Not Brad for starters
By Dick Law on 14th Apr 11
With the Red Bull Pro Nationals season-opener kicking off at Doncaster's awesome FatCat Moto Parc at the weekend, a bumper crowd of more than 7,500 spectators over two days were kept buzzing as they watched the motocross stars of the future battling it out in the hotly-contested Red Bull Elite Youth Cup.
On Sunday they were treated to some truly spectacular Pro class action on the Sunday, when PAR Honda's Brad Anderson and DB Honda pilot Elliot Banks-Browne moved ahead in the MX1 & MX2 Pro classes.
Pictures: Ian Roxburgh
From the very start of qualifying it was obvious that this year's Red Bull Pro National MX1 and MX2 series is going to be very close.
In MX1 the top six riders, headed up by LS Honda's Shaun Simpson, all had lap times within two-seconds of each other.
However, as racing started it soon became clear that last year's champion, Brad Anderson on his PAR Honda, is the man to beat.
Anderson was never out of the top three and in race one had a fantastic battle with on-form Proppa.com KTM's Martin Barr, as the lead changed between the pair time and again.
Eventually Anderson passed Barr five turns before the chequered flag to claim the first moto win of the year.
In race two Anderson passed the fast-starting Buildbase CCM of Stephen Sword on lap two and controlled the race from the front for a maximum overall win, and to prove he is the man they will all have to beat during the 2011 season.
After racing Brad said: "Today has gone well as in the first moto I had bad arm pump and was struggling to hold on.
"But I just managed to get past Martin Barr on the final lap to snatch victory.
"In the second my arm pump wasn't a problem and I got out in front, but took things easy in the last couple of laps so I didn't fall off. Two class wins – you can't do better then that!”
Simpson made hard work of the first race, gating 11th and by the time he was in third the two leaders were long gone.
In race two he got away to a better start, and battled for second spot with Sword until the half-way stage, before cruising a comfortable second to secure second overall.
Simpson: "Every time I get on my bike I am enjoying myself and that's important right now.
"I have been racing today as training for the GPs but there was no staying with Brad.
"He was the better man today, but I am now fitter and have more training races under my belt, ready for the start of the GP season.”
Third overall, Barr said: "The day was OK, I had a good go with Brad in race one as we kept swapping the lead.
"In race two I made a silly mistake stalling the engine which undid a lot of the hard work I had already put in and ended up fourth, and third overall, which I am happy with.”
Others that suffered a more disappointing day were Buildbase CCM's Tom Church, who, after leading the first race, just ran out of steam as the flu got the better of him and drained him of all his energy.
After knocking himself out at Canada Heights the previous weekend, Gordon Crockard turned up and rode the event, but was well off his normal pace, finishing 12th overall, for some valuable points that may come in handy at the end of the year.
Kristian Whatley was struggling to find a set-up that would last a whole race on his Samsung Yamaha, but
still finished seventh overall.
In the MX2 division, fastest in qualifying, Elliott Banks-Browne on a Pulse DB Honda qualified eighth, beating most of the MX1 riders, as well as all of his class rivals.
In the Red Bull Pro Nationals series all the MX2 riders get first gate picks and this gave Banks-Browne first choice on the line and the holeshot in race one.
Behind him Nathan Parker hit the sand, for the first time, on his Proppa.com KTM, with Regent Suzuki's Jamie Smith following him.
After racing, maximum MX2 points-scorer ‘EBB' said: "It's been a good day as I had a really big crash practing and I didn't know if I could even ride today.
"My back started to hurt halfway through both races and it was a struggle to finish.”
Mel Pocock (Relentless TAS Suzuki) followed Banks-Browne home in both races and explained: "I suffered some bad luck in race one as I went down in the second turn and got my legs run over a couple of times.
"But I still managed to finish second behind Elliott.
"In doing that though I expended most of my energy.
"In race two I gated well and after that start I just followed Elliott.”
Scott Elderfield dropped his Lanes Kawasaki in race one but still managed third overall.
FOR FULL REPORT AND PICTURES SEE T+MX APRIL 8
RED BULL PRO NATIONALS
Rd 1 – FatCat MP, Doncaster (Events22)
PRO MX1 CLASS
1 Brad Anderson (PAR Honda) 25 + 25 = 50
2 Shaun Simpson (LS Honda) 20 + 22 = 42
3 Martin Barr (Proppa.com KTM) 22 + 18 = 40
4 Stephen Sword (Buildbase CCM) 14 + 20 = 34
5 Gert Krestinov (Maxxis Henderson Kawasaki) 18 + 14 = 32
6 Tom Church (Buildbase CCM) 16 + 15 = 31
7 Kristian Whatley (Samsung Yamaha) 15 + 12 = 27
8 Graeme Irwin (Red Bull KTM) 11 + 13 = 24
9 Jamie Law (Triple D KTM ) 13 + 11 = 24
10 Nathan Parker (Proppa.com KTM) 6 + 16 = 22
11 Arunas Gelasninkas (Route 77 Kawasaki) 9 + 10 = 19
12 Gordon Crockard (Relentless TAS Suzuki) 12 + 7 = 19
13 Sam Simmons (Motoward Yamaha) 8 + 8 = 16
14 Alex Snow (Lanes Kawasaki) 7 + 6 = 13
15 Martyn Cremers (Buildbase CCM) 10 + 0 = 10
SERIES STANDINGS: As Overall above.
PRO MX2 CLASS
1 Elliott Banks-Browne (DB Racing Honda) 25 + 25 = 50
2 Mel Pocock (Relentless TAS Suzuki) 22 + 22 = 44
3 Scott Elderfield (Lanes Kawasaki) 18 + 20 = 38
4 Stuart Edmonds (Electraction TM) 20 + 14 = 34
5 Jack Brunnel (Kawasaki) 14 + 18 = 32
6 Bryan MacKenzie (Maxxis Henderson Kaw) 9 + 15 = 24
7 Lewis Tombs (Honda) 10 + 13 = 23
8 John Phillips (Dirt Bike Gym ???) 7 + 12 = 19
9 Tom Kelly (DB Honda) 8 + 9 = 17
10 Jordan Booker (HMP Red Bull KTM ) 16 + 0 = 16
11 Steven Clarke (Hooper Maxxis Suzuki) 0 + 16 = 16
12 Sunny Thompson (Bikesport ???) 5 + 11 = 16
13 Ray Rowson (Samsung Yamaha) 15 + 0 = 15
14 Josh Waterman (MBR KTM) 13 + 0 = 13
15 Ryan Houghton (Red Bull KTM) 12 + 0 = 12
SERIES STANDINGS: As Overall above.
NEXT ROUND: May 7/8 – Landrake MP, nr Saltash,
Cornwall (Events22)
RED BULL ELITE YOUTH CUP
Rd 1 – FatCat MP, Doncaster (Events22)
EYC ROOKIE CLASS
1 Nathan Watson (KTM) 45 + 45 + 45 + 45 + 45 = 225
2 James Dunn (KTM) 39 + 39 + 42 + 42 + 42 = 204
3 Jake Millward (???) 42 + 36 + 30 + 28 + 30 = 166
4 Jamie McCanney (KTM) 28 + 19 + 39 + 39 + 36 = 161
5 Jordan Divall (Honda) 33 + 33 + 28 + 30 + 28 = 152
6 Bradley Pocock (Yamaha) 30 + 42 + 0 + 36 + 39 = 147
7 Tommy Alba (Kawasaki) 24 + 26 + 36 + 26 + 33 = 145
8 Liam Garland (KTM ) 36 + 30 + 33 + 33 + 0 = 132
9 James Rutter (Honda) 20 + 18 + 24 + 15 + 24 = 101
10 Jack Kelly (KTM) 22 + 17 + 16 + 20 + 20 = 95
SERIES STANDINGS: As Overall above.
EYC BIG-WHEEL 85cc CLASS
1 Ben Watson (KTM) 45 + 45 + 45 + 45 + 45 = 225
2 Michael Eccles (???) 39 + 42 + 42 + 42 + 42 = 207
3 Robert Davidson (Honda) 42 + 33 + 30 + 39 + 36 = 180
4 Fraser Viner (Honda) 36 + 22 + 36 + 33 + 39 = 166
5 Jack Gardner (Honda) 28 + 39 + 39 + 36 + 17 = 159
6 Liam Knight (Honda) 30 + 30 + 28 + 30 + 33 = 151
7 Conrad Mewse (KTM) 26 + 36 + 14 + 26 + 24 = 126
8 Mathew Callaghan (Honda) 19 + 28 + 26 + 19 + 30 = 122
9 Tom Neal (KTM) 33 + 19 + 33 + 28 + 2 = 115
10 Todd Kellet (Kawasaki) 20 + 26 + 19 + 22 + 14 = 101
SERIES STANDINGS: As Overall above.
EYC SMALL-WHEEL 85cc CLASS
1 Jordan Eccles (KTM) 45 + 42 + 45 + 39 + 45 = 216
2 Jay Hague (KTM) 42 + 45 + 42 + 45 + 39 = 213
3 Sid Evans (Kawasaki) 39 + 39 + 9 + 42 + 42 = 171
4 Jack Camwell (???) 24 + 33 + 39 + 30 + 33 = 159
5 Taylor Hammal (KTM) 20 + 36 + 30 + 36 + 36 = 158
6 Mitchell Lewis (Honda) 19 + 30 + 24 + 26 + 28 = 127
7 Will Jeonney (KTM ) 28 + 28 + 19 + 24 + 24 = 123
8 David Keet (Kawasaki) 36 + 0 + 36 + 22 + 26 = 120
9 Henry Williams (KTM ) 33 + 22 + 33 + 0 + 30 = 118
10 Drew Warren (KTM) 30 + 16 + 28 + 17 + 20 = 111
SERIES STANDINGS: As Overall above.
EYC JUNIOR 65cc CLASS
1 Alexander Brown (KTM) 42 + 45 + 45 + 45 + 45 = 222
2 Jed Etchells (KTM ) 45 + 42 + 42 + 42 + 42 = 213
3 Oliver Consterdine (KTM) 36 + 36 + 33 + 24 + 22 = 151
4 Christopher Mills (KTM) 28 + 39 + 24 + 36 + 19 = 146
5 Owen Woodhouse (KTM) 16 + 26 + 36 + 26 + 26 = 130
6 Harry Kimber (Kawasaki) 22 + 33 + 17 + 20 + 36 = 128
7 Colin Scott (KTM) 33 + 17 + 20 + 30 + 28 = 128
8 Archie Osmaston (KTM) 39 + 30 + 28 + 17 + 14 = 128
9 Charlie Cole (KTM) 10 + 28 + 26 + 33 + 30 = 127
10 James Scott (KTM) 0 + 19 + 39 + 28 + 17 = 103
SERIES STANDINGS: As Overall above.
NEXT ROUND: May 7/8 – Landrake MP, nr Saltash,
Cornwall (Events22)
FUCHS SILKOLENE BRITISH TWO-STROKE CHAMPIONSHIP
Rd 1 – FatCat MP, Doncaster (Events22)
EXPERT OPEN CLASS
1 Matthew Moffat (KTM) 25 + 25 + 25 = 75
2 Stuart Edmonds (TM) 22 + 22 + 22 = 66
3 Carlton Husband (KTM) 16 + 20 + 16 = 52
4 Matt Burrows (KTM ) 20 + 16 + 15 = 51
5 Will Worden (???) 18 + 12 + 18 = 48
6 Daniel Arnold (Honda) 11 + 15 + 20 = 46
7 Jim Davies (TM) 15 + 14 + 14 = 43
8 Steve Bixby (KTM) 13 + 18 + 12 = 43
9 Brett Hillman (Honda) 14 + 13 + 13 = 40
10 Chad Yarranton (KTM) 12 + 11 + 11 = 34
SERIES STANDINGS: As Overall above.
EXPERT 125cc CLASS
1 John Pettitt (Yamaha) 25 + 22 + 22 = 69
2 Nathan Rooks (KTM ) 22 + 18 + 18 = 58
3 Danny Tollet (???) 16 + 16 + 20 = 52
4 Jim Davies (TM) 18 + 20 + 10 = 48
5 Luke Remmer (Yamaha) 20 + 0 + 25 = 45
6 Luke Kennett (Honda) 14 + 14 + 14 = 42
7 Ben Howell (KTM ) 0 + 25 + 16 = 41
8 Ryan Pottenger (TM) 13 + 11 + 15 = 39
9 Charles Statt (Kawasaki) 15 + 12 + 12 = 39
10 Peter Eccles (KTM) 12 + 13 + 13 = 38
SERIES STANDINGS: As Overall above.
JUNIOR OPEN CLASS
1 Jason Martin (???) 25 + 25 + 25 = 75
2 Josh Williams (Honda) 20 + 20 + 11 = 51
3 Jacob Grossman (???) 15 + 13 + 22 = 50
4 Michael Evans (Yamaha) 14 + 15 + 20 = 49
5 Jason Wells (KTM) 12 + 14 + 16 = 42
6 Simon Booth (Suzuki) 18 + 12 + 10 = 40
7 Christian Lyth (TM) 16 + 22 + 0 = 38
8 Adrian Deeley (???) 4 + 16 + 18 = 38
9 Tom Bright (Kawasaki) 13 + 9 + 15 = 37
10 Colin Gibson (Honda) 10 + 10 + 14 = 34
SERIES STANDINGS: As Overall above.
JUNIOR 125cc CLASS
1 Jamie Houghton (KTM) 25 + 25 + 25 = 75
2 Thomas Kirk (KTM) 20 + 18 + 20 = 58
3 Christian Lyth (TM) 22 + 22 + 11 = 55
4 Simon Booth (Suzuki) 18 + 15 + 18 = 51
5 Ryan Butler (Yamaha) 16 + 16 + 16 = 48
6 Callum Sloman (Yamaha) 0 + 20 + 22 = 42
7 Jake Fry (Yamaha) 15 + 13 + 14 = 42
8 Terry Lloyd (KTM) 14 + 12 + 15 = 41
9 Kieran Kellett (KTM) 13 + 9 + 12 = 34
10 Ben Hunter (Yamaha) 9 + 14 + 10 = 33
SERIES STANDINGS: As Overall above.
NEXT ROUND: May 7/8 – Landrake MP, nr Saltash,
Cornwall (Events22)
