BANK HOLIDAY BONUS
The Red Bull Pro Nationals moved to the infamous sand circuit of Hawkstone park in Shropshire for round 5 and with heavy pre race rain there were fears of a wash out but the Events22 preparation made a grand job and the rain had merely made the surface damp and perfect for the 2 days of intense racing. With only one rider competing on the Saturday in the Elite Rookie class, Samsung Yamaha's Joe Bamfield had a lot on his shoulders. Bamfield set 8th fastest in qualification and with expectation for a better race result he went to the line for moto1.
Moto 2 was a short lived affair as following a fantastic 2nd place round turn one and running a comfortable 4th he got a rear puncture and had to pull out!!
So to the final moto on day 1 and more bad luck as while again running with the front runners he tweaked his knee causing him to much pain to continue ending his day with a painful reminder of previous surgery on said knee.
Sunday saw Bamfield get back up from team members Kristian Whatley YZ450F in the MX1 class and Jackson Evans also mounted on the YZ250F in the MX2 Pro classes. Whatley managed to post an identical time to series leader Anderson in qualifying to grab 3rd spot and Evans was lucky to post 31st after a heavy impact with his handlebars left him winded and showing signs of swelling on his chest!!! Moto 1 saw Anderson battling for the lead with Tommy Searle aboard a 450 for the first time in readiness for the MXoN in September while Samsung Yamaha's Whatley was charging from a top six start and moving up the leader board when an uncharacteristic mistake put the Samsung Yamaha on its side. Re-mounting he set off once again charging hard to make up lost ground managing to cross the line behind a flailing Anderson who had been slipping back with mechanical problems. So a 6th place wasn't as bad as it could of been with series leader only one place in front. Evans was suffering from his qualification bar bashing and ended up pulling out at the half way mark in a lot of pain and didn't return to the track for moto 2.
The Elite Rookie action was back out on the track for moto 4 of the weekend and Bamfield was rested and rearing to make amends for the dreadful luck he'd encountered from the day before. So strapped up and looking to try to make amends Bamfield put his Samsung Yamaha once again inside the top 10 in the early laps. His knee seemed to be holding up as he moved forward on the tough track and picked off 3 more riders to take 7th at the finish and first points off the weekend!
The Pro's returned to the track for the second moto and all eyes where on Samsung's Whatley and PAR's Anderson to see if they could catch the flying CLS Kawasaki of Searle. But again the GP rider Searle was on form and maybe more used to the gruelling effects of the deep hawkstone sand he pulled away to leave the Red Bull regulars to fight it out for the runner up spot. Still struggling to get back to full race fitness Samsungs Whatley was having to battle hard to stay on the pace but managed to hang in for a 7th just one place behind championship contender Barr on the 350 KTM but Anderson had managed to grab a well deserved 2nd behind Searle and extended his championship lead.
Final Rookie race saw didn't see Bamfield put his Samsung Yamaha inside the front runners at the start and he really had to work hard to move up the field with the track in a really rough state from 2 days off racing. By half distance he was inside the top 10 and moving forward at a good pace, with a final last push he'd got into 5th and had he had another lap would of no doubt caught Milward for 4th.
Bank holiday Monday saw the 2 Samsung Pro's line up together in the Ken Hall Trophey meeting at Langrish in Hampshire, qualifying went well for both riders with Whatley only being pipped by the narrowest of margins by arch rival Anderson and Evans got a tow off team mate Whatley and set 4th fastest aboard Whatley's 450 practise bike!
First race on the card was the 'Dash for Cash', the fastest six qualifiers lined up for a head to head over one lap, top 3 went forward to the final, both Samsung Yamaha's lined up in the top 6 but it was only Whatley that pulled through with Anderson and Coutts. It was a battle between the Par Honda of Anderson and the Samsung Yamaha of Whatley in this one lap sprint with it going to Ando by a wheel as they crossed the line, setting up a battle royal between the two rivals for the main event the Ken Hall Trophy races.
Race one was just that with Andreson getting the holeshot and Whatley tucking in behind him and tailing him all the way to the flag, these two riders seem to be almost equally matched for speed albeit totally different riding styles! But it was the other Samsung Yamaha of Jackson Evans that was the one that put on a show as his characteristic bad starts continued he came round on lap 1 in 16th position and over the next 14 laps put on one of his best rides of the season slicing through the field. Battling with the Yamaha team mates Brad Tomlin and Syd Bayles at half distance was the only time he stopped moving forward, but having disposed of both riders he carried on his charge to the front crossing the line in 8th place.
Race 2 and again it was a two horse race, the winner of this moto would gain the overall. Whatley got the jump on Anderson this time and for 3 laps tried to shake the newly crowned 2011 British Champion off his rear fender. But the bulldog was having none of it and with his new crown had come newly rejuvenated confidence as he pushed past to take the lead on lap 4. Whatley stuck to him like a Krishna on an airport traveller and the two pulled away. Crossing the line it was again Anderson but only by the narrowest of margins, surely this battle will go over to next season and it would be a brave man to bet either way! Evans this time had managed to get a start inside the top 10 and maintained a great pace to pull up to 6th at the flag giving him 6th overall for the day a fantastic result aboard the Samsung Yamaha YZ450f.
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