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.