Press Release

Whitby podium heralds return to form for Proppa.com KTM


A week after boiling hot action in France, Proppa.com
KTM returned to Whitby in Yorkshire to partake in the third round of
the Red Bull Pro Nationals. The team also saw a once-off return of local
man James Noble who was invited to race under the team banner for the
weekend, throwing his leg over a bike for the first time since his
retirement from the sport at the end of last season.





As is customary in the championship, the Rookie class races both
days and it is here where sole youth rider Liam Garland started off with
a top ten qualifying time on Saturday morning. He soon followed it up
with a fourteenth and then an eighth place in the first and second races
respectively, but found himself in a spot of trouble after losing
control of his bike in the whoops section as the track became
increasingly treacherous due to a sudden dousing of rain. This set him
back to twentieth in the final race of the day. On Sunday morning,
Garland returned to form with a strong race in seventh and found himself
in the running for the lead in the second race before it was
red-flagged. A restart later in the afternoon brought Garland back to
fifth place for a sobering ninth place overall leaving him seventh in
the championship.





The three Pro Nationals riders Nathan Parker, James Noble and Martin
Barr started Sunday morning qualifying off well with Noble in tenth,
Parker in ninth and Barr in second, a mere sliver of 0.07 seconds off
pole.





For Barr the weekend could not have gone any better. After throwing
down the gauntlet during qualifying, the first race was all about him
and Brad Anderson. Keeping pressure on Anderson throughout, he was able
to capitalise on Anderson's mistakes to take the lead and then the win.
The second race saw Barr again put pressure on Anderson, only to come
under pressure himself from Kristian Whatley. Much to Barr's
disappointment, a mistake allowed Whatley to make a pass to take second,
but Barr remained on a high, taking second overall on the day and
moving into second place in the championship in the process.





Parker's first race got off to a slow start with a start in twelfth,
but by mid-race, he found himself in the top five. Arm pump set in
however, and whilst dealing with this irritation, Parker was forced to
take a more measured approach in the latter half, pushing hard across
the finish line in fifth. In the second race, Parker again found himself
in the top ten early. He soon was embroiled in battles with several
nimble MX2 riders, eventually latching on to the MX2 leader Elliott
Banks-Browne, and pressuring him all the way to the finish line. For
Parker, the day ended with another fifth, a fifth overall and a rise to
seventh in the championship.





Noble found, much to his dismay, that the Pro Nationals class has
strengthened considerably. Although a first race start outside the top
twenty looked to become a strong ride in the top ten, a crash knocked
him back to the back of the pack. Working relentlessly throughout the
race, Noble found himself back in ninth by the end of the race. The
second race started much better, seeing Noble in the front of the pack
around the first few corners. Again holding his own against both class
rivals and the MX2 riders in the mix, Noble again crossed the finish
line in ninth to take an impressive ninth overall.





Team principal Steve Turner sounded very pleased at the end of the
day: “It was a good day for the team! Liam had a tough day on Saturday.
He made improvements all the way through the day but crashed in the
third race when the rain came down. Today's first race was OK, but in
the second race he was up at the front and was comfortably in second
when it was red-flagged. In the rerun he went from a tenth in the first
few laps to a strong fifth. He looked good on the bike and ended the
weekend on a high.





“Nathan rode strong all weekend, looked fast, had some arm pump in
the first race, but he rode well with two fifth places, made some
aggressive hard passes, and if he gets the starts, he can start sticking
those hard passes on the top three rather than seventh, eighth or
ninth. Martin had a strong day, looked on it from the outset. He wanted
those starts, and he was away in second in both races. In the first race
he kept pressure on Brad and then took advantage when he dropped it,
got the win, the first one he's had for the team, which is great. In the
second race he kept with Brad, but made a mistake and dropped back and
got passed by Whatley, but all in all a strong weekend and overall moved
into second in the championship. So yes, excellent.





“James enjoyed the day, I think it was a bit tougher than expected
but he had a good run out there. It's tough taking pretty much a year
out and then jump back on a bike for a weekend on this level, but it was
good to see him on a bike again.”  





Martin Barr: “Today's been a much better day. Qualifying went good
with a second; in the first race I had a good start, Brad and I were
going at it but half-way through I made a few mistakes and Brad got
away. With a few laps to go I came round and he was picking his bike up,
so I got going and he was right behind me, passed me in the last lap
and then he gave it a big fist pump over the back. I got round the
inside of him with a couple of corners to go and on the next straight he
binned it in the whoops again. That got me my first MX1 win, which I'm
happy about. It was good for the team and also for me. In the second
race Brad and I went at it again, I made a mistake and slid out in the
whoops and got caught up in the ropes. I had to bunny-hop back over them
and then put the hammer down to reel Brad back in. I brought Whatley
with me, but to be fair to Kristian, he was going just that little bit
better, he got a few better lines and got by me with a couple of laps to
go and I ended up third. It gave me second overall and it's good to be
back on the podium for the team and for the bike.”





James Noble: “Today was not too bad, I enjoyed it. In the last race
we had some rain and that made it slippery and needed a bit more
throttle control, but it was good. It was nice to go back out on a bike
again for a change and it was nice to be out racing. I just took my time
and picked whoever was in front of me and find out where they were slow
and I was faster and then just make a pass. Thanks to MCF and to Proppa.com KTM for lending me a bike!”





Nathan Parker: “Today went pretty good to be fair. In qualifying I
struggled with arm pump and ended ninth. In the first race had a bad
start, pulled through, was in fourth at one point and struggled with arm
pump again. Swordy and Whatley passed me and I dropped back, I pushed
back through it and got up to fifth. In the second race I had a better
start and pushed all the way through, kept going and passing and it
seemed that everyone I was passing was an MX2 rider. It was good to have
a bit of a battle with Elliott and it's a bit more confidence in that
if I get a good start I'll be away.”





Liam Garland: “This weekend hasn't been the best for me; yesterday I
was feeling good on the bike but it wasn't happening at all for me. I
made some silly mistakes and I have to work on my corner speed. Today
felt a lot better, first race didn't go too well, but in the second
race, before it was red-flagged, I was second, feeling good and putting
in the second-quickest lap time before we got pulled off. In the restart
I had a shocking start mid-pack, came through, speed was good, and I
ended up in sixth.”
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