Nez Parker stormed to victory at the 2011 Skegness Beach Race, taking home the £1000 prize in the process.

The race got underway at 12 noon and Parker and Jordan Rose hit the front early, but halfway round the first lap they had a coming together and both hit the deck, handing the lead to young sand specialist Nathan Watson.
Another crash later on the first lap saw Parker drop back to 6th but he soon settled into a comfortable rhythm and moved back through to third place by the end of the second lap and by lap 11 was up to second behind the flying Watson, however Watson ran out of fuel and had to push his bike back to the pits for a quick fill up. Luckily for him he had only just past the entrance to the pits so didn’t lose too much time. Parker was now in the lead and as everyone around him suffered from either running out of fuel or crashes, Parker just kept on going for lap after lap, building up a substantial lead.
After stopping to re-fuel on lap 21 he was still in the lead and was beginning to show his strength and fitness, setting the fastest lap of the race two laps later, one and a half hours into the race. He continued to increase his lead and was a clear two laps in front of second place by the time they went through the two hour mark. He was brought in for a precautionary top up of fuel as the race entered the last 30 minutes and after rejoining the race he was able to cruise home for a well deserved win, ahead of Watson, Moffat and Bradshaw.
A happy Parker commented ” the conditions were really tough and i can’t say i enjoyed the experience, but i definitely enjoyed  the win. I was knackered by the end. I think I’ll have to practice a bit more next time”

Sunday morning dawned cool and overcast, and team star Martin Barr took charge early on in qualifying by setting the fastest time around the challenging track in the first lap, but had to settle for the runner-up position in the super-pole session afterwards. Team-mate Nathan Parker joined Barr in the super-pole session where he ended tenth, while Calvin qualified in sixteenth.

For Barr, the first race was near-perfect. Tucking in behind Brad Anderson, Barr kept up the pressure throughout the race to end in second. His second race was even better. Although the start left him scrapping for second with Tom Church, a mistake by leader Anderson catapulted Barr into the lead a mere three laps into the race. Keeping his cool and riding smart gave Barr a six second lead across the finish line, levelling his point score for the third race. In the final race Barr got off the start in second behind Church. Defending his position against Anderson became a bit of a cat and mouse game, switching places time and again, but a small but costly mistake put an end to Barr’s aspirations to take the day overall win and he had to settle for fourth at the finish. With the day over, Barr found himself in second overall, securing a third overall in the championship standings.

Parker’s weekend was a tough end to a difficult week. After contracting a bug towards the end of the previous weekend and bedridden since then, he was unsure whether he would end the first race. His start in tenth turned into a race with gritted teeth all the way through, earning Parker one more position against intense pressure from fellow KTM rider Jamie Law for a ninth place at the chequered flag. The second race was another struggle for Parker. After summoning all his strength for a good start, Parker valiantly defended his position in seventh from Dorren Coutts for much of the first half of the race. The continued pressure eventually proved too much and Parker had to relinquish his position to settle for an eighth place at the finish. Parker’s final race ended before it really began. A stunner of a start in fourth ended on Hawkstone Hill as his front-end tucked in and he went over the bars, hurting his neck and hand in the process. There was not much else to do but call it a day, and accept an eleventh place overall on the day. Nonetheless, Parker finishes the season in seventh place, a marked improvement over his previous year’s standings.

Calvin, not used to concrete starts, started his first race in the back of the pack but impressively made short work of several rivals in just one lap. Soon after, he found himself in thirteenth, battling Nathan Watson and Josh Waterman throughout the race and keeping the position to the finish line. The second race was another start in mid-pack, but as with the first race, Calvin made steady progress up the pack before running into stiff competition from Watson in twelfth. Biding his time, he stalked Watson to the end, and then took ruthless advantage in the last corners to pass Watson for eleventh place. Calvin found himself shadowing Watson again in his final race after a start in thirteenth. Making short work of two more rivals gave Calvin the push he needed to progress to tenth, where he gave Law a hard time for the remainder of the race, ending tenth, and tenth overall on the day.

Team principal Steve Turner declared himself content with the day’s results, saying: “It was a good end to the season today, Martin secured third place in the championship and really gave it a good shot at taking second from Whatley. He had a really good shout at winning the overall but dropped it whilst in second and had to settle for fourth. He rode really strong throughout the day and nearly took second off Whatley. Nathan came here ill, was sick all week and couldn’t keep any food down. He rode the first two races and I didn’t even think he’d finish those, but he managed to tough it out and finish them both. In the last race he had a good start and was in fourth, then binned it down the hill and his hand ended up in the back wheel and ripped all his knuckles, so he called it a day. He’s had a good season, finishing in seventh overall. I’m really pleased with the season, a third and a seventh is the best we’ve had, so we move on to next year and hope we can do even better.”

Nathan Parker: “I wasn’t looking forward to coming to Hawkstone, it’s a tough track and there’s been a bit of a heatwave this week, which has made things a bit worse for me. I’ve been ill since last weekend, I considered not going out at all this week, so I struggled all day really. I couldn’t eat anything, I was sick after the first race, and it took its toll. In the last race, I was in fourth and coming down the hill the bike just tucked on me and I didn’t have any strength to fight it and went straight over the bars. I’ve hurt my wrist and my neck again, skinned my knuckles, so it’s all ended on a bit of a sour note, but it’s still been a good season.”

Martin: “Today started off good, in timed qualifying I ended up first and in super-pole second, which still gave me a good enough gate pick. First race I got a good start and got into second behind Brad, pushed him the whole race but never got close enough to try and get by him, but I was happy with that. In the second race I didn’t get that good a start, Tom Church and I hit in the second corner, but once we got going we came through the pack again and started catching up on Brad. In the same lap that I passed Tom, Brad crashed and I went from third to first. I just raced my own race, and got a win, so that was me and Brad even in points going into the last race, and I was only a few points behind Whatley for second place in the championship. In the last race I got an OK start, but Tom just checked out and Brad and me had a thing going. Then I made a silly mistake and the front-end washed out. I got going again but I was too far behind to have any chance of getting back to the front again. If I hadn’t crashed, I would’ve had the momentum to keep going and pass Tom. All in all it was a good day and I ended up second today and third in the championship.

“I’d like to thank Steve and Boost Energy KTM, my mechanic Chris, Ken, Janet and their kids, they’ve been brilliant all year, I’ve had a fun and exciting year. I hope Steve’s happy with the results and how things have gone this year as this is my last outdoor race for him. I’m still doing the Sheffield supercross and then I move on. So thank you and it’s been a good year.”

Louis: “Today was good. I struggled all day getting off that concrete start; I kept going sideways. We changed the mapping on the bike for the last one and that went better. The guys in the team couldn’t be more helpful. The races got progressively better, I think I’m still a bit tired from the flight and training throughout the week; maybe I pushed it a bit hard with a long flight behind me. I’m looking forward to maybe having a go at doing a supercross here, maybe try the first round and see how we go.”

The 2011 Red Bull Pro Nationals championship came to a close at Culham in Oxfordshire this past weekend, and for Boost Energy KTM this constituted a final push for points and positions.

Qualifying in the dreary morning conditions bode well for the team as team rider Martin Barr put in the second-fastest time behind Gert Krestinov, while team-mate Nathan Parker ended in seventh in the MX1 class.

Culham is known to be a fast track, and the first race saw Barr get off the gate in the lead, going on to lead the pack for another five laps before arm pump set in and rival Brad Anderson was able to force a move that relegated him to second. Teeth gritted, Barr battled against track and rivals Krestinov and Whatley to retain his second place throughout the race to the end.

The second race didn’t start as well as the first as start straight action crowded Barr out and left him in the middle of the pack. With swift manoeuvring Barr found himself in fifth soon after and this set him up to push for a top three position, but that plan came to nothing as his front end washed out and he went down hard. After restarting several places down, Barr then set to battle with team-mate Parker, taking his fourth place three laps later. Although his next goal was to beat Krestinov in third, it was not to be as time ran out. Together with his second place in the first race, Barr found himself on the podium nonetheless, albeit in third place.

For Parker, the first race was a nightmare. In the back of the pack after an atrocious start, Parker had to work hard to make his way forward, picking off rivals one or two at a time in the early stages of the race. As the pack stretched out and arm pump started setting in, he found himself stalking MX2 champion-to-be Elliott Banks-Browne for several laps, unable to make a pass stick. A brief shake-up in the running order then allowed Parker to push forward again, but the best he could achieve was a disappointing eighth at the finish.

Parker’s second race turned out much better with a start in seventh around the first few corners. Settling into a fast pace behind team-mate Barr, Parker then proceeded to pile on the pressure, progressing to fifth place soon after. After passing his fallen team-mate by mid-race, Krestinov was within sight, but a rapidly approaching Barr forced him back a place again. Not giving up, Parker remained stuck on Barr’s rear wheel all the way to the chequered flag in what was a superb race. The end result was a fifth in the race, and a sixth overall on the day. With the championship over, Parker finds himself solidly in fourth, his best result yet.

Team principal Steve Turner declared himself very satisfied with the team’s performance on the day and in the championship overall.

“It’s been a good day!” he declared. “It’s been a good end to the Red Bull season with a podium for Martin which cemented his second place in the championship. He rode pretty well today; his first race was really good, but in the second race he unfortunately dropped it, but fought back to fourth. He’s had a good season, certainly in the Red Bull, so well done to him.

“Nathan on the other hand had a terrible first race; he simply didn’t get out of the gate quick enough. It’s so tough when you don’t get out of the gate because this track’s so fast and they’re just gapping so quickly. I wasn’t too happy with that but to his credit Nathan went out for the second race with a much more determined attitude and got away at the start. He had a good race, battling with Martin all the way through, finished fifth, and cemented his fourth place in the championship. We’ve got to be happy with second and fourth, so happy days!”

Nathan Parker: “Today wasn’t a great day; I struggled this morning in qualifying, the track was really busy and I couldn’t get a fast lap in. In the first race I had a bad start, got arm pump and struggled all the way through to eighth. In the second race I got a good start, didn’t get any arm pump, and had a good battle with Martin and Gert, rode good and ended up fifth. Not a great way to end the season but I’m still in one piece, so that’s good!”

Martin Barr: “The day started off good for me; I made second in qualifying which I was happy about. In race 1 I went to the start, got the holeshot and started to pull away, then just got a lot of arm pump and Anderson got up on me and passed me. I didn’t give up, chased him all the way to the end and with two laps to go a few back markers really mucked me up. It still was a good race and finished second in that one. In race 2 I got a pretty bad start and had to pull my way through. I struggled a bit with the power difference with the big bikes, every time I’d get close to them at the bottom of the hills, they’d just open up and pulled that little bit away again. I was just making hard work for myself, I had a crash, the front-end washed out and I dropped back again, so I had all the work to do again. Eventually got back up to fourth, which gave me third overall on the day and second in the championship. All in all, obviously I’d liked to have won, but there’s always next year. I’d like to thank Steve and Boost Energy KTM, the bike’s been brilliant; I appreciate everything they’ve done this year. Obviously my mechanic Chris, he’s been brilliant and I’d like to thank him, and all my personal sponsors, thank you too.”

For Barr, the day could not have gone any better. Qualifying in first by over two seconds from his team mate Nathan Parker, he then proceeded to dominate the first race from the start with a stunner of a holeshot and after building a substantial lead in the first few laps was able to cruise to victory from Anderson in second and Krestinov in third.

The second race went off without a hitch again, again starting with a holeshot, but this time with Anderson right on his rear wheel in the first few laps. Barr gradually pulled away from the Championship leader but as rain poured from the heavens and with sand in his goggle mechanism Barr’s pace began to drop, however the confidence he had gained from his first race win showed as he played it smart, keeping the muddy goggles on as long as possible, aware that his cautious approach would let his rival creep ever closer. Eventually, the goggles ditched, Barr speeded up again and pulled away, streaking across the finish line in first again for the overall win.

Parker’s day started off very well with a second place in qualifying, but in the first race, whilst running in fourth place, things took a turn for the worse. A bad landing after a step-up launched him face-first into the banking, tweaking his neck yet again and skinning his knuckles on the bike. After dusting himself off, Parker remounted mid-pack and after a couple of slow laps to gain his composure he put the hammer down and was the quickest rider on the track in the middle of the race as he fought his way through to fifth place in his class by the chequered flag.

The second race saw Parker take a more cautious approach to protect his position in third behind Barr and Anderson. As the rain made things exceedingly difficult for riders throughout, Parker built up a substantial lead over the pack of rivals behind him. Although third across the finish line, he had to make do with a fourth overall on the day, pipped to the post by Gert Krestinov.

Steve Turner, team principal, commented: “It was a great result for Martin today; a good weekend with the fastest qualifying and a holeshot in both races. He cleared off in the first one, in the second came under pressure from Brad in the middle of the race but held him off and won again. It is fantastic for him on his own track on his birthday, simply superb.

“A shame for Nathan, really. He qualified second and in the first race looked pretty comfortable, was sitting in fourth and then went down big. To be fair to him, he got back up, dusted himself off, and rode through another load of pain to get back to fifth. In the second race he had a reasonable start, came through to third, and had a comfortable race there. He ended fourth overall and missed out on the podium. But, not a bad race for him, so all in all the team had a pretty good weekend!”

Nathan Parker: “Today went pretty good, in qualifying Martin and I went 1-2. I felt good and went faster and faster throughout qualifying. For the first race I felt comfortable, I had a decent start, then had a big crash and hurt my neck again, then sort-of nursed it around, caught back up from being way down to fifth and kept some points. For the second race I had an alright start, not the best but still in the top five, caught a couple of riders and was in third.
With Martin and Brad on their own in front, I had a massive gap behind me so I just kept it on two wheels when the rain came down. So, a good day.”

Martin Barr: “Today went perfect! I was quickest in qualifying by 2.3 seconds, got the holeshot and just put the hammer down, got that bit of a gap and pulled away. In the second race I got another holeshot, started to pull away and then around two-thirds through my goggles stuck, and I tried to hold onto them for as long as I could before I whipped them off. Brad caught right up with me, but once I got them off I started pulling away again, so, really good. Went 1-1-1 today, I just want to keep that up now for the rest of the season and prove that I can beat Brad. At the British championship I should’ve won here but I learned a lot from that round and put that to good use today.
I’m happy enough with that. With my birthday yesterday it was a good present!”

Qualifying started well with Martin Barr setting the second-fastest time of the MX1 class, while Nathan Parker ended the qualifying session in fifth. The first Pro Nationals race went to the line shortly before one o’clock and it was Barr who was up front with Grand Prix regular Tommy Searle from the start. Although championship leader Brad Anderson soon made his move to displace Barr from runner-up position, a shake-up in the latter half of the race and a lost exhaust on Anderson’s bike saw a change in the ranks again that returned Barr to second place at the chequered flag.

For the second race, things got off to a bad start with Barr in seventh place. As the front-runners consolidated themselves into a pack of MX1 riders, Barr was able to move into reach of another podium. Disaster struck in the closing laps as inexplicably, his bike started reacting sluggishly and he fell back. On the final lap, team-mate Parker passed him to relegate him to sixth. This gave Anderson sufficient points to leapfrog Barr to the podium, leaving him in fourth overall on the day.

For Parker, the restarted first race got off to a reasonable start in the middle of the pack, where he found himself in a gaggle of MX2 riders, but he soon shook them off to chase after Gert Krestinov. The cat and mouse game continued throughout the race, and at the chequered flag, Parker crossed the line in fifth. A time penalty imposed on Anderson for noise moved Parker up one place, to fourth.

The second race saw Parker in fourth around the first lap, but mid-race, a miscalculated jump jolted his head again, worsening his pre-existing neck injury and costing him two positions as he struggled with the pain. Parker continued to ride through the obvious discomfort and pushed on in sixth, taking one more position in the final lap to ascend to fifth for fifth overall on the day.

With two more rounds to go, the team’s championship positions are virtually unaffected by the day’s events, with Barr still solidly in second and Parker in fourth.

Team principal Steve Turner commented: “The day started off ok with Martin in second and Nathan in fourth in the MX1 class. Until the last race they were both running really well, but then Nathan over-jumped a jump in the woods and put his neck out again. You could see when he’d done it because his body language changed completely. But fair play to the lad, he kept going to the end and got a fifth overall. Martin had a slight problem with his bike, which developed around five laps from the end which meant that he couldn’t push hard and give it 100%, leaving him to nurse it home. He got a sixth for a fourth overall. All in all results-wise it’s not the best day we’ve had, but it’s still OK for the championship.”

Martin Barr: “The day started off good; I qualified in second. In the first race I had a good start, pushed Tommy and then made a few mistakes, Brad got by me and they pulled a bit of a gap. When I got going again I started catching Brad and then he had a problem with his exhaust and I pushed past him to finish second. In the second race I had a pretty bad start and a few laps from the finish the bike lost some of its power which meant I couldn’t push as much as I wanted. It’s frustrating but I’ll be back next week at Desertmartin where I’ll be going for the win.”

Nathan Parker: “Qualifying was all right, I ended up fifth. In the first race I had a good start, I felt comfortable, and then the race was red-flagged. After that I got a terrible start and was way down in the first lap and pulled through to fifth which was alright. Then Brad got penalised and I ended up fourth in MX1. In the second race I was going all right after a good start, over-jumped a jump and hurt my neck again. I started dropping back at first but managed to get it together and rode the best I could until the end of the race.”

Saturday morning’s free practice set a good time for riders Martin Barr and Nathan Parker as they familiarised themselves with the extraordinary circuit. Pre-qualifying practice later in the afternoon set the starting positions for their qualifying race at seventeenth and twenty-fourth. While Barr cemented his position more firmly in the qualifying race late on Saturday, Parker had to make do with twenty-sixth.

Then Sunday dawned – Race day. Although the start for Parker left him in the rear of the pack and the usual first-lap pushing and shoving dropped him back even further, he worked relentlessly to push forward again, returning to twenty-fourth by half-distance. However, much to the team’s disappointment, Parker landed short off a downhill jump, banging his head on the bars and aggravating the neck injury sustained originally at the German Grand Prix. This earned him a trip to the local NHS hospital to make sure there was no serious damage and he forfeited his place in the second race. He nonetheless returned to the circuit later in the afternoon to lend his support to team-mate Martin Barr.

For Barr, the first race started off in the middle of the pack after a good start. He struggled to make much progress through the pack, having his hands full with regular Grand Prix veterans Kevin Strijbos, Jonathan Barragan and Xavier Boog. By the half-way mark, Barr found himself settled into a rhythm, and soon chased after Carlos Campano and Tom Church to the end. Fifteen position and another three points in his pocket was the reward.

The ill-fated second race got off to a bad start, and Barr found himself in the back of the pack trying to make up time quickly. After a bad landing, Barr sprained his wrist and tried to continue, which only made matters worse. With the fifth round of the Red Bull Pro Nationals being held on the next weekend he made the decision not to jeopardise his current second place in the standings and pulled in just before the red flag was raised for an incident elsewhere on the circuit. The decision not to race the restarted second race was made without much ado.

The points earned in the first race gave Barr a twenty-third overall for the day, and places him thirty-fourth in the world championship overall.

“What can I say?” mused team principal Steve Turner at the end of the day. “For Martin the first race was pretty steady, got stuck in there and finished with an eighteenth which was not too bad. In the second race he was running alright and looked comfortable, but then he landed wrong off a jump and bent his wrist back. It wasn’t worth the risk trying to finish because of our races next week. Nathan injured his neck again after short-jumping a down-hill jump and that was the day done for him. All in all, not the best day we’ve had, but I’m hopeful that the lads will be okay for the Red Bull at Hawkstone.”

Nathan Parker: “Good. Bad. Worse. Disaster. That’s how it went for the whole weekend for me. Free practice on Saturday went well before we had a little rain shower that made the track pretty slippery. I struggled a little bit in pre-qualifying practice, made a few big mistakes and ended up twenty-fourth. In the qualifier I was up to twenty-second when I made a few mistakes and they dropped me back to twenty-sixth. In the only race today I had a terrible start and was pulling through the pack in the first few laps. Then I cased one of the big step-down jumps into the middle and hurt my neck again like I did in Germany and that was the end of my day. I’ll be straight down to the Physio to see if he can get me back into shape for next week ”

Martin Barr: “The weekend started off OK, in first free practice I was twelfth and in pre-qualifying practice dropped back to seventeenth. For the heat race I got a pretty good start and it took me a few laps to get my rhythm going and eventually finished seventeenth. In the first race today I got an OK start, but I’m just not used to the races being so long, and compared to the British championship it’s hard to jump in at the deep end. I had an eighteenth in the end but I wasn’t happy with that result. I wanted to be in the top fifteen or twelve. In the second race I had a really bad start and was trying to come through; I landed short on one of the table tops, bounced into the braking bumps after and sprained my wrist. I tried to continue riding but it just wasn’t happening, I was making mistakes and I didn’t want to go down and get hurt again, so I pulled out. Overall I am pretty disappointed with the way things went but I’m hopeful that my wrist will be okay and I’ll be fighting for the win at next week’s Red Bull Pro’s.”

The team saw its two MX1 riders Martin Barr and Nathan Parker put in two solid qualifying results with a fifth and a seventh, on which Barr was able to improve in the super-pole to go to the line in second.

The first race saw Barr off to a good start and holding his own in the top three. Battling with Kristian Whatley and Brad Anderson early on left Barr slightly worse off as he had to make do with a fourth place by the end of the race. Parker also found himself in the front of the pack, but soon suffered from his customary first-race arm pump that left him on the defensive against the likes of GP veterans Tom Church, Gordon Crockard and Gert Krestinov. A crash and a couple of big mistakes cost Parker a few places leaving him to cross the finish line in a disappointing eighth.

The second race again found Barr to be in the thick of it in the front of the pack after an excellent start. Third place appeared to be his, but with only laps to go, he was put under pressure by a recently returned Billy Mackenzie and Church, conceding his position only after a hard battle to leave him in fifth place at the flag. Parker was not able to make much progress after a modest start but with two laps to go he made a fantastic pass round the outside of Crockard at the end of the whoop section to steal eighth.

The final race saw Barr in the front yet again, but this time a small mistake put paid to his podium ambitions, dropping him back a place and putting him square in the cross-hairs of his own team mate. Parker, who had started in ninth in the final race, caught a second wind and leap-frogged stricken riders throughout the first half of the race before encountering Barr. Parker then followed up with yet another move and left Barr in sixth for the remainder of the race, taking fifth himself for his best result of the day. The end result was a fourth overall for Barr and an unlucky eighth overall for Parker with just two points separating four riders.

With the championship decided at Duns, Barr still has his sights on second position at the final round at Hawkstone, but a third place in the championship is already guaranteed. After moving up to seventh in the championship, Parker still has a chance to progress into the top five.

Team principal Steve Turner mused: “We’ve not had the best day, but it wasn’t too bad either. Both riders basically struggled with the track; it was really gnarly out there, lines were difficult to find and every rider found it tough going. Their results are positive for the championship though. Martin secured third place in the championship which is in the bag whether he races the final round or not. That’s great for him and the team, and he still has a shot at second place. Nathan got better as the day went on; he has moved up to seventh and he’s still in for a shout for top five, so we’re all fired up for the last round.”

Martin Barr: “The day started off OK, in qualifying I was fifth, but the super-pole went better and I got a really good lap in. We changed a few things before super-pole and I ended up in second. In the first race I got a pretty good start, was going all right. I then lost my rhythm and ended up fourth in that one. The same happened again in race two, I had a good start, but with the track being so technical, it was really easy to lose your rhythm, especially when you’re trying to pass people, and I ended up fifth in that one. In the last race I had a half-decent start, felt that it was going good in the first part of the race, and then I made a silly mistake and ended up sixth eventually. Overall a really disappointing day, I really like this track and things just didn’t go my way today. You live and learn and I just want to fight forward for the next round.”

Nathan Parker: “Today wasn’t the best day; I started off reasonable with a seventh in qualifying and super-pole. It was really wet so the track got really rutted, almost like a GP track. In the first race I got an all right start, got arm pump like every weekend, rode steady, but I had a small crash which threw me off-track and I ended up eighth, which I wasn’t really happy with. In the second race I got another all right start and finished eighth. In the last race I didn’t get a very good start, and pulled through the field with people making mistakes all over the place and crashing out. I just kept picking them off and finished fifth. I finished on a high which is not a bad end to the day.”

The morning’s qualifying session went well for the team; rider Martin Barr scored pole from the outset with a time that no-one was able to better throughout the entire session. Team-mate Nathan Parker qualified fifth for the MX1 class. The first race saw a change in the waiting zone; the format for gate positions changed from the previously used MX2, then MX1 format to an alternating format, which gave the team’s riders a good chance at getting the gate pick they wanted.

Barr put this to the test soon after with an astonishing holeshot around the tight 180 degree start turn, leading the way for the rest of the pack. He was forced to relinquish his lead to rival Brad Anderson several laps later, but continued to push hard until disaster struck. Two-thirds into the race, a throttle malfunction forced Barr to pull back, costing him his hard-fought second place, and progressively slipping backwards through the pack to the bitter end in fifteenth place.

The second race saw Barr get around the first corner in second behind Anderson, a position he defended from MX2 rivals Elliott Banks-Browne and Neville Bradshaw. The resulting second place combined with the first race position gave Barr an overall seventh place on the day, but with Anderson taking two wins the gap between the two has widened to fifty-six points.

For Parker, the day turned out to be the best he has had all year. Although he got off to a slow start in fifth, he soon worked his way to third, and in the closing laps of the race progressed to second place, leaving nearest rival Josh Waterman far behind in the process. The second race did not progress as smoothly as the first, but a solid performance throughout whilst attempting to displace Gert Krestinov, gave Parker the points needed to not only join Anderson on the podium, but do so in second place! This stunner of a result has also given Parker the points needed to be in touching distance of third place in the championship.

Commented a very pleased team principal, Steve Turner: “It’s been a pretty good day for the team again, really good for Nathan with his first overall podium of the season. Second in the first race and fifth in the second race was enough to give him second on the podium, which is his best ever result by far. He’s really pumped and two weeks in a row he’s had good results, so it’s really good for him.

“A real shame for Martin; fantastic first race until he developed a bike problem. He nursed it home for points. Went out in the second race and was second behind Brad and rode really strong again. It’s just a shame, he should’ve been on the podium as well, it should’ve been both our riders up there, but we’ll take one each week and just keep the momentum going.”

Martin Barr: “The day started off good, went fastest in qualifying but it was really close, the first six of us. The first race started off really well, pulled the holeshot and took the lead; I was pulling away and the bike started losing power. Eventually I just kept dropping back further and further and upset the team. It cost me a lot of points in the championship, but that’s racing, and anything can happen. I was pretty disappointed with that. In the second race I got another really good start to get into the lead around the second corner. Brad and I were going at it and he just had better lines than I did and he started pulling away from me towards the middle of the race, and I eventually finished second. I’m very disappointed not to be on the podium and obviously losing a lot of points on Brad, but we still have a few rounds left and I’ll give everything I have.”

Nathan Parker: “Today didn’t start off too good, I got a fifth in qualifying and I’m not a massive fan of the track, so I struggled with it and thought it’d be an average day. In the first race I went around the outside and got a pretty good start, and then just picked them off. A few people had problems and crashes, and I ended up second. It’s the best result of the year so far in the Red Bull. In the second race, tried the same tactic again on the outside, and it sort-of didn’t work. I didn’t get a big enough jump, but I just kept pushing all the way to the end and ended up fifth in the MX1. It was good enough to get on the podium, so I’m really happy with that result.”

Barr then followed this win up with another in the third race after a start that left him slow off the line but making excellent progress in the first lap. Finding himself in second behind Alex Snow, Barr turned up the pressure and found himself in the lead by just before the half-way mark, and put in a steady performance that kept runner-up Gert Krestinov at bay. With the madness of the results, Barr’s 10-1-1 turned into a fantastic first place overall, a position that had been Barr’s dream for years. This also moves Barr to within three points from second overall in the championship.

Parker also had arguably his best day racing ever. After switching to the new 2012 KTM 450 SX-F mid-week, Parker soon found himself battling against the best riders the UK has to offer. In the first race he found himself in a fantastic fifth place after fending off team-mate Barr, and made no mistakes to finish in that position. In the second race Parker found himself leading Barr again, but the two riders soon switched positions, and with another perfect run, Parker found himself in third behind Barr, another personal best. Things then got even better as Parker streaked across the finish line past Anderson for a second place behind Barr.

The third race saw Parker in second around the first few corners, but a crash dropped him back to seventh, a position that he struggled to return from. Attempting to pressure Anderson in sixth failed to make any impression at all, and he had to make do with that seventh place and a fifth overall, his best ever race result in the Maxxis championship and missing out on a podium by just two points. This fantastic result has also put a top five placing in the championship within arm’s length, a goal that Parker now has within his sights.

“It’s been a very very strange day,” commented team principal Steve Turner. “With Martin getting a tenth in the first race my thought was that this wouldn’t be our day today, but then all of a sudden we had two wins with everyone else throwing their bikes on the floor and crashing. It just played into Martin’s hands; he took his first overall win and his first two individual race wins for the team, so it’s absolutely fantastic.

“It was a bit of a shame for Nathan, he was second overall when he went into the third race, after two great races and a podium was practically guaranteed if he stayed where he was or even lost a place or two, but he chucked it on the floor and ended in seventh, and fifth overall. It’s a bit disappointing but if he keeps putting himself in those positions, he’ll have his day soon enough. It’s been really positive for the team with both riders having their best ever results.”

Nathan Parker: “I changed to the new 450 SX-F mid-week and did a little bit of testing, and with the time we had we got it going pretty well. Qualifying this morning didn’t go too well; I ended up eighth in super-pole and made a few mistakes. In the first race I got a really good start, passed a couple of people and ended up in fifth. In the second race I had an even better start and was right up front with Alex Snow and passed him, and Martin got past me and we ended up first and second. It’s the best result I’ve ever had. It was all on the last race whether I’d get on the podium or not; I crashed and threw it all away. It was disappointing at the end of the day, but it’s the best result I’ve ever had and I have to take the positives away from that.”

Martin Barr: “Today’s been a very good day. In qualifying I ended up fourth and in super-pole managed to go one better to take third. The first race didn’t go to plan; I got a good start and got up to fourth or fifth and was about to pass Tom and hit the bales and lost a few positions. I got up to fourth again and then stalled it. I got going again after that, had a big crash and ended up in tenth. Race two I had a pretty good start and was in second chasing down Brad. In the last lap he had a problem with the bike and I got past him with two corners to go, and got my first MX1 win. I was over the moon with that. In the last race I didn’t get such a good start; Tom washed out and Brad and I hit him and we had to come back. Then Nathan’s front end washed out and he crashed and took Brad with him. After I got going after that, I got past Alex Snow for the lead and and put the hammer down for a few laps to build up a six second lead over Gert. I had a brilliant day with a 10-1-1 for the overall win, my first ever in the British. It’s been a long time coming and I’ve finally done it. My 350 SX-F worked really well today, so thank you to Proppa.com KTM