Top motocross brakes by EBC and a promising start for Martin Barr

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September 6, 2011

Podium Miss at Hawkstone for Boost Energy KTM

Hawkstone is often the place for epic battles, and the fifth round of the Red Bull Pro Nationals this past weekend was no exception. With the championship going into its closing rounds, the push for points becomes more and more important, and for Boost Energy KTM this is especially so with its two riders in prime position to benefit from good results at this challenging location.

Qualifying started well with Martin Barr setting the second-fastest time of the MX1 class, while Nathan Parker ended the qualifying session in fifth. The first Pro Nationals race went to the line shortly before one o’clock and it was Barr who was up front with Grand Prix regular Tommy Searle from the start. Although championship leader Brad Anderson soon made his move to displace Barr from runner-up position, a shake-up in the latter half of the race and a lost exhaust on Anderson’s bike saw a change in the ranks again that returned Barr to second place at the chequered flag.

For the second race, things got off to a bad start with Barr in seventh place. As the front-runners consolidated themselves into a pack of MX1 riders, Barr was able to move into reach of another podium. Disaster struck in the closing laps as inexplicably, his bike started reacting sluggishly and he fell back. On the final lap, team-mate Parker passed him to relegate him to sixth. This gave Anderson sufficient points to leapfrog Barr to the podium, leaving him in fourth overall on the day.

For Parker, the restarted first race got off to a reasonable start in the middle of the pack, where he found himself in a gaggle of MX2 riders, but he soon shook them off to chase after Gert Krestinov. The cat and mouse game continued throughout the race, and at the chequered flag, Parker crossed the line in fifth. A time penalty imposed on Anderson for noise moved Parker up one place, to fourth.

The second race saw Parker in fourth around the first lap, but mid-race, a miscalculated jump jolted his head again, worsening his pre-existing neck injury and costing him two positions as he struggled with the pain. Parker continued to ride through the obvious discomfort and pushed on in sixth, taking one more position in the final lap to ascend to fifth for fifth overall on the day.

With two more rounds to go, the team’s championship positions are virtually unaffected by the day’s events, with Barr still solidly in second and Parker in fourth.

Team principal Steve Turner commented: “The day started off ok with Martin in second and Nathan in fourth in the MX1 class. Until the last race they were both running really well, but then Nathan over-jumped a jump in the woods and put his neck out again. You could see when he’d done it because his body language changed completely. But fair play to the lad, he kept going to the end and got a fifth overall. Martin had a slight problem with his bike, which developed around five laps from the end which meant that he couldn’t push hard and give it 100%, leaving him to nurse it home. He got a sixth for a fourth overall. All in all results-wise it’s not the best day we’ve had, but it’s still OK for the championship.”

Martin Barr: “The day started off good; I qualified in second. In the first race I had a good start, pushed Tommy and then made a few mistakes, Brad got by me and they pulled a bit of a gap. When I got going again I started catching Brad and then he had a problem with his exhaust and I pushed past him to finish second. In the second race I had a pretty bad start and a few laps from the finish the bike lost some of its power which meant I couldn’t push as much as I wanted. It’s frustrating but I’ll be back next week at Desertmartin where I’ll be going for the win.”

Nathan Parker: “Qualifying was all right, I ended up fifth. In the first race I had a good start, I felt comfortable, and then the race was red-flagged. After that I got a terrible start and was way down in the first lap and pulled through to fifth which was alright. Then Brad got penalised and I ended up fourth in MX1. In the second race I was going all right after a good start, over-jumped a jump and hurt my neck again. I started dropping back at first but managed to get it together and rode the best I could until the end of the race.”
Steve Turner