Tough, committed and fast – three words that perfectly sum up Martin Barr. The 31-year-old Crescent Yamaha rider hasn’t got off to the greatest of starts in this year’s Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship but he’s never been a quitter and his recent results prove beyond doubt that when he gets out of the gate well he’s got the speed to run at the front.
“The first round at FatCat, with it being so wet I just used my head,” he said. “There were times that I could have taken a lot more chances but they might not have worked out and I could have ended up upside down and lost a lot of points so all-in-all fifth overall wasn’t so bad.
“Lyng was frustrating though. My speed was there but my starts weren’t and the front guys were just getting a little bit of an elbow ahead of me which left me with a lot of work to do.
“It was frustrating but it would have been a lot worse had I come in and looked at the timing sheets and my lap times were way off the pace which wasn’t the case. I lost a few points but it’s over now and I’m looking forward to Canada Heights.”
Martin lives in Ballyclare in Northern Ireland which means a lot of time on the road – and at sea – but together with his dad (also Martin) who spins the spanners for him they form a formidable team and he’s confident he can improve on his current sixth place in the MX2 championship standings.
“Things are starting to take shape and I’m beginning to feel like myself again. I’m definitely going forward with my riding and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season. There’s no issue with my pace or my fitness – everything’s going really good.
“The Yamaha’s really good. It’s the brand I started out my professional career on with Steve Dixon and it’s nice to be back. The bike’s really good – my dad’s always said there’s a lot of potential with it – and I’m really appreciative of the deal with Crescent. They’re a good bunch of guys.”
Picture © Nuno Laranjeira
