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.