Rounds 3 & 4 of the Arenacross Tour in Belfast were somewhat of a bittersweet affair for the Apico Factory Racing team; in what was to be Martin Barr’s home round, it certainly had its ups and downs.
Friday was certainly the highlight of the season, with Martin coming out swinging from the start and going quickest in the first group session backing that with a 4th in the second. Tom didn’t have a great start on Friday, not feeling the terrain and having a shoulder injury he didn’t have much luck ending 9th in both sessions.
Rounds 3 & 4 of the Arenacross Tour in Belfast were somewhat of a bittersweet affair. What was to be Martin Barr’s home round certainly had its ups and downs.
Friday was certainly the highlight of the season, with Martin coming out swinging from the start and going quickest in the first group session backing that with a 4th in the second. Tom didn’t have a great start on Friday, not feeling the terrain and having a shoulder injury he didn’t have much luck ending 9th in both sessions.
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The LCQ went okay for Tom where he finished 5th, a couple of positions short of the main event. He was happy with this after a tough day and a lot of crashes.
Martin went into the main event in front of his home crowd with the encouragement of the Belfast crowd. After struggling off the start, Martin came around the first corner squeezing into the outside and jumping the field into the lead. This was short-lived as Dean Wilson passed him on the first lap along with Conrad Mews. From then on it was up to Martin to keep his composure, which he did and push on to third place throughout the race and take the final step on the podium.
Saturday was round 4, and Tom was feeling good after a disappointing 3rd round, he went out and started the first session well, though the other riders soon caught up, and he finished 8th quickest. With it all to do in the last timed session, Tom pushed through on the triple and came up a little short. Going down hard on an already injured shoulder was the end of Tom’s day and, unfortunately, his Arenacross season.
Tom has separated his shoulder and will need surgery in the coming days to fix it. This is not the news any of us needed, though looking at the positives, but surgery will fix the shoulder and Tom will heal quickly, without missing too much of the outdoor season.
Martin had another positive round, putting in good times and races in front of his home crowd and went to the final. He was in a good position and looking to break into the top 3 when he and Adam Chatfield had an unfortunate coming together and Martin went into the bales, rejoining the race at the back of the field finishing 11th.
We now look to Aberdeen on Saturday and Hawkstone on Sunday, with just Martin representing the team. Again, we wish Tom a speedy recovery and hope to see him back under the awning soon. Thanks to all the sponsors and team members who make this possible.
Words and Images by Apico Factory Racing
