DISAPPOINTING DAY FOR THE BOYS AT SILVERSTONE
Despite advice from a number of team managers not to hold a round at the new Silverstone Circuit so early after completion, the organisers decided they were happy with the venue and gave the green light for the 7th round of the Maxxis British Championships to go ahead as planned. With a week of heavy showers leading up to the event they must have wished they had listened to the advice as the track, most of which is built below the level of the land, was flooded and despite pumping thousands of gallons of water off, the track conditions the riders were left to face were definitely not up to the standard required for a championship of this stature.

Qualifying
Noble and Parker both made it through to the superpole in 7th and 12th Parker doing so despite having a huge crash as his feet were ripped off the footpegs as he went through a ridiculously deep rut on the takeoff of a jump. As he cleared the whole jump whilst doing a superman he looked like he should have been at the X Games and as he hit the deck it looked like his day may have been over but amazingly he picked himself up unhurt. In superpole Noble slid off and had to be content with 11th but Parker bagged his best ever British Championship qualifying position in 5th.

Race 1.
With the track being so rutted and one lined the start was going to be crucial and both riders were hoping to use their good gate picks to their advantage. Parker got a decent jump but as he went into the second corner in 8th place a small nudge by another rider made him miss his rut and he was thrown over the bars as his front wheel dug into the slop. Noble was safe in 13th and soon improved to 10th but a mistake on lap two dropped him down to 11th. A lap later and he was back to 10th but try as he might he just couldn’t close down Krestinov’s Kawasaki in front and he spent the rest of the race tailing the Estonian with the two of them passing Wayne Smith with two laps to go to leave Noble in 9th at the flag. Parker was having a much more eventful race as he charged from the back of the field up to 15th by lap four. By lap seven he was in 12th and closing in fast on Edmonds in front but despite being some five seconds a lap quicker than the TM pilot once he caught him he just couldn’t find a way past and had to be content with 12th at the finish.
Race 2.
Two mediocre starts left Noble in 13th and Parker in 17th. Noble soon moved up to 11th but a couple of mistakes mid-race dropped him back down to 12th and as in the first race he was finding it extremely hard to make passes only managing to gain one more place in the second half of the race to cross the line in 11th. Parker spent the first few laps struggling with his goggles with water behind the roll-offs but after throwing his goggles to his mechanic as he passed the pits he suddenly looked like a different rider as he sped through to 13th by lap six, closing in on his teammate in the process. Two laps later though he was back to 16th after dropping his machine in a tight right hander and despite managing to reel in Jamie Law in front he took a stone in the eye and was forced to back off and settle for his current position.
Race 3.
Both riders made better starts in the last race with Parker in 8th and Noble in 11th but a couple of mistakes by Parker dropped him down the order to 11th with Noble moving in the other direction up to 8th. Parker tried to rally but the harder he tried the more mistakes he made and by the end of proceeding he was left in a disappointing 13th at the end of the race for 13th overall on the day. Noble looked like he was heading further up the order as he closed in on Snow and Krestinov in front but he too started to make mistakes as soon as he attempted to step the pace up and after losing a place to Crockard he was forced to play safe and bring it home in 9th for 9th overall.

The team’s next outing is the re-scheduled 8th round of the Red Bull Pro Nationals at Foxhills on Sunday 5th September where both lads will be hoping for better conditions and much improved results.

GARLAND SHOWS HIS PROPPA.COM TEAM-MATES HOW IT’S DONE

The Red Bull Pro Nationals descended on Canada Heights, Kent for the second time this season for round seven of the series. Although the track had been heavily watered in the days leading up to the event it was unusually hard and didn’t cut up like it usually does, instead becoming very slick and one lined.

Silkolene 2 stroke – Saturday
With Noble sitting it out after having his machine stolen it was left to Parker to fly the flag but after a 6th place in the first race Parker slid off early in the second, injuring his knee and took no further part in the day’s proceedings.

Red Bull Pro Nationals – Sunday
Race 1
Although struggling with his knee Parker still managed an impressive 4th place in qualifying with Noble in 9th but in this series the MX2 boys get first gate pick so rather than start from the middle Parker decided to gamble on the very outside gate. It almost got him the holeshot as he blasted round the outside but he couldn’t quite make the corner first. Even so he was still in the top eight as they moved into the wood section, with Noble half a dozen places further back. Both riders set about moving through the field and were making good headway until Parker slid out dropping him well down the order. Both riders pushed as hard as they could but with the track so fast and one line it wasn’t easy to gain places. Noble rode really well to get up to 6th at the flag with Parker back in 9th.

Race 2
Noble made a decent start and was in the top 10 but Parker was near the back after spinning on the concrete start gate. Noble looked really fast and was moving up the order until Banks-Brown binned it right in front of him. Noble hit the DB Racing pilot as he went down but managed to keep it on two wheels himself. It only cost him a few seconds but it had broke his rhythm and it took him a few laps to pick up the pace again. He still managed to push through to 5th at the finish to take 5th overall moving him into joint 2nd place in the championship with 2 rounds remaining.
Parker forced his way through into the top ten by mid race but the gap was a big one to the guys in front. He didn’t give up though and managed to reel in Coutts just before the end to take another 9th place for 10th overall.

Elite Youth Cup
Race 1
After taking pole in qualification Garland had his eyes set on the top step of the podium but it didn’t look likely as he gated outside the top ten. However he was in confident mood and by mid race he was up with the front two. He didn’t hang around, forcing his way past championship leader Harrison and early pace setter Viner, taking the chequered flag by some six seconds.
Race 2
Race two was almost a carbon copy of race one but after closing right in on leader Viner, Garland dropped it and instead of being able to challenge for the lead he had to be content with 2nd after spending the rest of the race fighting off Harrison.
Race 3
This was the best race of the day as Garland first had to fight his way through the field from outside the top ten before passing Viner and chasing down leader Harrison. The pair pulled away from the rest, setting lap times some 4 seconds quicker than their nearest challengers. Confident in his ability to win Garland sat patiently on the back wheel of Harrison before upping his game two laps from home to make the pass and take a well deserved win.
Race 4
Looking for his 3rd win of the weekend, Garland had left himself a lot to do as he sat in 6th with Harrison stretching out in front. But after charging through to 2nd place he put in some blistering laps to close the gap down to just 3 seconds and with just three laps remaining the unlucky Harrison ground to a halt with a blown engine, handing the win the Garland.
Race 5
After crashing on the first lap Garland was left down in 12th and had to fight hard to make it through to 2nd place by the half way stage. After setting the fastest laps of the race he closed in on leader Harrison but as the two of them battled for supremacy Garland made the sensible decision to back off and settle for 2nd place, giving him a superb overall victory and moving him up to 2nd in the championship.

PARKER SHOWS GLIMPSE OF BRILLIANCE AGAIN

The team made the trip down to the legendary Farleigh Castle track near Bath for the 6th round of the Maxxis British Championship. Heavy showers on Saturday followed by a dry sunny day on Sunday was just what the track needed resulting in near perfect conditions.

Qualifying
Qualifying was really close and although Noble made it safely into super-pole in 10th Parker missed out by just two hundredth of a second in 15th. In the super-pole itself Noble was unable to improve and had to settle for 10th.
Race 1.
Parker made a blistering start from the middle of the gate and Read the rest of this report »

NOBLE MASTERS HAWKSTONE

Hawkstone Park was the venue for the 6th round of the British Masters Series. After the heavy rain on Saturday subsided the track was in near perfect condition for Sunday’s racing.

Race 1
After qualifying in 4th and 6th respectively both Noble and Parker looked like they meant business. Noble made a good start and was in 5th place as they crossed the line for the first time but after getting baulked on the start by Jamie Law, Parker was left well down the field. Noble had an uneventful race, unable to push forward due to suffering dreadful arm-pump which doesn’t normally affect him but the track was extremely rough following the earlier amateur races. Despite the discomfort the tough Yorkshireman still managed to hang on to 5th place at the end. Parker struggled with the track all day but still dug deep and gradually forced his way through to 6th place but after initially looking like he would close in on his teammate he suddenly started to struggle with the rough track and had to be content with 7th after being passed back by Jamie Lewis on the last lap.
Race 2
Both riders had good starts in race two with Noble in 4th just in front of Parker in 5th but Parker wasn’t looking comfortable and was pushed back to 8th on the second lap. Although he fought his way back up to 6th by midrace he just couldn’t consolidate the position and ended up finishing in a disappointing 8th for 7th overall. The unique Hawkstone circuit has always been an unhappy hunting ground for the youngster and this time was no exception. Noble on the other hand, free of the first race arm-pump was looking smooth and fast as he moved past Par Honda teammates Barr and Elderfield to take over 2nd spot but he was never going to catch Estonian sand specialist and former GP winner Krestinov who was disappearing into the distance at the front. Not that it mattered as Noble cruised to 2nd at the finish to claim a well deserved overall win.

The team travel down to Wiltshire this coming weekend for the 6th round of the Maxxis British Championship at the historic Farleigh Castle circuit.