Britain’s Jake Nicholls is withdrawing from professional-level motocross after injuring himself in a nasty crash while testing.
The 32-year-old rider for the Crendon Fastrack Honda team fell hard, breaking his left shoulder blade and suffering from a concussion. It comes just a short time after he finished third at the British championship at Lyng, his first time on the podium since 2018.
The injury would have kept him out of the weekend’s forthcoming British championship round at Canada Heights and he would have struggled to get back to full fitness this season, especially with two of the remaining four rounds due to take place in the next four weeks.
Nicholls will be fondly remembered in New Zealand too after his two visits to race at the New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville in 2013 (when he comfortably won the MX2 class that day) and again in 2016 (when he finished third overall in the MX1 class, behind New Zealand’s Cody Cooper and Australian Dean Ferris), and then fourth overall in the feature race (behind Ferris, Cooper and Australian Todd Waters).
However, after a professional career that started in 2007, he has now decided to quit to concentrate on his family and business interests.
“This was one too many for me. I suffered a big crash mid-week where I was not to blame, but came off with a concussion and a broken shoulder,” he said. “This means the end of the road for me and top-level racing.
“I will still 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. My focus now is on family, friends and evolving our business.
“Thank you to the Crendon Fastrack Honda team for understanding and helping me make this decision. And thanks 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. I’m gracious in defeat, fortunate to be where I am and still smiling.”
Jake Nicholls, seen here competing for Team Great Britain at the Motocross of Nations in Germany in 2013. Nicholls teamed up with Tommy Searle and Shaun Simpson for Team GB to finish sixth overall that year. Team New Zealand that year – Cody Cooper, Rhys Carter and Kayne Lamont – finished 20th. Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
Crendon Fastrack Honda team boss, triple world 500 champ Dave Thorpe, said: “Injuries are never easy to deal with. But the facts are throughout Jake’s career, even from a young age, he had to deal with more injuries than most.
“Jake has raced at the very highest level that most people can only dream of. And in our eyes, he was our British champion in 2018.”
Nicholls’ stand-out season for Honda in Britain was his first year with the squad in 2018 when he dominated the British championship with five race wins, and three overall victories, pulling out a 39-point series lead going into the last round.
But cruel luck saw him break his leg in a freak incident a few weeks before so he couldn’t race.
He missed out on the title by five points, finishing second in the series.
The injury plagued him all through 2019 then the global pandemic hit in 2020 and the British championship was axed.
He was ready to start 2021 in top form but damaged his right shoulder a few weeks before the season which again dashed his championship hopes. And now his latest injury has ruled him out of contention for the title in 2022.
Prior to his time with Honda he was a full-time GP rider. His best world championship overall was fourth in the 2012 MX2 world championship.
His stand-out ride was to second overall in the British MX2 GP at Matterley in 2013, missing out on the win by a single point to Glenn Coldenhoff. That day he beat Romain Febvre, Dylan Ferrandis, Max Anstie, Tim Gajser, Jordi Tixier and others.
© Photos by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ
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