STR Honda

TEAM FINISHES ON A HIGH AS NOBLE SECURES 3RD IN CHAMPIONSHIP

2009-09-30T06:56:00.000-07:00

The final round of the Maxxis British Championship took place at Landrake, Devon on 27th September. There was a buzz around the place as the final Nations spot was still to be decided and with the likes of Simpson and Sword contesting the MX1 class along with Americans Ryan Hughes and Ben Lamay there was a real sense of anticipation building as we approached the start of the day’s proceedings.

Qualifying
In a stacked field containing 8 GP regulars and with the track real sketchy after the heavy watering which had taken place the previous day qualifying was always going to be tough and so it proved. Noble took 7th with Rose in 8 and Parker 19th.

Race 1.
Rose got his now customary good start in 7th but Noble was balked by Lamay as they flew down the start straight and ended up at the back of the pack. Parker rounded the first corner in 23rd. Rose soon moved up to 4th behind Simpson, MacKenzie and Church and was looking in fine form and Noble was scything through the field like a man possessed. Incredibly he had made it up to 12th by the time they had completed just half a lap but his aggression proved to be his downfall as he tried to rail round the outside of Wayne Smith as they rounded the long right hand sweeper. Smith made a slight mistake and in his attempt to recover managed to push Noble over the top of the berm leaving upside down and back down to dead last. Parker was struggling to find grip and could make little progress throughout the race, finally crossing the line in a disappointing 22nd. Rose was having one of his best rides of the season and held onto 5th place until the 12th lap when he had to give ground to the charging Dougan. Swanapoel seemed to have saved himself for the last two laps and managed to steal 6th away from Rose however 7th was a great result with everyone in front being a GP rider. Noble had a massive challenge in front of him to get back up the field on the ultra fast circuit but he just put his head down and got on with the job, finally taking the chequered flag in a hard fought 13th.

Race 2
Rose and Noble were away in 11th and 12th with Parker in 19th. Noble was determined to make up for race one and set about making his way towards the front and by lap four he was up to 5th just in front of Billy Mac who had dropped down from 2nd after a mistake. It looked as though he would have a battle on his hands to fend off Billy but it didn’t materialise as instead he charged past cousin Brian and then breezed past Dougan to move into 2nd. By now Sword had built up a 6 second lead at the front and as they both battled for supremacy they gradually pulled away from the rest of the field. As hard as Noble tried he just couldn’t close the gap enough and had to settle for a brilliant 2nd at the flag which secured him 3rd overall in the Championship. Rose maintained his form throughout the race to finish in 8th and Parker rode a much more aggressive and confident race to edge out Whatley on the last lap to take 15th.

All in all a great end to the season and 3rd overall for a team in just their second year is an impressive achievement. Roll on 2010 !!!

NOBLE DESTROYS FIELD TO TAKE DOUBLE WIN

2009-09-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

The Red Bull Pro Nationals took the show to Wakes Colne in Essex for the last round of the championship. Again they put on a spectacular show with the 5000 crowd treated to another freestyle show along with a full day’s racing.

Red Bull Pro Qualifying
Noble took pole with Rose in 5th and Parker in 11th.

Race 1
Noble took the holeshot from Nunn and Sword with Rose not far behind and Parker also in the top ten. It wasn’t long before Sword made it through to second and started to press for the lead but he was far too aggressive as they entered a left hander and as he tried to take the same rut as Noble he only succeeded in taking them both down. Noble got away quickest albeit down in 7th place and now with a mountain to climb to get back to the front but he was in determined mood and was soon back in to 4th behind Michael Philips. He was struggling to get past Philips and was stuck behind the Kiwi for three laps until he suddenly found some good lines. He was now by far the quickest man on the track and after disposing of Philips he then chased down and passed Nunn for 2nd before railing round Columb for the lead with two laps to go. Nunn soon passed Columb but couldn’t make any impression on Noble who took a superb and much deserved win. Rose, after running top five for half the race pulled in the pits with a problem with his bike before rejoining to come home in 19th. Parker took advantage of his good start and ran well up the field for the whole race eventually finishing an impressive 6th.

Proppa.com Van Slam
Nunn already had a comfortable overall lead going into the last round of the van slam and the only person with a remote chance of overhauling him was Noble and he did his best by taking his second holeshot of the day. Nunn though was in determined mood and soon stole through to take the lead and try as he might Noble was unable to get close enough to make a challenge. A jubilant Nunn took the win and also the keys to the Proppa.com van. Lucky guy!

Race 2
Rose took the holeshot in race two followed by Noble, Nunn, Sword and Parker, who made his best start of the season. As Noble got by to take the lead Rose did his teammate proud by battling hard to hold off Nunn and Sword but had to give ground eventually and the scene was set for a battle between the three big guns. Nunn kept Noble honest throughout but had no answer as the gap gradually grew and Sword was never able to match the pace of the front two dropping back to a distant third. Noble made his second win of the day look easy and was a happy man as he made his way to the top step of the podium for his second overall win in as many weeks. Rose couldn’t live with the front three and was also trailing Banks-Brown as they entered the latter stages. He upped his pace but had to settle for fifth as he just failed to catch the LPE rider as the race came to an end. After his good start Parker struggled to get into the groove in this one and dropped back to 9th at the flag which still gave him 6th overall on the day, by far his best result of the campaign.

NOBLE & ROSE TAKE 1ST & 3RD AT LAST ROUND OF BRITISH MASTERS

2009-09-07T04:33:00.000-07:00

The 7th round of the British Masters series took place at Noble and Rose’s home town track at Skelder Bank, Whitby on 6th September and the lads didn’t disappoint their local fans.

Qualifying
Noble took pole with Rose in 4th and Parker 9th.

Race 1.
Noble bagged the holeshot with his teammate Rose in 2nd and it looked like he was going to make light work of it until he stalled his bike on the second lap, handing the lead to the on form Martin Barr who had already moved past Rose. Noble re-joined the race in fourth just behind Columb but within a lap he had stormed back into 2nd, albeit six seconds adrift of Barr. He gradually reeled in the Relentless Suzuki and on lap nine breezed into the lead which he held comfortably until the end of the race. After struggling in the middle of the race, losing a couple of places to Banks-Brown and Columb, Rose rallied to finish in 5th. Parker was in familiar territory, starting the race down in 23rd before charging through the field to eighth on lap eight. His next victim was to be Elderfield who he passed on lap twelve but not for long as he was held up by a backmarker in the left hander by the pits and found himself in a PAR sandwich as Elderfield and Crockard both took advantage. Parker suddenly found himself back in 9th which he had to settle for at the flag.

Race 2
Rose took the holeshot with Noble this time back in 9th. By lap three Barr was again in the lead with Rose in 2nd and Noble in 3rd but this time Rose was in a different league to the first race and wasn’t going to give up on a possible race win without a fight. As the three riders closed up on each other Rose flew past Barr after the whoop section to take the lead. Half a lap later Noble took second as he shot past Barr on the second set of whoops before the big step down and on the next lap he out-dragged Rose through the rhythm section and squeezed through on the next corner. Rose hung onto the back wheel of Noble all the way to the chequered with Barr in close pursuit, but it was to be Noble’s day with two wins and the overall. Barr finished on the 2nd step of the podium and Rose took 3rd overall for the 2nd week on the trot. Parker had a worse start than in race one as he had to shut off twice on the start straight to avoid being taken out, leaving him dead last as he rounded the first corner. But he was in determined mood and literally carved through the field to 14th by the end of the first lap. After a couple more passes on lap two he found himself on the back of Elderfield but as he cruised past the youngster steam could be seen coming from his radiator and he took the sensible decision to pull into the pits. A split radiator hose meant the end of the race for the despondent Parker but he had shown in those two laps that he is making real progress and although it sometimes seems to be one step forward and two back, I for one am confident that he will be right in the mix in the not too distant future. As Noble’s mechanic Reg would say “Wome wasn’t built in a day.”

TWO ON PODIUM AT RED BULL PRO NATIONALS

2009-09-07T02:30:00.000-07:00

The team made the trip down to Pontrilas, Herefordshire on Sunday 30th August for the fifth round of the Red Bull Pro Nationals. Once again the track had been well prepared and although the event wasn’t as spectacular as the previous round at Canada Heights it was still well run, well attended and had its now customary great atmosphere.

Red Bull Pro Qualifying
Qualifying was good for the boys with Noble 3rd, Rose 4th and Parker 7th.

Race 1
Rose was quick out of the gate in 2nd with Noble in 6th and Parker who once again struggled with his starts down in the around 25th. Cyril Coulon, guesting for the Samsung Yamaha team soon moved past Rose for 2nd behind leader Nunn with Noble improving to 4th. At the midway stage Noble had moved past Rose and was battling to pass Coulon but with the track being so fast and quite one lined it was a real struggle and there were to be no more passes at the front for the rest of the race with Noble finishing 3rd and Rose 4th. Parker by contrast was having a rather eventful race. After his poor start he was blitzing through the pack and had made his way up to 13th when he was taken out by a rider he had just past. He soon made up the couple of places he has lost and as he blasted up the inside of Jack Brunel, Brunel lost control and wheelied straight into the side of Parker, dumping him on the deck again. Still undeterred Parker carried on where he left off and once again caught up with Brunel only to be taken out again as he tried to make a pass. To his credit the dismayed rider still rode as hard as he could right till the end and netted a 10th place finish.

Proppa.com Van Slam
With the Van Slam now a three horse race between Nunn, Columb and Noble it was no surprise that they were the three to fight for the podium places in this one. Noble seemed to have blown the start as he rounded the first corner in 6th but somehow he managed to blast round the outside of the next corner straight into the lead. Columb was 2nd and Nunn 3rd and by the time Nunn got past Columb Noble had already stretched out to a race winning lead.

Race 2
Janie Law took a surprise holeshot with Noble in 2nd and Rose in 3rd and although Rose made a brief pass on Noble by the end of the first lap Noble was leading. Rose soon passed Law for 2nd and it wasn’t long before he had the charging Nunn on his back wheel. Rose managed to fend the series leader off for a couple of laps while Noble sped off at the front and by the time Nunn made it into 2nd he was never going to make up the distance. Noble brought it home in front with Rose in 3rd but it was Nunn who took the overall from Noble in 2nd with Rose bagging his first podium of the year in 3rd. Parker had made another poor start and after and early crash, this time his own mistake he struggled to start the bike and was at the back of the field by the time he got his machine going. Once again he looked really fast as he rode as hard as he could throughout the whole race, putting in some impressive lap times which resulted in a 11th place finish by the close for 10th overall on the day.

NOBLE BAGS 1ST WIN FOR PROPPA.COM STR HONDA

2009-09-07T02:23:00.000-07:00

The team was back at Canada Heights, Kent on Sunday the 16th August for the fourth round of the Red Bull Pro Nationals. The organisers did a superb job with the venue and after carrying out an extensive marketing campaign in the preceding weeks they succeeded in attracting one of the biggest UK crowds in recent years of around 6,500 spectators who were treated to a tremendous day’s entertainment.

Red Bull Pro Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two groups with Noble posting third fastest in group one with Rose in second and Parker in 5th in group two. All in all an impressive session for the three and in particular Parker who after being 10 seconds off the pace of his teammates at the previous round improved massively to get within 1 second this time out.

Race 1
Rose, who has really improved his starts in recent weeks shot out of the gate and looked to have the holeshot in the bag only for Noble to squeeze through the turn ahead of him and grab the lead. Noble quickly settled into his rhythm and looked unphased as Sword made his way into second and tried to apply the pressure. Nunn and Nichols both passed Rose to go 3rd and 4th and the race settled down in this order. Sword tried his best to pass Noble but to no avail and the Yorkshireman brought it home for his first big win in the Proppa.com STR Honda colours. Rose finished in 5th overall but 4th in his class. A confident Parker was soon brought down to earth, literally as he gated poorly leaving in the troublesome mid pack where he was to be nailed by an out of control rider, catapulting him straight through the paleing fence and into the pits, scattering the mechanics like a flock of worried sheep. After remounting Parker soon made it back into the tail-enders only for him clip a post with his left hand and with his hand guard missing after his first lap crash he was left to limp back to the pits with a couple of broken fingers.

Proppa.com Van Slam
Noble and Rose were again quick out of the gate but were beaten into 3rd and 4th by Nunn and Columb and after struggling to get past Columb for half a lap Noble was left with too big a gap to make up on Nunn and had to settle for 2nd with Rose in 4th and Parker last after testing his damaged hand out in the two lap dash to see if it was going to be viable to go out in the second race. Unfortunately for the youngster it was far too painful and he was left to contemplate on his 4th DNF in four starts at the Heights. To his credit he was still upbeat after showing again that he has the speed to match the top runners.

Race 2
Rose again looked like he was going to grab the holeshot but as they rounded the first corner Nunn cut across him knocking him to the floor and bringing down a gaggle of riders in the process including Sword. Noble sneaked through the inside of the pileup to grab 2nd behind Nunn with Banks-Brown in 3rd and Nichols in 4th. Nunn pulled out a five second lead early on but by mid race Noble had reduced it down to three and looked to be closing in only to be impeded by a lapped rider, costing him three seconds in the process. After throwing away the overall at the previous round Noble wasn’t going to make the same mistake again and after Banks-Brown dropped out he decided to settle for second and cruise to the flag. With Jake Nichols closing in fast on the last lap he showed his experience and allowed the MX2 pilot past on the last corner as it wasn’t going to affect his own MX1 result leaving him with 1-2 finishes and the overall from Nunn and Sword. Rose struggled through the field to 16th at the flag for 7th in MX1 and his 4-7 finishes bagged him 4th overall.
This was by far the best results the team has enjoyed so far and bodes well for the rest of the season.

Maxxis British Championship Rd5

2009-07-13T15:18:00.000-07:00

The fifth round of the Maxxis British Championship took place at Lyng, Norfolk on 12th July. The track was in great condition as always, as was the weather.

Qualifying
Rose qualified in 9th, Noble was 12th and Nez 26th.

Race 1.
Rose was the quickest of the three out of the gate in 7th, two places in front of Noble with Parker way down in 28th. Scott Column was between the two riders until he passed Rose on the second lap leading to a three way battle which lasted until lap ten when the New Zealander hit the deck. With Alex Snow crashing and Bryan Mackenzie being cleaned out by Columb a couple of laps earlier this left Rose in 5th with Noble on his back wheel in 6th. On the next lap Noble made a huge leap up the inside of Rose on the uphill ski jump before passing Tom Church for a hard earned 5th at the flag. Rose was to finish in an impressive 7th and was lucky to do so as his clutch was pretty much destroyed.
Parker had a nightmare as he struggled with his machine which had been losing power throughout eventually causing his retirement.

Race 2
Rose was again away with the front runners in 6th but this time Noble was down in 18th after overshooting a berm. After initially allowing Swanepoel and Dougan through Rose settled into an impressive pace and was reeling in Alex Snow when he suffered a rear wheel puncture which was to eventually end his race as the bead disintegrated, wrapping the wiring around the hub.
Noble meanwhile, was charging through the field and by lap six had made it through to 9th with Carl Nunn in his sights, albeit around 10 seconds in front. Within four laps he was crawling all over Nunn but hit his back wheel when attempting a pass, losing him 5 seconds in the process. He now had it all to do and to his credit never gave up the chase which in the end gained him another two places as both Nunn and himself blasted past Snow and Mackenzie in the latter stages. 7th at the finish wasn’t on Noble’s wish list as he sat on the line before the start of the race, however it was an impressive salvage job in the circumstances.
Parker’s day went from bad to worse as he suffered the same symptoms on his second bike as he had on his first one, resulting in another DNF. The problem finally being traced to particles fouling his fuel pump
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Noble fires the 5 tonner to 3 wins on first outing for new team

2009-06-23T02:17:00.000-07:00

The Fuchs 2 stroke Championship rolled into Whitby on Sunday the 21st June and it was a chance for James Noble to show what he could do on a steel framed CR500.

In the first race Noble hit the gate on the start and was left at the back of the field. He quickly made his way through the pack and after a few laps was closing in on leader Mark Eastwood when he got it wrong coming through the woops section and binned it. He was left to come back from around 7th place to catch Eastwood and take the victory.

Noble wasn’t going to make the same mistake again in the next two races and fired the 500 out of the gate in both to take two holeshots and two more victories.

PRESS RELEASE

2009-06-23T01:13:00.000-07:00

James Noble signs for the Proppa.com STR Honda team.

After weeks of speculation Proppa.com STR Honda have confirmed that they have secured the services of Noble for the rest of the season and also for 2010.

Steve Turner, team manager commented “After finding out that James and MVR-D had decided to part company and that he was being courted by a number of top teams within the paddock, I would have been a fool not to throw my hat in the ring. I have always been impressed with James as a rider and am flattered that he has chosen us ahead of the other teams which were vying for his signature. He certainly increases the team’s chances of success both in terms of results and of exposure for our sponsors”

Noble added “It’s unfortunate that I’ve parted company with MVR-D mid-season. All I can do now is get my head down, work as hard as I can and hopefully turn in some good performances.
I am looking forward to dealing with Steve and all the guys at STR and hope that I can get the results for the team and the sponsors as well as for myself.”

Maxxis British Championship Rd4

2009-06-23T01:08:00.000-07:00

The fourth round of the Maxxis British Championship took place at Hawkstone Park, Shropshire on 14th June. Both the track and the weather conditions were excellent.

Qualifying
Rose qualified in 8th with himself and the other seven in front separated by just ¾ of a second. Parker enjoyed his highest Maxxis qualification of the season in 14th.

Race 1.
Both riders had poor starts and at the end of the first lap Rose was 14th with Parker in 18th. On lap four Rose pulled into the pits with an injured knee and was to take no further part in the race.
Parker had made his way through to 14th and was now catching Jamie Smith and Jamie Law and by lap eight he had passed both to move up to 12th but Smith wasn’t going to go down without a fight and actually gained the place back before Parker finally saw off his challenge on the thirteenth lap. He managed to pick up another place before the end as Scott Columb hit the dirt and finished in his highest position in the British Championship in 11th.

Race 2
Rose went to the line with his knee strapped up and managed to struggle round for a brave 15th at the flag. Parker had an awful start down in 35th as they exited the woods and after fighting his way through to the top twenty by the second lap it was looking good for another great result. However the worsening track conditions really took their toll on the youngster and he had to fight for all he was worth just to get to an 18th place finish at the end of what he found to be a tortuous race.

Maxxis British Championship - Rd3

2009-05-07T11:12:00.000-07:00

The third round of the Maxxis British Championship took place at Brampton, Cumbria on 3rd May. The track had been upgraded and was in great condition and everyone was looking forward to a tough day’s racing.

Qualifying
Jordan qualified in 8th only 1 second off pole-setter James Noble with Nathan in 17th.

Race 1.
Jordan had the worst possible start with a fuel injection problem causing the bike to cut out on the line and again on the first corner resulting in him being dead last and by some considerable margin. Fortunately the problem seemed to clear itself and he was able to set off in pursuit of the field. By the lap four he was up to 31st but an altercation with Ashley Wilde cost him 20 seconds dropping him back to dead last. To his credit he stuck at it until the end to grab 20th at the finish.
Nez had a poor start in around 25th and after a tentative couple of laps found his rhythm and started to reel off some impressive lap times and by lap eleven had moved up to 12th..On the next lap he was passed by Billy MacKenzie who was recovering from an early fall but this only seemed to spur Nez on as he stuck with the reigning British Champion. As they both closed in on Dorren Coutts on the fast sweeping section past the pit area Nez passed Coutts and as MacKenzie lost traction Nez went for the pass only to get it all wrong, taking a huge plunge over the bars and ending his race on a stretcher.

Race 2
With Nez suffering from concussion and failing to make the line it was left to Jordan to deliver the goods but it was to be another terrible start to the race as he went down on the first corner with Tom Church and Zach Ozborne. Again he was faced with having to fight his way through the whole field which he managed to greater effect than the first race, finishing in 15th at the flag.

2009-04-06T06:52:00.000-07:00

Riders gain wild card entries in British Round of MX3 World Championship

Both Jordan and Nez have been allocated entries in the forthcoming British round of the MX3 World Championship to be held at Hawkstone Park on the 11th & 12th April.
After a couple of weeks spent recovering from their injuries, suffered at the second round of the Maxxis Championship at Langrish both riders are enthusiastic about their chances to excel at the Shropshire venue.

The Championship is being promoted by RHL Activities as part of a three day extravaganza called the Handlebar Festival which includes Quad Bikes, Trials Bikes, BMX Bikes , Mountain Bikes as well as the Motocross. For details of the event log onto http://www.handlebarfestival.com/

Maxxis British Championship Rd2 - Langrish

2009-04-06T05:44:00.000-07:00

Riders lucky to escape without serious injury

The second round of the Maxxis British Championship took place at Langrish, Hampshire on 22nd March and both riders were fortunate to escape without serious injury as they both had big crashes on the under prepared, extremely dangerous track. Jordan ended the day with a dislocated ankle but it could have been a lot worse and both riders were lucky not to have ended up with season ending injuries.

Qualifying
Jordan was impressive in qualifying posting the fastest time of any rider not doing GP’s leaving him with 6th gate pick for the races. Nez was looking relaxed and confident during the free practice but just as the timed qualifying got underway he suffered a massive crash on one of the big drop-offs at the top of the circuit wrecking his bike in the process but unbelievably not himself. After limping back to the pits he managed to pull himself together and proceeded to achieve 24th qualifying position albeit with his confidence severely dented.

Race 1
Jordan exited the first corner in 6th but somehow Nez had managed to rail it right around the outside and come out two places ahead in 4th. By the end of the first lap Jordan had moved up to 4th and Nez had settled into 8th but on the second lap he hit the deck at the end of the pit straight dropping him down to 13th and after recovering to 11th on lap six he went down again, this lime leaving him a lap down to eventually finish in 28th.
Jordan looked pretty secure in 4th in the early stages but as at Culham the week earlier he started to feel extremely tired after only ten minutes and was lucky to finish the race in 10th as he struggled to hang onto the bike in the closing stages.
Blood tests have revealed an iron deficiency which he can start to treat and hopefully get himself back to full fitness for the next meeting.

Race 2
Jordan had a poor start by his standards and was only in 13th at the end of the first lap. On the second lap as he made a move on Tom Church in the horrible valley section at the bottom on the circuit he came to grief, bashing his ankle on a post, ending his day in the process.
Nez had made an awful start and was down in 29th but to his credit he battled throughout the whole race trying to survive without crashing whilst trying to make progress through the field at the same time. He eventually brought it home in 18th place and was happy to drive away from Hampshire knowing that he wouldn’t have to ride the circuit again this year and looking forward to attacking his favourite track up at Brampton in the 3rd round.

British Masters Rd1 Culham

2009-03-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

The first round of the British Masters series took place at Culham in Oxfordshire on 15th March. Qualifying
With the weather being unusually warm and sunny and the track being in great condition everyone was looking forward to a good day’s racing and the team wasn’t to be disappointed as Jordan took pole with a blistering lap despite only riding his standard practice bike. Nez posted 7th fastest and both riders were on a high going into the first race.

Race 1.
Jordan gated well in third behind Brad Anderson and Billy MacKenzie who was a surprise entrant after deciding he needed a bit of extra race time under his belt before commencing his GP season. Jordan, who had been unwell all week was unable to fend off the impressive Kristian Whatley and had to dig deep to stay in contention until the end of the race to post a hard fought 4th.
Nez had struggled out of the gate and had to be extremely aggressive to make his way up to 9th at the end of the first lap. After disposing of Glen Philips on lap three he had progressed to 6th but the gap to Scott Columb was sizeable and it was therefore a welcome surprise to see him reel in and then pass the New Zealander on the last lap, finishing just behind the exhausted Rose to record a superb 5th place.

Race 2
Both riders had great starts with Nez battling with MacKenzie through the first few corners at the front of the pack just in front of Jordan in third. As they entered the back straight at the bottom of the circuit Anderson stormed past Jordan and then Nez to move into second place but with Nez brimming with confidence from the first race he wasn’t about to roll over easily and as they exited the right hander at the far end of the track Nez blasted past Anderson and set off after MacKenzie. As they flew past the finish line for the first time Nez was unbelievably right on the back wheel of the British Champion and decided to go for an audacious inside pass at the bottom of the drop down. However he dropped it in the tight rut, holing his radiator and bringing his race to an abrupt end.
Jordan was suffering even more than in the first race and was to be passed by Whatley, Columb and Jamie Lewis before bringing it home in 6th for a disappointing 5th overall. The only thing he was looking forward to was a trip to the doctors to find out what was causing him suffer such a loss of energy.