Junior Motocross Rider Arthur King's 2nd Season As An AS3 Performance Supported Rider
This was the second season that AS3 Performance supported Arthur. This season, he was competing in the 2022 British Youth Motocross Championships in the 65cc class, as well as in the BSMA Nationals on his KTM SX 65. Below we give a review of Arthur's 2022 season:
ACU British Youth MX Championships
Round 1 at Culham on 12th/13th March, Arthur went 14, 15, 10 for 12th overall. He said, "The track was very technical. In race 3 I had the holeshot and was running 2nd for a few laps. Then holding 3rd spot and looking strong pulling a gap from 4th. A small crash took me back down the places but clawed back to 10th". Overall, it was a good opening round for Arthur.
Arthur King #12 lining up at the start on his KTM 65 SX. (Ph. @d.i.f.t.s_media)
At round 2 at Fatcat Motoparc on 9th July, it proved a very tough weekend as Arthur had chicken pox setting in. He still raced however and even though he didn't get the best results, he remained injury free and got some points.
Round 3 was a different story. At Whitby on 30th/31st July Arthur had a really strong weekend, taking 3 out of the 4 holeshots! He said, "In race 1 I was holding 8th but dropped it on the last lap coming in 14th. In race 2 I was holding 6th but the rear wheel snapped some spokes on the last lap. I brought the bike home in 13th. In race 3 I was holding 6th and pulling away but on the last lap again slid out and came home 11th. In race 4 I got the holeshot and held 8th which gave me 10th overall". A great result for Arthur, considering the last lap mishaps in the first 3 races.
Arthur ripping his KTM 65 SX (Ph. @d.i.f.t.s_media)
At the 4th and final round of the championships, Arthur came away with 9th overall. He managed 8th in race 1, 6th in race 2 with the holeshot, bike issues in race 3 meant a DNS and in race 4 he managed another 8th position. A good overall result considering a DNS in the 3rd race!
Arthur finished the 2022 British Youth Motocross Championships with a very respectable 12th overall!
BSMA Nationals
At round 1 on 19th/20th March at Sherwood, Arthur had a great weekend with 4th overall and a few holeshots on the way!
Round 2 took please on 16th/17th April at Landrake. With a 4th place in race 1 and 2 plus a 6th and an 8th place in races 3 and 4, Arthur came away with 5th overall. He stated, "I got unlucky overtaking for 4th in the last race and another rider changed lines and took us both out. Rode strong all weekend and now sitting 2nd in the championship overall".
At round 3 on 21st/22nd May at Brookthorpe, Arthur said, "the track was mega with plenty of line choice". With a couple of holeshots, Arthur managed a 3rd, 3rd and a 2nd for 4th overall on the day and he was 3rd overall in the Championship at this point in the season.
Round 4 on the 18th June at Culham was a "bit of an up and down weekend" for Arthur, but he managed a 6th overall with a couple of holeshots on the way.
Arthur taking the holeshot at Culham (Ph. @d.i.f.t.s_media)
The 5th round of the Championship took place on 6th / 7th August at Cusses Gorse. It was a great weekend for Arthur, going 3rd, 4th, 4th and 3rd for 3rd overall! A really strong race weekend to round off the Championship!
Arthur with a 3rd overall at Cusses Gorse at Rd 5 of the BSMA Nationals
Arthur had a fantastic season in the BSMA Nationals, coming 2nd overall; a great achievement!
Bridgestone British Masters
Round 1 was at Hawkstone Park on 9th & 10th April. Arthur qualified 15th and came 16th overall with a 16, 18, 13 and 18 in the 4 races. He said, "I got the starts sorted with top 5 into the 1st corner in each moto. I will work on my race pace for the next rounds".
On 14th & 15th May, Arthur headed to Pontrilas for round 2. He had his best qualifying session so far, qualifying 12th. Race 1 saw him come 22nd but a vast improvement in race 2 brought a holeshot and an 8th place, giving Arthur 14th overall. Arthur had in his owns word a, "mega weekend".
Arthur looking clean mid-race in the Bridgestone British Masters (Ph. @d.i.f.t.s_media)
Round 3 took place on 11th / 12th June at Cusses Gorse. Arthur said of the first 2 races, "Mega race 1 worked hard and got a 12th after bad starts by missing the gate drop. Race 2 again come back from the back of the pack to 10th but then hit a kicker in the last lap taking me back to 21st. Only injury was a bruised thumb so very lucky". In race 3 he had a good ride with a 10th and race 4 dropped off a bit with a 17th giving Arthur 16th over all. At this point in the season, Arthur was holding on to 10th spot in the championship, which at 8 years old is rather impressive as he is the youngest on the line.
Before Round 4 on 16th July at Marshfield, Arthur got over chicken pox plus a perforated ear drum, which was still bleeding over the weekend. This didn't deter him and he got his best results ever, going 10th, 7th, 11th and 8th in each race for 8th overall! Arthur was now sitting 7th in the Championship.
At round 5 on 20th / 21st August at Ironworks, Arthur had a solid race weekend, going 10th, 9th, 8th and 12th for 9th overall!
At the final round on 17th September at Foxhills, another good weekend for Arthur saw him finish 7th overall in the Bridgestone British Championship! This was a fantastic result, considering the kids around him are 10-11 years old so he has plenty of time to race for podium spots in the future.
Arthur blasting a berm on his 65 SX (Ph. @d.i.f.t.s_media)
All British at Maisemore
Arthur had a great race weekend, just missing out on a podium, taking 4th overall. But for a small crash in race 4, he would have came 3rd. However, he was awarded the Jude Morris 101 Trophy for rider of the weekend, due to his excellent pace, technique and line choice. A nice way for Arthur to wrap up the season! We look forward to seeing how he progresses in the 2023 season!
Arthur at the final race weekend of the season (Ph. @d.i.f.t.s_media)
Arthur's comments on the AS3 Performance parts he uses:
"I like the forged front brake and clutch levers because they have the standard ktm feel but in the black colour and cool AS3 logo on them makes the bike look factory".
With the standard KTM foot pegs Arthur kept losing his footing if it was a deep mud track or heavy going in the sand. I chose to run the AS3 titanium foot pegs and with their shark-like teeth not once have I had that issue. Plus being titanium they save in weight and look factory with the added width.
The clutch cover looks trick in black and due to being billet you don’t get that movement in the casing so the clutch is always 100% on the biting point. It also wares far less than the standard casing".
We look forward to continuing our support for Arthur and seeing what's in store for him in 2023, especially as he still has a couple of years to go in the 65 class. We look forward to seeing him right up there.
