The team headed to one of the best Motocross facilities in the U.K., Blaxhall near Ipswich, for round 3 of the Dirt Store British Motocross Championship. After setting up on Saturday and having our team meal, it was time for an early night in preparation for Sunday’s racing.
Martin Barr “I was looking forward to the round after a solid start to the 2024 race season, I managed to qualify 9th, probably my worst result of the year. I was breaking in a new Honda CRF450R, which I am very appreciative of, though things are always a little tight with new bikes and it took a little while to feel comfortable. I wasn’t far behind the front runners in qualifying, and I had a decent gate position for race 1. I made a decent start and pushed through the first couple of turns making up positions before settling into 5th place. Unfortunately, the race was red flagged, as I felt I was gaining on Brad Todd and Tristan Purdon”.
Tom Grimshaw “I had a good week leading up to the event, Blaxhall is a track I have raced a few times this year and was confident of a good result. Qualifying went well, matching 4th position on timing to the split second gave me 5th pick of the gate. I felt good going into the first race, unfortunately, I caught bars with the riders next to me down the start-straight, which left me with some work to do. I still managed to come through a few positions and was making progress, I got up to 6th position when the red flag came out and signalled the end of race 1.
The meeting was cut short and the promoters RHL Activities and club, Woodbridge DMCC released the following statement:
Despite having above the required medical cover for the event, three ambulances were required to leave site in a short period of time. This was following a medical emergency with a spectator and then two riders sustaining serious injuries within 30 minutes of one another.
Unfortunately, the local hospital was running over capacity. The patients had to continue being treated by the medical crews from our event and therefore were unable to handover care and return to site.
Following the 90-minute delay and with the medical crews still being held at the hospital, the club and championship promoter RHL Activities had to make the difficult decision to cancel the second block of racing due to rider and spectator safety being of paramount importance.
The club and RHL Activities can confirm that both injured riders received treatment and were released from hospital Sunday night. The spectator is reported to be doing well and receiving appropriate care.
The club and RHL Activities are both deeply disappointed that the day had to end early, however hope that everyone understands rider and spectator safety has to be of paramount importance.
Dylan Brown: “With the first race being red flagged whilst Martin and Tom were making progress and having a good race was a little frustrating, though the safety of riders and the public comes first. With the local hospital under so much pressure, they could not risk further incidents in the area, so the racing had to stop.
“Martin is now 3rd in the MX1 Dirt Store British Motocross Championship behind Jeffrey Herlings and Conrad Mewse. I am proud to have Martin running at the front of the British Championships for Apico Honda. Martin is also 3rd in the Apico MX1 Class at the Motul Fastest 40 Championship powered by Michelin, which is a fantastic achievement after his struggles last season.
“Tom has taken a big step this weekend and shown that at a young age, he’s able to run at the sharp end of British Motocross in the MX1 class. Tom is now 10th in the Dirt Store British Motocross Championship.
“I hope Martin & Tom’s riding continues on this upward trajectory and we see podium finishes from them both before the season ends”.
Words and Images by Apico Honda
