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.

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.