REVO Husqvarna UK travelled to Frauenfeld in Switzerland for round nine of the EMX250 championship with high hopes of regaining the series lead but the weekend ended in disappointment for Mel Pocock and Martin Barr.
Following his epic overall win last time out in Belgium, Mel trailed series leader Mathys Boisrame by just two points but he never totally got to grips with the rutted track and ended the weekend with a 9-6 scorecard for seventh overall.
With Boisrame taking the win with 4-1 finishes, the gap is now 18 points with two rounds to go.
Martin’s problems out of the gate continued to affect his results. Leaving himself with lots to do in both motos, he dug deep to come through the pack and was rewarded with 8-8 scores for eighth overall to maintain his third place in the championship.
Team Principal Mark Yates: “It’s not been the greatest of weekends coming off an unbeaten run of four overall wins in the last five weeks but then you can’t have a good weekend every time I guess!
“Mel headed to Switzerland with a two-point deficit in the championship to Boisrame and with high hopes of getting the red series leader’s plate back.
“Unfortunately, he put a lot of pressure on himself and didn’t show the form he’s been demonstrating recently, coming home with a 9-6 card for seventh overall.
“Mel rides for the team – not just for himself – and hates to let people down which just piles on further pressure but it’s still not over. Like Switzerland the track in Bulgaria will suit Boisrame so Mel needs to clear his mind and ensure that he’s as close as possible going into the final sand race at Assen where we know Mel will have the upper hand – just as he did in Lommel! It ain’t over until the fat lady sings and she’s not even warming up yet!
“Martin is continuing to struggle with his starts and has to work very hard in the races. He finished eighth overall at the weekend but considering where he started this wasn’t a bad result.
“We’ll park this weekend and stay focused going into Bulgaria next weekend.”
Mel Pocock: “It was just a difficult weekend with all the ruts. It’s something that I’m normally good at and I didn’t feel I was bad in Switzerland, just not good enough.
“I didn’t pick up the results that I needed towards the championship but it’s not over yet – I’m back in one piece and looking forward to Bulgaria.”
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Martin Barr: “It’s still boiling down to bad starts. Qualifying sixth in my group wasn’t so bad and in race one I made a decent enough start – certainly better than I’ve been starting recently – and quickly moved forward to reel the front group in.
“It was very close and hard to make passes because I was having to use different lines which is tough when someone is sat on your back wheel looking to make a pass of their own. It was a very intense race trying to be inch-perfect every lap and I ended up eighth – the result’s not great but I was quite happy with my riding.
“I was looking forward to getting a better start on Sunday because I know if I can get out of the gate well I’m capable of winning races. I tried something different and it didn’t work so I had to come from the back again. I caught up with the lead pack and worked my way up to seventh but with a lap-and-a-half to go I over-jumped one of the doubles, landed in the braking bumps and stalled the engine which cost me a position.
“It’s been a disappointing weekend but I’ve still got two rounds to try and pull back some points. I’m not one to throw the towel in and I’ll keep working until the end.”
