Martin Barr hails best result of season in British Championship round at Blaxhall
Martin Barr claimed his best British Championship result of the season, finishing sixth overall in the searing heat at Blaxhall, in Suffolk, for round three of the Motul MXGB.
The Apico Honda MX1 rider had a poor qualifying, down in 14th place.
“I knew it would be tough as the bike was brand new and very stiff, meaning I never put a good lap in,” said Barr.
However, in race one, with the Honda better sorted, he brought it home in eighth.
Barr added: “I made an OK start and just kept plugging away. I tightened up in the middle of the race, but when I got my rhythm back, I was happy enough with eighth.”
The Ballyclare rider made a brilliant start in race two before eventually finishing fifth for sixth overall.
“I made probably the best start of the year and was able to keep the front three in view for the whole race,” said Barr.
"I proved to myself that I could run at the front, and hopefully, it will be the turning point of the season. I have no complaints.”
Barr moved to seventh in the championship standings.
After winning at the mid-week Brian Bell meeting at Laurelbank Motocross Park, Gleno’s Glenn McCormick was the top local finisher in the MX2 class at Blaxhall in tenth place overall.
He was ninth fastest on the Chambers KTM before finishing tenth in race one, followed by 12th in his second race.
“I wasn't a million miles away in qualifying and made a decent start in my opening race, running inside the top eight on the opening laps,” he said.
"Unfortunately, I dropped back to 12th before digging in to regain a couple of places before the chequered flag for tenth. I just struggled to find that little bit extra I needed to push at the front.
"In race two, I thought I rode with more consistency, but I just wasn't good enough. It was disappointing but we have a break for a few weeks to regroup before the next round of the Scottish Championship.”
Quad rider Mark McLernon had a busy week racing at the ten-hour Goncourt endurance meeting in France where he teamed up with German rider Manfred Zienecker.
The team were unlucky not to claim victory. They were leading when they lost 20 minutes in the pits, changing a blown engine before rejoining to finish second.
“It was disappointing, but that's racing sometimes,” said McLernon.
The Hillsborough rider then drove to Poland for round three of the EMX Quad European Championship at Gdansk, where he had mixed fortunes in his two races.
Race one saw the Northern Ireland rider struggle with the steering on his Yamaha, eventually finishing sixth.
Some work between races didn't help the situation, as McLernon reported that the bike was unrideable in race two as he struggled home in ninth.
“I changed the set-up on the front end, and I could hardly hold on to the handlebars and had no choice but to ease off and bring it home,” he said.
"Disappointed, but I’m still sixth in the championship, which is some consolation.”
Meanwhile, the North Armagh Motorcycle and Car Club hosts round four of the Ulster Quad and Sidecar Championships at Tandragee Motocross Park on Saturday (June 21).
Paul Edgar leads the Premier Quad standings from David Cowan, and with Mark McLernon on the grid, there should be great racing at the front.
In the Sidecars, British Championship crew Neil Campbell and Paul Horton should give championship leader Andy McKibbin plenty to think about.
Full grids for all the other classes should make for a good day's racing, which gets underway at 11 am.