Desertmartin: What to expect!
1. Intense MX2 battle: The MX2 class should provide some great racing at Desertmartin with four riders having a genuine shot at winning the moto’s. Ben Watson, Harri Kullas, Josiah Natzke and Martin Barr have all been riding well so far this year and it promises to be a great battle at the front of the MX2 class.
Watson, Kullas and Natzke have all won moto’s so far this year but Barr will want to make himself the fourth moto winner in the class. In terms of the championship Ben Watson has a nice thirty points lead in the series after a Kullas DNF at the last round cost him. Unfortunately for Kullas he broke his collarbone a month ago and because of that won’t be fully fit this weekend.
However, when you add in the likes of Mel Pocock, Todd Kellett, Jake Millward, Brad Todd and Micky Eccless who are capable of getting on the box, the MX2 class should be an exciting watch this weekend.
2. Barr and Irwin at the front: It’s the home round for Buildbase Honda duo, Graeme Irwin and Martin Barr at a track they love and know so well at Desertmartin. There’s no question that they will be at the front in their respective classes.
In the MX1 class after it was revealed that Searle has broke his hand meaning he will miss this weekends event, Graeme Irwin probably goes in as favourite to win on the day especially with the sort of form he is in. Last year Barr had the red plate in front of his home crowd but this year it’s Irwin’s turn. Irwin managed to win at round four and will be hoping to make it two on the bounce in front of his home crowd. Look out for the likes of Gert Krestinov and Elliot Banks-Browne as they have the potential to cause an upset.
This year Irwin will have the red plate on his Buildbase Honda at Desertmartin! Pic: Nigel McKinstry
Barr has the speed to win in the MX2 class, hopefully he can get good starts on his Honda. He can’t afford to let the likes of Watson or Natzke get far ahead if he suffers from a bad start. If he can get good jumps out of the gate then expect Barr to give the rest of them a run for their money.
3. Irish support for local riders: There’s no question this weekend is the biggest race of the year in Northern Ireland and it’s great to see the best in the UK coming over to compete in the Maxxis British Championship.
No matter where you are in the world, whether it’s the French supporting their own at the French GP, Italian’s getting behind Carioli or the Dutch getting behind Herlings, it is hard to beat! This weekend the Irish fans will be out in full force and will want to witness a victory.
Last year both Irwin and Barr got some great support, the crowd went wild as Barr closed down on Clarke for the lead. Hopefully the support is even better this year and don’t forget to get behind the likes of Stuart Edmonds, James Mackrel, Glenn McCormick and the wildcards too!
The local crowd getting behind Barr in 2016! Pic: Nigel McKinstry
4. The kids in MXY2: The British Youth Nationals were at Desertmartin a few weeks ago and now we get to see even more of the fast British kids in action as the MXY2 series returns to action this weekend.
Keep your eye on that class as there’s plenty of young talent and who knows a future GP winning rider might be competing this weekend. There has only been two rounds so far but Keenan Hird leads the way in the class and has a thirteen points gap over Jake Edey with Tom Grimshaw only five points further adrift in third. One rider that is worth keeping an eye on is Lewis Hall, he could make it big in future and possibly has the most potential as he was riding an 85cc just last year!
