Motocross Diary: Pluck of the Irish
By Sean Lawless on 23rd Jul 15
It was a good day for the Irish at Foxhill on Sunday with Martin Barr (BRT KTM) and Graeme Irwin (Heads & All Threads Suzuki) joining Shaun Simpson on the MX1 podium.
Both riders are known for hanging it out and the super-fast track lends itself to that style of riding.
For Barr his second place was the result of a lot of hard work and determination over the course of his career to master hardpack.
"This track had been good to me over the years,” said the Ballyclare man.
"A while back I couldn't ride hardpack so I went away and worked really hard at it and it was here that I got my first overall back in 2011 so it's great to be back on the podium again.
"It's especially good for BRT KTM as it's my own team and this is the team's first podium.
"Without all the sponsors behind me I wouldn't be here so I have to thank them – they deserve this result for sticking by me.
"Consistency was this thing today. Qualifying wasn't that good but I knew with three good starts I would be okay,
"So with fourth, second and sixth I'm really pumped to be back on the podium and I'm hoping for a good end to the season.”
Irwin survived a last race scare and his 3-2-11 card saw him just miss out on second.
"I nearly threw all my hard work from the first two races away in the last one.
"I got a bad start and just went down on one of the fastest parts of the track.
"The trouble is that round here we are all at a similar speed so making up any ground is very hard.
"So I am very happy with my third overall but disappointed in the mistake I made in the last race.”
