Press Release

Red Bull closer ends with podium for Boost Energy KTM‏


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."





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