places but battled back to fourth and in the second race he closed right in on Josh Gilbert and there was nothing between them when they went over the line.

“Ryan, Will and Rob have all worked really hard, as have all three riders and it’s nice to get a great result on our first race back. The MX Nationals team deserve a massive pat on the back for taking the risk to put the meeting on in very difficult circumstances.”

Shaun Simpson made amends for his double DNF at the last round at Desertmartin by romping to a pair of unchallenged race wins at Hawkstone Park, round six of the Maxxis British championship.

The Scot took the lead on the opening lap of both races and made it look easy, especially in the first moto where he won by 37 seconds. Second time out, his rival Tommy Searle was never too far behind, but the KTM man controlled the pace to take the victory.

Searle was also second in the opening moto, despite riding in discomfort from ribs he injured recently. He pulled through to second place with  couple of laps to go, using his superior fitness as his rivals slowed.

It means despite his injury meaning he wasn’t at full speed, Searle still has a healthy 49 point lead over Simpson with two rounds remaining – and 100 points still up for grabs.

As he has done many times this year, Honda’s Harri Kullas took the final place on the podium despite riding in pain with a shoulder injury. He inherited third place in the opener when Elliott Banks-Browne, making his return from injury in the Maxxis series, went out of second place when his Husky expired.

In the second moto, Kullas pulled the holeshot as Banks-Browne crashed out on the first turn and was run over by several bikes. He didn’t finish the race.

Kullas couldn’t hold off Simpson and Searle, and finally lost third place to another rider making his return from injury, Honda’s Jake Nicholls.

After ten months away from British championship racing due to complications to a broken leg, Nicholls ended the day on a high with that third place. His day started off much worse as he fell on the second corner and restarted last. He pulled through to a solid eighth place. His 8-3 scores meant he ended up fourth overall, just a point in front of Jake Millward and Mel Pocock who tied on points for fifth. Husky man Millward got the nod as his second race fifth place was higher than Pocock’s seventh. Millward was fifth in both motos while Pocock’s first ride ended in a fine fourth.

Also returning from injury was Honda’s Lewis Tombs. He was running near the front of the opening moto until he fell coming down Hawkstone’s hill. Battered and bruised, he remounted to finish the race 13^th. With his back badly tweaked, he went to the line in moto two and was rewarded with ninth place.

Irishman Jason Meara, filling in for the injured Gert Krestinov on the Phoenix Kawasaki, proved his selection for the Irish Nations team is justified as he took a great seventh overall, in front of Jake Shipton and Jamie Law.

Brad Anderson struggled on the very fast track on his 250 two-stroke KTM and took tenth, while former pro rider and current AMCA championship ace Nev Bradshaw took 13^th overall, a place in front of former AMCA champ Luke Burton. Bradshaw only decided to enter the race on Friday.

In the MX2 class it was a walkover for the Revo Husqvarna team with red plate holder Dylan Walsh winning both motos from his team-mate Alvin Ostlund. Walsh set the fastest time in qualifying, pulled two holeshots and was never headed in either moto. But Ostlund was right on his tail both times, chasing him over the line in nail-biting finishes.

Ostlund didn’t get the greatest start in the first moto and had to battle his way through to second. He caught Kiwi Walsh on the last lap but couldn’t make a pass. In the second moto Ostlund was right behind Walsh from the first lap but still couldn’t get by. With KTM’s Conrad Mewse and Bas Vaessen both out with injuries, it’s odds on one of the Husky men will win the title.

Third overall was Honda’s Josh Gilbert, who took third in both races. In the first moto he fell but remounted and took third. Second time out he was closer to the leaders but couldn’t get on terms with them on what he says is his least favourite track of the year.

With the next two rounds being on his preferred hard pack surface, he hopes he can beat the Husky men and edge closer to his first championship.

Veteran Martin Barr rode solidly for fourth overall, with two fourth-place rides. And fifth was rising star Ashton Dickinson, who held second place for much of the first moto to show he really does have the speed of the top men.

The results are HERE.

MX1

MX2

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