POCOCK SHINES AT CANADA HEIGHTS AS WATERMAN MAKES DEBUT
Mel Pocock continued his impressive run of podium finishes in the Red Bull Pro Nationals series at the weekend, as the Relentless Suzuki by TAS MX racer, ended round four of the series, held at Canada Heights in Kent, with second and third place finishes respectively, strengthening his second place position in the series standings.
Starting the day positively by qualifying third quickest, Pocock went into race one full of confidence. Leading the MX2 class in the opening stages of race one, the RM-Z250 rider looked set to continue his long running battle with series leader, Elliott Banks-Browne, but a crash early-on after running a wider line saw any hope of that battle disappear. Quickly remounting, Pocock pushed on and although couldn't make touch with the leader Banks-Browne, still crossed the line in second position and setting the fastest MX2 lap in the process. A steadier ride in race two saw Pocock get caught in traffic, loosing touch of the leaders and settling for a third placed finish, ending the day third overall.
Mel Pocock: "Not a bad day of racing, but I guess it could have gone a little better. Crucially I've lost touch with Elliott a little now in the series standings, which is frustrating, but if I'd have been offered a position as strong as this at the start of the season, I'd have been a happy man. On the positive side, my second place position in the standings is strong, so just need to get my head down and push on for the remainder of the season."
In the MX1 class, Gordon Crockard enjoyed a solid day of racing, coming back from a poor start in race one to finish fifth in class, before finishing one place lower in the final race to end the day sixth overall.
Gordon Crockard: "Not a bad day really. Obviously I would have liked to finish a little higher-up the order, but after my visit to Canada Heights earlier in the season where I suffered a big crash, to come away uninjured and with a pair of solid finishes feels like a reasonable result. I struggled a little with my starts, but was able to set consistent times thanks to the bike, which ran great. A big thanks to the team once again."
Joining Gordon in the MX1 class, was new rider Josh Waterman, who is a supported rider for the TAS Racing MX Shop. Riding a completely standard RM-Z450, Waterman impressed the team and spectators by finishing third in class in the first race and eighth in the second, to end the day fifth overall.
Team manager Adam Lyons: "Not a bad day at the office at all. Although Mel didn't quite manage to stay in touch with Elliott due to that crash in the first race and traffic issues in the second, he rode very well indeed and strengthened his position in the series standings despite suffering with the heat a little and fitness. Gordon had a solid day, which after his last visit here, is no bad thing and of course the whole team were immensely impressed by what Josh did on a completely standard bike - very impressive indeed. Next stop for us is Duns in Scotland for the next Maxxis round on August 14, where we hope Mel can go some way to move into third in the series standings."
MX1 Overall:1st Brad Anderson, 2nd Nathan Parker, 3rd Alex Snow, 4th Gert Krestinov, 5th JOSH WATERMAN (SUZUKI), 6th GORDON CROCKARD (SUZUKI), 7th Martin Barr, 8th Luke Benstead, 9th Jamie Smith, 10th Sam Simmons
MX1 Championship Standings:1st Anderson (197), 2nd Barr (141), 3rd Krestinov (121), 4th Parker (117), 5th Sword (112), 6th Whatley (103), 7th CROCKARD (SUZUKI) (100), 8th Shaun Simpson (84), 9th Alex Snow (83), 10th Law (73)
MX2 Overall:1st Elliott Banks-Browne, 2nd Neville Bradshaw, 3rd Mel Pocock, 4th Bryan MacKenzie, 5th John Phillips, 6th Matthew Bayliss, 7th Sonny Thompson, 8th Connor Walkley, 9th Lewis Trickett, 10th Stuart Edmonds
MX2 Championship Standings:1st Banks-Browne (197), 2nd POCOCK (SUZUKI) (168), 3rd MacKenzie (131), 4th Bradshaw (113), 5th Edmonds (108), 6th Phillips (84), 7th Clarke (77), 8th Moffatt (74), 9th Walkley (74), 10th Rowson (66).
2011 Team Partners include: Suzuki GB PLC, Relentless, Beacon, Alpinestars, Pirelli, Talon, Rental, Polisport, Regina, Leo Vince Exhaust, Leo Vince Carbon, Pipercross, Red Torpedo, Worx, Hel, SPS, Samco, Moto Graphix, Motul, Factoryfoam.
