The final round of the Michelin MX Nationals took place at the iconic Hawkstone Park in the Midlands. It would be another solo appearance for the team with Martin Barr at his favoured track. The weather had also shown up for the event, something we’ve not had much of this season. The team were all set up on Saturday in readiness for Sunday’s racing.
The qualifying format had reverted to the MX2 then MX1 gate pick for the mixed class. Martin’s starts have suffered since returning from injury, so it was imperative he managed to get a good qualifying lap and gate pick. It was on the first lap that Martin managed to find the space and get a hot lap in, this was a stroke of luck as his rear shock blew out on the first lap. This was still good enough for 4th fastest in the Leatt MX1 Pro qualifying and set the tone for a good day.
In race 1 Martin, wearing the latest Leatt Sundown kit from the 2024 collection, didn’t get the jump out of the gate he’d wanted. Regardless, he went with the intensity of the race making early passes in the first couple of corners to 8th. He held the position for a lap before making a mistake in the hairpin bend coming out of the forest and going down losing a few positions to MX2 riders. This upset Martin’s rhythm for a few laps before he settled into the race. In the last half of the race, we saw the Martin Barr we were used to. His intensity and flow were back, and he began to make ground on the riders in front of him. Martin caught and easily passed the second place MX2 rider in the old bomb hole area of the track, crossing the line 7th in the MX1 Class.
Race 2 was the final race for the Michelin MX Nationals in the format as we know it. Martin had been trying some new techniques with his starts to try and improve them since his incident earlier in the season at Blaxhall. It was at this race that he made his best start of the season up inside the top 4 riders. For the first lap, Martin looked comfortable despite the pressing pack of riders hot on his heels. It was lap 2 where a loss of focus for a second caused him to go down pretty hard crashing and losing his helmet peak. Undeterred, Martin was back finding his groove before another small tip-off cost him several places. He lost his flow for a couple of laps and had just started pushing on and trading places with an MX2 rider, rounding out the last few laps without any challenges, finishing 8th at the flag and 7th overall in the Leatt Pro MX1 Class.
Dylan Brown: “It’s been a tough season, with only Martin representing the team due to Jack’s injury at the first round of the season at Oakhanger. Martin has had his fair share of bad luck with his crash at Blaxhall and a couple of bike issues. Taking all these things into account, we’ve still managed to finish 6th in the Leatt Pro MX1 Championship for the final season of the MX Nationals as we know it.
There’s still the final round of the Revo British Championship this weekend at Monster Mountain, a new track we’ve not visited yet as Martin was injured earlier in the season. With Martin lying in 13th position in the MX1 Championship there’s not a lot to gain, though we’ll go and do what we do to finish the season hopefully on a high.
Thanks to all the team sponsors, staff and helpers for their input this season, Anna and I couldn’t have done this without you. Once we have news on 2024 we’ll make an announcement, you’ll all be the first to know”.
