GOLDEN GLORY for Apico Honda as the team takes multiple podium positions at the Vets Motocross Des Nations at Foxhill this weekend. As well as Martin Barr and Tom Grimshaw, Apico Honda welcomed back Jamie Law as a team rider for the VMXdN. The weekend of racing was condensed to a Sunday of madness due to weather conditions however, spirits were not dampened on the day! The altered Sunday race structure consisted of 1 qualifying block and 2 race blocks overall.
Tom Grimshaw: Tom was competing on an individual basis in the first class in a block of nine. Having qualified with the 4th fastest lap time, Tom secured himself a strong position for the day of racing ahead in the Evo Ultra Class Sponsored by Garland Powersports. Consistency proved to be key in the three laps Tom took qualifying with all lap times being within eight seconds of each other.
While securing the fastest lap time in race 1, Tom fought tooth and nail with Sam Nunn for 1st position. Tom describes how he “flipped into another gear when it came to race time”, having managed to apply pressure and secure 2nd place on race 1 with a 2 second difference from Sam Nunn. Tom brought an unbeatable mindset to race 2, securing a strong start out the gate and pulling away from the competition. With no room for error in his performance, Tom edged into 1st place, and brought it home, with Sam Nunn close behind.
Through having “a lot of good battles with a lot of good people” in his races, Tom’s victory secured him the fastest lap time yet again and beat his previous time from race 1 by 6 seconds. Despite securing the same number of points as Sam Nunn, Tom took first place overall in the Evo Ultra due to his race 2 result. Tom states “I had a lot of gate drops, made some really good moves and really enjoyed racing on the 2-strokes. The crowd was amazing and were cheering me on and I had some of the best battles I’ve had in a long time”.
Team Event: The team came together to compete in the Wright Engineering National Team Race. Our two resident riders combining forces with returning team member Jamie Law was a thrill to witness. All team members qualified in the upper half of the table, with Martin just missing a top 5 qualifying spot. A tight seven second window separated the team’s best lap times.
Race 1 saw a solid performance with all three members finishing in the top 10. Tom held strong in his battles to reach a podium position in this heat, with Martin and Jamie close behind. Martin managed “to work up the table into a good position” and finished in 4th for race 1. Jamie struggled out of the gate on race 1 however managed to “pick a few off and reach 9th position by the end of the race. Inside the top 10 is grand”. Tom talks on how the riders “managed to stay consistent throughout as a team” which led into a great position for the team going into race 2.
Race 2 saw a collaborative push from all riders in the team. Jamie held a steady and progressive race as he managed to climb three positions within the race time to finish inside the top 10. Jamie proved a formidable force as he “backed the boys up in the team races. I’m happy with the results which is all that matters”. Martin fought hard to retain his place at the top of the pack; he describes how he “got a great start out the holeshot. Tom Kellett passed on the first lap, but I kept my head down and managed to finish in 2nd”. Tom also managed to hold the line of his position, finishing in 4th position to complete Apico’s amazing team performance.
The collaborative effort from each rider saw Apico Honda take 1st place in the Wright Engineering National Team Race. An amazing performance from Martin Tom and Jamie!
Martin Barr: Martin went on to represent Northern Ireland in the VMXdN International Team Race Sponsored by Crescent Yamaha. This particular class is also a team event; however, Martin’s teammates were unable to ride, leaving him as the only team rider for this class. Despite this, Martin was able to produce some strong results with “the bike performing well and never missing a beat” throughout the day. Qualifying went well with a high finish of 4th place and 1.89 seconds behind the fastest lap time.
Firing off a strong start out of the gate in race 1, Martin found himself performing at the top of the pack with a gradual climb from 3rd to 2nd in lap 2. Martin managed to hold the line through the course of race 1 to finish in 2nd with a 1.6 second gap between him and Tommy Searle. This provided some valued results going forward. Advancing into race 2, Martin’s determined mindset was unphased by the challenge before him and was yet again able to perform under pressure. Progressing up the table through the race from 4th to 3rd in lap 2 and defending the podium position to the finish.
Martin states “I went out and did what needed to be done. I had two really good races to give me a great result”. Martin performed well with top 2 lap times in both races, he placed 3rd overall in the races and Northern Ireland took 8th on a team basis. Martin further commented that it was “a mega weekend with a brilliant atmosphere all round.”
Dylan Brown: “I’ve been looking forward to this event all year, and once again VMXdN Foxhill didn’t disappoint. Martin & Tom have been consistent all year onboard our Apico Honda CRF450s, so with very little track time on the 2strokes I was a little nervous going into the weekend to be honest. I’d spent a few hours building Martin a race bike from scratch, Tom also hadn’t had much seat time, and it was a pleasure to have Jamie Law dust off his own bike and join the team for a one weekend deal.
“Looking at the other teams involved in the Wright Engineering Team Event was like a British Championship Class, several teams looked on paper to be very strong, however I was confident the boys would play their part to bring home a good result. Martin & Tom at the front was a good start to the day, and I knew Jamie would always give his teammates 100%. It was a slender 3-point advantage going into the final race of the day and with another solid performance the boys brought home the win. Tom ran at the front in his individual race in the Ultra Evo Class and placed P1 Overall, Martin was a lone rider in the International Team Event for NI and managed a solid result passing Mike Brown and hanging with Tommy Searle to secure P3 overall in class. On the whole, coming away with the Wright Engineering Team win makes me feel very proud.”
Words and Images by Apico Honda
