Pocock, Barr and Woodock on Culham!
After the highs of Spain last weekend, REVO Husqvarna UK faced a big test of character at Culham Moto Park in Oxfordshire on Sunday for the first round of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship.
Mel Pocock showed he was on the pace with third in qualification and 18-year-old Dylan Woodcock posted sixth fastest time but on just his second fast lap Martin Barr went over the handlebars on his FC 250 and injured his leg and thumb.
In the opening race Mel came back from a fall to take third, super-tough Martin gritted it out to salvage valuable points in seventh and Dylan claimed the final point up for grabs with 20th.
When the gate dropped on race two Mel didn’t get the best drive but it was worse for Martin who went down in the second turn and after being taken down again on the opening lap he withdrew.
Mel made a string of passes for fourth to secure third overall in MX2 but Dylan was forced to pull out after a handful of laps with a technical problem.
Mark Yates (Team Principal)
“Coming off the back of two excellent EMX250 race wins in Spain we were on a bit of a high but we all appreciate that every weekend can’t be like that and Martin getting injured in qualifying is a blow.
“We were debating whether he should have gone out in the first race but he wanted to try and toughed it out for a brave seventh but two crashes in the second moto were too much even for him.
“We’ll have to see what the doctor says but the main thing is he’s ready for the second Euro round in Portugal so he may need to take next weekend off.
“Mel’s still riding a bit tense even after the confidence booster in Spain and after third in the first race he struggled a little in the second but he managed to maintain fourth for third overall.
“Dylan’s struggled today and unfortunately in the second race he had a throttle position sensor issue which caused his bike to cut out but I was very pleased with his speed in qualifying so he’s moving in the right direction.
“We’ve certainly suffered mixed fortunes this weekend but the team has worked faultlessly.”
Mel Pocock – 3rd (3-4)
“The first round of the British championship is always the most hectic. I know there was a lot of stick about the track but I’m really glad they ran it – it was super-technical and so good for racing.
“The first race I had a good start but unfortunately slipped off and dropped back to about sixth but pushed back to third which was a solid, strong ride in the deep ruts.
“In the second I didn’t have an amazing start and rode tense if I’m honest. I didn’t ride to the best of my ability for about 10 to 15 minutes and only really loosened up in the last part of the race but I’ll take third overall.”
Martin Barr – 12th (7-DNF)
“In quali I got one lap in and then hit a big, soft hole flat-out – it was like hitting a brick wall – which stopped me dead and I went over the bars. I caught my leg on the way over and bent my thumb.
“I wasn’t sure whether I was going to go out for the first race or not but you have to dig deep and give it a go and I rode a steady race to bring it home in seventh.
“I got a pretty bad start in race two and went down in the second corner. I was coming back through the pack when a guy cross-rutted and just completely t-boned me.
“It’s been a disaster of a day but it’s a long season so I’ll go home, get healed up and live to fight another day.”
Dylan Woodcock – 25th (20-DNF)
“It’s been a tough day but I can’t be disheartened with sixth in qualifying. That’s brilliant for me and I didn’t feel like I was really pushing – I was just hitting my marks and getting the power down.
“In the first race I got cut off on the start and had a bit of a nightmare and in race two I had an electrical problem on the sighting lap. We got it going again but throughout the race it was an issue but it was no-one’s fault.”
