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Date: 10/11 June 1999
Event: World 500cc Motocross Championships - Round 7
Venue: Hawkestone Park, England
Weather Conditions: Hot and Sunny
Track Conditions: Sandy, and extremely rough as the day went on.
Race One: Shayne was great out of the gate but only just avoided a huge pile up at the first turn, where he lost a few places and came around 16th in the first lap. \"I got out of the gate well but had to come to a complete stop to avoid the crash and watched van Doorn\'s bike cartwheel 15 feet in the air.\" He then charged hard and and came quickly through the pack. He got to 7th but near the middle of the race he slid the bike on its side passing Trampas Parker. \"I slid over in a corner trying to go under Trampas. As soon as I tried to start the machine I knew there was a problem. Eventually I restarted after a couple of minutes but I could only limp back to the pits after one more slow lap. It seems that the engine had lost all the oil &, even without the crash, I would have only gone a few more laps. I am pretty frustrated as I am pretty sure that I would have been in the top 3 in the race, but I know that my riding is strong and I am looking forward to the 2nd race.
Race Two: Shayne went outside on the gate and had a perfect start, flowing around the inside and tucking right in behind his team mate Johansson. Over the next 20 minutes the two KTM\'s set a good pace, although Shayne said, \"at the 10 minute mark I felt quite tight and had to concentrate pretty hard. I took some deep breaths and kept pushing.\" The track was claiming bikes and riders alike as the laps went on. Shayne paced himself and rode strong to the end. \"It was one of the toughest races both physically and mentally for everyone & both Peter and I were exhausted at the end but I really needed this, after the disappointment of not finishing the first race & I am really happy.\"
