Barr knocks on the door of Fastest 40 podium at Preston Docks
The second round of the Motul Fastest 40 British Motocross Championship powered by Michelin was to be Apico Honda’s home race of the season, with a return to Preston Docks Motocross track. The track layout was quite different from the last time there was a British Championship race at the venue, which both riders were excited about on Friday’s track walk.
The format of Pro Racing on Saturday with the Apico MX1 & Leatt MX2 Pro Championships supported by the Apico 2 Stroke Festival 125 Championship has been well received. With the Amateurs racing on Sunday, this allowed free and timed practice and a relaxed race schedule for all classes and is the main change to the 2024 calendar.
Martin Barr: After putting in an early quick lap, Martin secured 4th fastest in qualifying for the Apico Pro MX1 Championship. “It was nice to return to Preston Docks, I was happy with qualifying and managed to make a great start in 2nd position which I held for a couple of laps with Purdon and Mewse in hot pursuit. They managed to pass on the back section over the double after the hairpin.” After a couple of laps, Martin reached 3rd position after a DNF from Adamson. “By the half-distance, I made a mistake and Hammal passed me putting me 4th. There was a comfortable gap between me, and 5th position and with the hot temperatures I knew I could ride out the race and conserve my energy for race 2.”
Martin used the same start strategy in race 2. “I was looking for the early start, and as the chain moved, I dropped the clutch and hit the gate with a few other riders doing the same. This made for a long race, though I quickly passed several riders on the first lap.” Martin had been wise to conserve his energy in the first race, which allowed him to attack the field, picking off a number of positions. “I had to make a few aggressive passes as I got up to the front of the pack, fighting to the end finishing 6th in race 2 for 4th overall in the Apico Pro MX1 Championship.”
Tom Grimshaw: After losing the timing during MX1 qualifying, Tom put in what he thought was a quick lap only to find out towards the end of the session he was in 11th position. Tom went out when the timing had resumed but was unable to get another clear lap in, so remained the 11th gate pick. “I’ve been having some issues with my starts, trying new things that I thought would pay off and it didn’t. Not getting the start gave me work to do, on a track that was hard to pass as everyone was matched for speed. I traded passes with Chris Mills and unfortunately crossed the line 8th. This is not where I want to finish races and I’ll be working on my starts to get the results I know I’m capable of.”
In race 2, Tom didn’t get the jump out of the gate he wanted, though pushed through the field and into the top 10 before getting caught up behind another rider. “I was behind Carlton Husband for far too long, I needed to be a little bit more aggressive earlier to pass on this track. By the time I passed Carlton, the gap was too far to the next rider, and I had to settle for 8th again at the flag for 7th overall on the day.”
Dylan Brown: “The weather certainly came out for Apico Honda’s home round at Preston Docks! The new layout of the track was tight and technical and kept things interesting for the riders. Martin had a fantastic start to the first race and showed consistency throughout. Tom was equally consistent; he has a couple of areas to work on to get the results we know he is capable of. Both Martin and Tom’s Honda CRF450R bikes performed perfectly despite the hot temperatures without missing a beat.”
