Noble fires the 5 tonner to 3 wins on first outing for new team

The Fuchs 2 stroke Championship rolled into Whitby on Sunday the 21st June and it was a chance for James Noble to show what he could do on a steel framed CR500.

In the first race Noble hit the gate on the start and was left at the back of the field. He quickly made his way through the pack and after a few laps was closing in on leader Mark Eastwood when he got it wrong coming through the woops section and binned it. He was left to come back from around 7^th place to catch Eastwood and take the victory.

Noble wasn’t going to make the same mistake again in the next two races and fired the 500 out of the gate in both to take two holeshots and two more victories.

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After weeks of speculation Proppa.com STR Honda have confirmed that they have secured the services of Noble for the rest of the season and also for 2010.

Steve Turner, team manager commented “After finding out that James and MVR-D had decided to part company and that he was being courted by a number of top teams within the paddock, I would have been a fool not to throw my hat in the ring. I have always been impressed with James as a rider and am flattered that he has chosen us ahead of the other teams which were vying for his signature. He certainly increases the team’s chances of success both in terms of results and of exposure for our sponsors”

Noble added “It’s unfortunate that I’ve parted company with MVR-D mid-season. All I can do now is get my head down, work as hard as I can and hopefully turn in some good performances.

I am looking forward to dealing with Steve and all the guys at STR and hope that I can get the results for the team and the sponsors as well as for myself.”

The fourth round of the Maxxis British Championship took place at Hawkstone Park, Shropshire on 14^th June. Both the track and the weather conditions were excellent.  

Qualifying

Rose qualified in 8^th with himself and the other seven in front separated by just ¾ of a second. Parker enjoyed his highest Maxxis qualification of the season in 14^th.

Race 1.

Both riders had poor starts and at the end of the first lap Rose was 14^th with Parker in 18^th. On lap four Rose pulled into the pits with an injured knee and was to take no further part in the race.

Parker had made his way through to 14^th and was now catching Jamie Smith and Jamie Law and by lap eight he had passed both to move up to 12^th but Smith wasn’t going to go down without a fight and actually gained the place back before Parker finally saw off his challenge on the thirteenth lap. He managed to pick up another place before the end as Scott Columb hit the dirt and finished in his highest position in the British Championship in 11^th.

Race 2

Rose went to the line with his knee strapped up and managed to struggle round for a brave 15^th at the flag. Parker had an awful start down in 35^th as they exited the woods and after fighting his way through to the top twenty by the second lap it was looking good for another great result. However the worsening track conditions really took their toll on the youngster and he had to fight for all he was worth just to get to an 18^th place finish at the end of what he found to be a tortuous race.

The second round of the Red Bull Pro Nationals took place at Whitby on Sunday the 7^th June. Heavy rain over the previous few days actually contributed to the track being in near perfect condition.

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two groups with Jordan and Nez both in group two. Jordan posted 3^rd fastest with Nez in 6th.

Race 1

Nez gated well and was soon in 6^th right on the tail of Jamie Law but as he pushed a little too hard to get past the Cumbrian he lost it in a rut at the far end of the circuit and was demoted to 9^th. He was still riding really well and was soon on the back of Scott Columb and Alex Snow but again he dropped it in a rut relegating him down the order. To his credit he never gave up and rode hard to the flag, eventually bringing it home in 10^th.

Jordan had a terrible start as his bike bogged on the line and was near the back as he exited the first corner. He stormed through the field up to 10^th but to no avail as his bike ground to a halt for a disappointing DNF.

Race 2

Nez had a poor start down in around 25^th as the pack made its way round the first lap, however he was riding with real confidence and picked his way through the field to finish in 7^th at the flag.

Jordan was all fired up to show his hometown club what he could do after his first race DNF but as he fired up the start straight Elliot Banks-Brown clipped the front wheel of Mark Jones who went down right in front of Jordan and with nowhere to go he hit the Welshman’s bike flat out launching him over the bars in the process. As he started to pick himself up he was hit hard in the head by another bike, leaving him in a heap on the floor. After being helped to his feet, to everyone’s amazement he jumped back on his bike and set off trying to bridge the gap to the rest of the field. Giving everyone else over half a lap head start definitely wasn’t part of the plan but Jordan turned in the third quickest lap times throughout the race behind Nunn and Noble which enabled him to claw his way up to 20^th at the finish.

The third round of the British Masters series took place at Pontrilas, Herefordshire on 10^th May.

Qualifying

With the weather once again being unusually warm and sunny the track was in good condition although very dry and very rough. The organisers made a good job of making sure dust wasn’t a problem and everyone was able to enjoy a tough day’s racing. Jordan posted 6^th quickest in what was a strong field with Nez struggling with the set up of his bike and only managing 20^th.

Race 1.

Jordan got his usual good start in 2^nd behind Mark Jones but was soon relegated to third by the on form Brad Anderson. He settled into a good rhythm and was right with the front two but after seeming to see off the attention of Whatley and then holding his own against Noble for three laps he suddenly started accelerating backwards through the field. With a blown rear shock he had little chance of maintaining any real pace on the rough circuit and had to settle for 11^th at the finish.

Nez was much happier with the bike setup and it showed as he fought through the pack to end the first lap in 9^th. After passing Martin Barr he made a move on Lloyd Vercueil but couldn’t make it stick and whilst the two of them battled for position they were both passed by the Relentless Suzuki pair of Barr and Probert. Nez finally got past Vercueil before reeling Probert back in to get back up to 8^th. It looked like he would hold this to the flag but as he started to suffer from the dreaded arm pump he was overtaken on the last lap by Danny Smyth.  

Race 2

With a new shock fitted Jordan made another fine start in third behind Anderson and Scott Columb but after holding his own for three laps, unbelievably his new shock also blew and although not as bad as the first race he couldn’t maintain his pace and had to give ground to Noble and Jones. To his credit he somehow managed to hang on to 5^th place all the way to the flag for a disappointing 6^th overall.

Nez had a great start and was right in the thick of it in the first few corners; however he too was to suffer bad luck as a rock smashed into his goggles knocking the lens out in the process. With his ability to compete being virtually impossible he pulled in for a new pair of goggles at the end of the second lap dropping him to the back of the field in 34^th place. As the furious rider exited the pits it was evident he was on a mission to pull something out of the bag and he took no prisoners as he rode a barnstorming race through the field to finish 15^th.for 12^th overall.

TOUGH DAY AT THE OFFICE

The third round of the Maxxis British Championship took place at Brampton, Cumbria on 3^rd May. The track had been upgraded and was in great condition and everyone was looking forward to a tough day’s racing.  

Qualifying

Jordan qualified in 8^th only 1 second off pole-setter James Noble with Nathan in 17^th.

Race 1.

Jordan had the worst possible start with a fuel injection problem causing the bike to cut out on the line and again on the first corner resulting in him being dead last and by some considerable margin. Fortunately the problem seemed to clear itself and he was able to set off in pursuit of the field. By the lap four he was up to 31^st but an altercation with Ashley Wilde cost him 20 seconds dropping him back to dead last. To his credit he stuck at it until the end to grab 20^th at the finish.

Nez had a poor start in around 25^th and after a tentative couple of laps found his rhythm and started to reel off some impressive lap times and by lap eleven had moved up to 12^th..On the next lap he was passed by Billy MacKenzie who was recovering from an early fall but this only seemed to spur Nez on as he stuck with the reigning British Champion. As they both closed in on Dorren Coutts on the fast sweeping section past the pit area Nez passed Coutts and as MacKenzie lost traction Nez went for the pass only to get it all wrong, taking a huge plunge over the bars and ending his race on a stretcher.

Race 2

With Nez suffering from concussion and failing to make the line it was left to Jordan to deliver the goods but it was to be another terrible start to the race as he went down on the first corner with Tom Church and Zach Ozborne. Again he was faced with having to fight his way through the whole field which he managed to greater effect than the first race, finishing in 15^th at the flag.

I small mistake costs Rose probable win

Report by Steve Turner

Published 21^st April 2009

The first round of the Red Bull Pro Nationals took place at Landrake near Plymouth on Sunday the 19^th April. With the weather glorious and the event heavily advertised in the surrounding area the organisers were rewarded with a healthy crowd.

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two groups with Jordan in group one and Nez in group two. Jordan was in fine form posting 2^nd fastest behind Carl Nunn but after crashing heavily he was fortunate to finish in 10^th.

Race 1

Both riders gated well but as the field sped down the hill Nez was brought down and after being run over by a couple of other riders he was lucky he was able to rejoin the race albeit three quarters of a lap down. Nunn was out front with Jordan in 2^nd just in front of Scott Columb but only for a couple of laps until the New Zealander made a pass stick. Both riders chased Nunn as hard as they could and as both Nunn and Rose started to suffer the dreaded arm pump it was Column who came out on top as the race came to an end. Nez battled bravely to the end finishing in 12^th at the close.

Race 2

Jordan had another good start and made some aggressive early passes to quickly move into 2^nd behind the fast starting Bryan MacKenzie with James Noble in close pursuit. On the 3^rd lap Jordan upped his pace and sped past Mackenzie but as pushed hard to create a race winning lead he lost his front end in a tight right hander dropping him down to 6^th. He was unable to make up any places throughout the rest of the race resulting in a disappointing 4^th overall. Nez had been running in the top ten until he was hit with a rock and withdrew with a damaged finger.

Rose just misses podium in 4^th overall

Report by Steve Turner

Published 13^th April 2009

The first round of the 2009 MX3 / EMX2 World Championship took place at Hawkstone Park on the 11^th and 12^th April as part of the Handlebar Festival weekend laid on by Gareth Hockey and his RHL team. They had obviously put a lot of work in and the results were impressive including the track which was in perfect condition. The only disappointment was the lack of spectators which made the effort to attend the event, missing out on some fantastic racing and the chance to see some of the stars of the future such as Roczen, Herlings and Charlier.

Qualifying

After recovering from his dislocated ankle Jordan was impressive in qualifying, posting the fastest time in the two free practice sessions before settling for 3^rd quickest in the timed session behind Brad Anderson and Matevz Irt. Nez also looked good as he picked up 8^th fastest in what was to prove a quality field.

Race 1

Nez had a nightmare, stalling his bike before the start and unable to kick it up until about 30 seconds after the rest had left the gate. Jordan chose the wrong size rear sprocket and paid for it with a poor start by his standards in around 12^th as they exited the woods. He soon made his way up to the top six but couldn’t find a way past Belgian Jan Lauryssen and instead found himself being swallowed up by the charging Julien Vanni the eventual overall GP victor. After stuggling to find his rhythm in the mid part of the race he suddenly sprang back to life as he was passed by early faller Anderson and as he tracked the Durham charger for the rest of the race he managed to make up a couple of places including Lauryssen to eventually cross the line in 6^th.. Nez found it hard to make much of an impression but dug deep to finish the race in 19^th.

Race 2

Jordan had a great start in 3^rd just behind Jamie Law and immediatley made a pass on the Cumbrian to move into 2^nd behind Anderson. They were soon joined by Vanni and it wasn’t long before the Frenchman passed the two Brits and made a bid to build a race winning gap. Jordan was unable to go with the front two and instead found himself fending off the attentions of Antti Pyrhonen. Jordan pushed hard for the whole race eventually dropping Pyrhonen and finishing in a deserved 3^rd for 4^th overall.

Nez fared better than in race one starting in the top ten and after battling with the likes of Cristophe Martin and Alex Salvini he finished the race in a 15^th for 17^th overall.

Both Jordan and Nez have been allocated entries in the forthcoming British round of the  MX3 World Championship to be held at Hawkstone Park on the 11th & 12th April.

After a couple of weeks spent recovering from their injuries, suffered at the second round of the Maxxis Championship at Langrish both riders are enthusiastic about their chances to excell at the Shrophire venue.