Scott Barr-Smith

Rider Profile

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Race Reports:

Dirt Guide CrossCountry Series 2013  Round 1 April 21st

It has been a while since I have had a race and coming up to the three year mark since I have done a cross country so this weekend’s first round of the Dirt Guide cross country series came as a bit of a shock to the body. Luckily it was a 2 hour race to ease on into the longer races again. I have had a few years of injuries and bad luck so I was really excited to get back out on the trails. The track was heaps of fun being it was tight, rutty and fairly technical with a mixture of mud and would you believe it some very dusty sections! I finished the race with 3rd in class and 11th overall on my Honda CR250 that we finally finished building a few months ago.

I got an average jump on the shotgun start but being so far up on the inside I managed to sneak up on the corner where everyone else seemed to bottleneck. I ran the first lap somewhat flustered and wasted a lot of energy and started to make far too many errors. I backed right off in the second lap and starting passing a few people. I settled in really well and felt good as I was flowing much better and making fewer errors. At the end of the second lap I made gamble and decided to miss the pit stop and run the third lap. Luckily I didn’t run out gas but I had pretty much run out of energy by this point. Again I backed off and rode smooth making a fuel stop at the end of the third lap. I had some carbs and my energy picked up for the fourth lap, I was feeling really strong again and on the move until a slight slip on a tree root sent me into a tree. Now if you remember trees and I do not have a good history and that is what started on my injury streak three years ago. Rather than taking the brunt with my shoulder (yes the one I have had an operation and numerous dislocations on) I decided the head would be better suited. I smashed the peak and made some bad marks along the side, broke my roll offs and ended up a bit dazed but did help save my shoulder. As I started to recover and settle back down I noticed the pain in my shoulder getting worse and the feeling of it was potentially going to slip again. I finished the fourth lap with a few minutes to go and decided to wait in the pits rather than going out for the fifth lap.

I was happy to get some points on the board and will continue the training to try move up a few places at the next round in a month’s time. My shoulder is feeling a bit weak so it will need a bit more work on it over the next few weeks. The bike is going very well and so far I am very happy with build. As usual huge thanks to www.mspecracing.com, Maddix Bike Park, Tauranga Motorcycle club, Nationwide Accessories for supplying the Pirelli tyres and Shot race wear. The next round is on the 18th of May so will keep you posted.

Maddix Park "Once in a Blue Moon BT MX" 23 Sept 2012

This weekend was the Maddix Bike Park “once in a blue moon” event that was focused around minis and juniors with a chance to win some of BT’s old trophies. It was an awesome event and huge amount of fun. The weather was magic and track in great condition. I raced the senior all in on the CR 125 for a bit of fun and ended up having a good days racing. I ended up with first for the overall and had some good battles with Danny Merriman and Ryan Knight both on sx 250s along the way. Here is how the day went.

In race one I got a shocker of a start and for the first lap found myself weaving through the field. By the end of the first lap I had got into third and was chasing down Merriman. During the third lap Knight had over shot a berm and left the track. The a few laps I stayed with Merriman until he crashed. I remained out front till the finish.

The second race did by no means go smoothly, and the holeshot I got tangled up and was the last person to get up. I had an aggressive pace on and caught up to 2nd and 3rd but couldn’t make the pass on the last lap and finished in 4th.

For the last race there was three of us tied for 1st. I had another very average start and picked my way through the field again. I caught Merriman who shortly went head first into a bank. I then chased down Knight and made a pass on him. I remained out front till the finish.

All in all it was a good weekend and a huge thanks to BT for his donation of time and trophies. I would like to thank my sponsors Mark at M Spec racing for the bike use and his support, AGV helmets, Pirelli tyres, Sidi boots, Maddix Bike Park and Tauranga Motorcycle Club

Summercross 27th December 2011

The final ride to end the 2011 year was held at Whakatane on Tuesday. The 40th Annual Summer Cross was, as usual, an awesome event with a great turn out and fine weather. I rode in the MX2 class against a very strong field on my CR125. The first and second round was presented in a ten minute sprint race with a five minute break followed by another ten minute sprint race. The third round was a solid fifteen minutes plus two laps. With a total of five races there was a lot of consistency required to finish with a good result. I finished the day 14th overall.

It was the first time I had seen the track since the club had made the extensive changes during the year. It had a really good flow and the track was a lot of fun. I went out in practise and had a good look at the track. The fifteen minute qualifying session went very fast and I felt like I hadn’t put in a good time still. I qualified 24th which gave me an average gate pick.

I was at a big disadvantage against the 250s in the starts. I couldn’t manage to get a good jump at the start and seemed to be in the last quarter of riders at the first corner with only a few guys behind me. The first lap of each round I was trying to ride smart and not get caught up in any groups. From there I was just trying to catch up as much as I could, I seemed to be able to catch guys round  the corners then as soon as it came out into a straight I just didn’t have the power to catch them and lost any ground that I had made.

The first and second rounds I got bad starts and had to try and push through as much as I could but with the sprints only being ten minutes I ran out of time very quickly.

The third round I got a bad start as usual but was feeling strong and pushed through, then about four laps in a big blister on my hand ripped open and I struggled to hang on. So I had to back off a bit as it was starting to get dangerous.

Overall it was one of the handful of times I have ridden since the nationals so I was pretty happy with my fitness. I have a lot of work to do before nationals but I’m happy with how the day went.

Tarawera 100 9th July 2011

Hey everyone, This weekend was the Tarawera 100 just out of Te Teko. Looking at the forecast on the Friday I thought it was going to be a wet ride, but when we arrived Saturday morning it was a light overcast. The track conditions were rather good considering the rain we have had for the past week. As always the track started off fairly smooth but soon roughened and rutted up after the 170 plus size field made their way around. This was my second race since the 2011 MX nationals and I have been having a good break away from the bike and the gym recovering from the season. I will be starting to get back into a good programme for 2012 nationals in the next few weeks. This is how the ride went. I sat on the start line warming up the bike and doing some practise kicks but when the shotgun went off my bike would not fire. I sat there and kicked it at least twenty times before it went. I was almost last off the start but by the time we did the start section and went past the pits I was in the top 100. A lot of people were stuck in bottle necks so I rode around the outside lines to get past. The first lap was a mission making passes in the tight bush sections. I found myself getting very frustrated and making a lot of mistakes in turn getting tired very quickly. After the first lap I tried to calm myself down and relax. I felt a lot better on the track and began to flow more. The next obstacle for the race was my hands. Sitting at the computer desk for work does no favours for moto cross hands, and as I haven’t been riding a lot lately my hands didn’t hold up too well. I tried my best to keep my composure and during the third lap I made a mistake resulting in a crash where I flipped over the bars. I bent my clutch lever down which made the hard ride even harder. I didn’t think I would make the fourth lap. I made it back to the pits and after a strong talk with my pit crew I went out. I was so fatigued and sore I rode the lap just to finish the race. I passed a few riders who had fallen off bumping up my overall placing of 15th and I maintained my under 200cc class win. This was my first Tarawera 100 and I plan to give it a go next year. It was a good ride and look forward to it again. A huge thanks to my sponsors Fox, Scott, Makzgear, MSPEC racing, Rach’s Aquafit, Maddix Bike Park and most of all Jeff for the use of his KTM 200 xc-w. There is not a lot of races coming up but plenty of work to be done. I will keep you posted. Cheers Scotty Barr-Smith

 

Race report for the 2011 NZ Moto Cross Nationals.

Sorry I haven’t sent in the report from Rotorua but I have been busy starting my new job and having exams this past week. Rotorua was my best round and in my opinion one of the best rounds I have ever seen. The track was amazing and the day went well. I grabbed all three holeshots and won the first race. The second race was a battle till the end with Martens and I narrowly missed out on the win. The third race was going well until I had a moment and jumped off the track almost going through the lap time tent. I recovered as well as I could and held my second place giving me enough points for the overall win.

This past weekend was the final round in New Plymouth, with some rain falling over night it made the track a bog hole. I had a strong second place in the qualifier but the day went downhill very quickly after that. I didn’t feel 100% after the practise and had a touch of a tummy bug. I got an ok start in 4th and in lap three I went over the bars at the bottom of the sky jump. I got back up into 6th place before the end of the race. As I was coming into the pits my guts was getting real bad. The second race I got an average start again and went down so many times, I was struggling against the bike and only managed to catch back up to 7th place. The third race was going well after getting a good start but lap three I fell off over a jump and narrowly missed the stake in the ground. I was almost dead last. I fought and caught back up to 7th place with a few laps to go. I pushed but couldn’t make the pass and finished in 7th. Overall finishing 6th equal for the day was definitely the low point of the series and I was very disappointed after having such a good round the weekend before.

So how did the KTM perform? This has been the best bike out of the box so far. The sx125s seem to keep getting better and better. As usual my bike for the series was pretty much standard. We did a suspension tune and put a KTM FMF exhaust system on it and it was ready to race. It went extremely well all series. I hope to ride the class again next year and contend for the title.   

I finished up 2nd in both the classes behind Ethan Martens and in front of Tom Managh. I am very happy with this result after being back on the bike for just over three months now. I can’t thank Jeff enough for giving me the opportunity to ride this year. It has been a challenging series with injury but we got there in the end. I would like to thank everyone for all their help and support throughout the series. A special thanks to www.mspecracing.com, Fox, Scott, FMF, Pirelli, Makzgear, Rach’s Aquafit, Maddix Park, my grandparents and the Jeffery family. I will be taking a short break for a few weeks before continuing my training. I plan to do the No way in Hell Enduro in April, after that the 200 will be sold and hopefully will have some plans under way.

Round 2 NZ Nationals Patetonga 27 Feb  2011

This weekend was round 2 of the senior nationals. As the same as last weekend I was carrying two ankle injuries into the round. I was lucky enough to get taped up by John from advance physiotherapy and this helped heaps. I had an okay qualifying session and got 3rd. All of our times were pretty close apart from Ethan Martens who was a couple of seconds faster. The track as usual started off muddy and one lined but transformed into a rutty pick a line by the end of the day.

My first race I grabbed the holeshot and for a few laps led. Martens then got past for a lap or two but I then made a pass back on him out the back on a rutty section. The next lap I saw him coming hot into me, so I braked early and squared him up and again held my lead. I stayed out front till about 5 laps to go before he got me. I made a few mistakes and Martens got a few second buffer on me but didn’t pull away after that and we stayed at the same place till finish.

Race two’s start wasn’t as good but still a top 3. I passed Martens then Roydon White for the lead half a lap into the race. I lead all But the last two laps before making a silly mistake and Martens slipped by. Another strong second placing.

 The last race I really wanted to push and try get into the lead and hold it. I got the holeshot and had the lead for a few laps. Martens got by then I made some mistakes and Martens got a buffer. At the 15 minute mark I started to push and pulled Martens right in and for a few laps was hot on his tail examining his lines. I made a mistake and lost time. Again I tried to charge back but hooked my ankle in a rut and that was the charge over. With a few laps to go, I did what I needed to and finished in second again.

I was very happy with the weekend overall and huge thanks to all the support I had at the round from family and friends. The next round is in Rotorua the 20th March and I am very excited for this round. Huge thanks to the sponsors wouldn’t be doing it without you guys. Team JS Racing, www.mspecracing.com, Fox, Scott, FMF, Makzgear, Pirelli, Rachael’s Aquafit and Maddix Park.

Woodville 2011

This weekend was the 2011 50th anniversary Woodville event. What a weekend it was! The juniors had a mix of weather with rain and shine while us seniors got a blasting from the wind.

The weekend was set out in a two race format with 20min plus a lap races. However the last race was cut to a 14min sprint. This was the first race on my 125 and was a good test to see where myself and bike is at. Overall it was a good weekend and a good learning curve for me.

First race was a bit of a shocker for me. I got a bad start and took too long getting through the field. By half way I was in 4th and about twenty odd seconds behind Tom Managh. I started to pull him in but ran out of time. On the last lap I crashed after hitting a peg with my front brake. Luckily enough I had some time over Josh Jack and narrowly held my 4th position.

Race two I felt was a better race for myself. I felt more comfortable and relaxed this time. Even though I got another bad start, I moved more quickly in passing and by the end of the second lap I was in 2nd. Ethan Martens at this point was quite a bit in front. I continued to ride smart and started pulling him in. Off one of the drop offs I was picked up by the wind and somehow managed to stay on the bike. This gave me quite a fright. After this the buffer I had on Josh Jack was gone and he was right on my case. I continued to real Ethan in until the finish flag was out. I was very disappointed in the fact the race was such a short time as I felt it would have been interesting in the next following laps with Ethan, Josh and I more than likely having a battle.

I finished the weekend in 2nd overall and was quite happy with this. I know exactly what I have to work on the next weeks leading up to the national rounds. I can't thank all my sponsors enough for your support. My KTM sx125 is going very well and I am very happy with it. Mark from www.mspecracing.com has done an amazing job in my suspension set up and tuning. Scott goggles, as always, flawless in giving me perfect vision out on the track and my Pirelli tyres for hooking up mint. 

Let’s give the nationals a good run and see what happens!

Race report : Summercross 2010

This weekend was the 2010 Summer Cross and what an event it was. The juniors had an awesome day in the sun while seniors got a blasting from the rain and wind. The track was not too bad, there was quite a bit of mud but compared to a cross country was very ride able. All three races were ran which was good as usually when conditions get trying they cancel after 2 races. I had a very fun day and this is my first proper race back since my shoulder operation.

I went out in practice and had a good look at the track. I didn’t manage to put a good lap in and qualified 14th. This meant a gate pick of 14th for the rest of the day. As the gates were so wet I wasn’t too worried. Starts on the four strokes are something I have always struggled with. In all three races I consistently got outside the top 20 but by the first lap was back in the top 12. The first race was not a very good race for me, I felt very unsettled and uncomfortable on the bike finishing 12th. I brushed it off for the second race and again charged from the back. I had some very good battles with Blake Gillard and Bjarne Frederiksen. I got past both riders and finished 7th. The last race was a challenging race as the track had gone from bad to worse. I knew if I could finish top ten I would have a good shot at top 8 overall. Another bad start so I found myself riding to survive. I battled with Mason Wilkie for a while, he got past but then latter I went past him on the ground. I caught Bjarne Frederiksen and was hot on his tale. The race had been shortened due to the conditions and I ran out of time to make a pass. I finished 8th.

Overall the day was a lot of fun and I enjoyed being back on a moto cross track. My plan for the season is to do the moto cross nationals then get back to the cross country scene again. I am looking forward to setting up my race bike with Mark from MSpec Racing and giving the nationals a good go. Huge thanks to the guys at sports pro for the Scott goggles which were flawless all day.

Results:

1

105

Michael Phillips

140

50

50

40

2

201

Justin McDonald

137

46

41

50

3

2

Cody Cooper

132

40

46

46

4

6

Josh Coppins

125

39

43

43

5

5

Shaun Fogarty

121

41

39

41

6

310

Hayden Clark

119

43

40

36

7

935

Scott Barr-Smith

108

33

38

37

Tokoroa 6th June 2010

This weekend was the Queen’s birthday champs at Tokoroa. As usual one of the days was wet and that day was for us seniors on the Sunday. Heavy rain over night and showers during the day made the track into an oversized bog hole. I was lucky enough to get given a KTM SXF450 to ride from one of the owners of Southern Ocean Marine as I no longer have a bike. My first ride on a moto cross track in seven months as I have been out in the bush doing cross country and enduro.
 
Prac went pretty good, got arm pump real bad and this trend would continue all day. As I have been on a 200 all season I don't quite have the strength on the 450 like I did last year.
 
First race. Start was average as to be expected. I think I was in around 5th or 6th. I made my way through catching 2nd but hit a jump very wrong. My legs blew off the pegs and my nose way up in the sky. Somehow I managed to stay on and just rode off the track and had to do a bit of a de-tour. I dropped back into 4th. On the last lap I made a pass riding right around the outside of Travis Russell for 3rd with three corners to go.
 
The second and final race was run back to back with the first with a five minute gap between the first race. I had a bike problem and missed the start. By now the track was a bun fight which was a lot of fun. I was over one and a half straights behind. By end of the first lap I was already back into 4th. I kept moving and eventually got 3rd place. On the last lap I could see 2nd (Scott Mckinstry) and as he made a mistake I got by.
 
This put me into 2nd overall behind Shaun Fogerty. I was pretty happy with the result as I haven’t been doing any riding for quite a while now and the conditions being fairly testing. Huge thanks to Greg for the bike and new Pirelli tyres on it; as usual they hooked up awesome.
The boys at Southern Ocean Marine have organised for me to do the Tawawera 100 in a month also on a 450, should be interesting.

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