Red Bull Pro Nats report
Published: 20th April 2009
Author: JP O'Connell
I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I was pretty excited in the lead up to the inaugural round of the Red Bull Pro Nationals - even the series title sounds sexy! Not that there is anything wrong with the way the British championships are run but a little competition is usually a good thing, it keeps everyone at the top of their game.
As I drove to Landrake, in the land of the pastie, my initial excitement started to turn to nerves - what if the event was pants and didn’t match its hype? Well I’m pleased to be able to report that the day was fantastic helped along by a good turn-out, a good family atmosphere, a well-prepped natural track and the most beautiful April weather you could ask for.
The format is a little different than you’d be used to as MX1 and MX2 classes race together resulting in two podiums from one race (albeit a two legger) - one for MX1 and one for MX2… The Pro qualifying was split into two groups with the top 20 of each group making it through to the points-paying Pro 1 finals and the top 10 of each group also being included into the two-lap Proppa.com Van Slam race.
Noble and Nunny soar over the finish line jump
In the first of the Pro races, MVR-D Suzuki’s Carl Nunn is out of the gate and into turn one like a scalded cat with STR Honda’s Jordan Rose and Relentless Suzuki’s Scott Columb lining up behind him. Nunn is flying and soon starts to gap the field, building up about a six-second lead over second place while further back MVR-D’s Matiss Karro and MAR Honda’s Pascal Leuret are tearing through the pack after poor starts.
At about two-thirds distance Nunn starts to drop off the pace allowing first Columb and then Leuret to pass him. Nunn responds and closes right back up to Leuret but it’s a little too late and Columb takes the win ahead of Leuret on his MX2 machine.
Easty holeshots the Van Slam race
The interval provides time for the Van Slam race which will be a fixture at each Pro round, the points being combined at the end of the season and the winner getting a year’s free rental of a blinged up van, courtesy of Proppa.com. This race/sideshow is worthy of a mention as the holeshot goes to none other than Mark Eastwood - on his two-stroke Honda! Unfortunately the two-stroke’s glory is relatively short-lived as the battle for the win ends up between MVR-D Suzuki team-mates James Noble and Carl Nunn with Noble taking it by a nose.
The second of the Pro races has none other than MOTO/Twisted 7 Honda’s Bryan MacKenzie leading them up the start straight ahead of Rose and Noble. MacKenzie manages to keep out front until the fourth lap when Rose puts a pass on him, only for Rose to drop it a few corners later allowing a freight train of riders through. Noble puts himself at the pointy end of affairs and opens up a small gap over Nunn and Columb but it’s the fast Frenchman Leuret who is again on the charge. As the race winds down Noble is able to cruise for the last couple of laps while behind him Leuret passes both Nunn and Columb to again put his MX2 bike into second ahead of a whole host of MX1 machinery.
Leuret tops the MX2 podium
The idea of the MX1 and MX2 bikes racing against each other isn’t entirely new and as Pascal Leuret showed it’s not so much what you have but what you can do with it.
“In the second race I made a better start, on the 250 it is not so easy as it is uphill,” says Pascal. “I made a big mistake on the downhill jump, my bike bogged, I nearly went over the bars and I really hurt my shoulder. After maybe 10 minutes the pain went down a bit and I tried really hard to catch James so it was good.
“In the first race I had a really bad start - maybe 15th - and I managed to come back. It was good, a really good weekend, good practice and I’m really happy to win as it’s been a long time since I won something, I’m really happy. I think this has been a really good event, we would love to have something like this in France as all we have is the French championship.”
As with most new things there are bound to be teething problems - look at the MX1 podium pictures and you will see New Zealand’s Scott Columb on the top step when in fact the overall should have been awarded to Carl Nunn due to his better finish in the second race. Carl’s not too concerned though…
“Yeah I hadn’t even realised myself,” laughs Carl. “I had a good start in the first race and pulled a bit of a gap before I just hit a wall - my arms were so pumped I could barely hang on. Unfortunately, I couldn’t read my pitboard so I didn’t know there were only two to three laps to go - if I had I may have been able to mentally push myself through it.
“In the second race I didn’t get such a good start but came through well into second behind James, I pushed as hard as I could but every time I seemed to make some time I would lose it again. I have to admit that Leuret caught me off guard, he seemed to come out of nowhere but he was riding excellently and when he went past I had nothing for him. As far as the event has gone I think it’s got a good atmos, there’s no stress and with the music going on it’s more like a festival atmosphere. I like what the MCF is doing, it’s fresh and what we need - it also helps to bridge a bit of a gap for the kids as they are in the same paddock and riding the same track on the same day as the pros.”
Race 1
1 Scott Columb MX1
2 Pascal Leuret MX2
3 Carl Nunn MX1
4 Matiss Karro MX2
5 Michael Phillips MX2
Race 2
1 James Noble MX1
2 Pascal Leuret MX2
3 Carl Nunn MX1
4 Scott Columb MX1
5 Matiss Karro MX2
MX1 Overall
1 Carl Nunn
2 Scott Columb
3 Alex Snow
MX2 Overall
1 Pascal Leuret
2 Matiss Karro
3 Michael Phillips
Post User Comments
User Comments
There are currently no comments for this articles.
