While Matiss Karro, who sits second in the British Championship standings, is still injured and unable to ride, his team mate Nez Parker returns to the team following an ankle injury sustained on World Championship duty in Mexico in May.  Parker will be joined by Jamie Law who has been a team rider since Parker’s layoff.

The duo will team up for the first time at the historic Hawkstone Park Motocross Circuit. The circuit is one of the world’s most famous motocross tracks having staged many grand prix and international events from the 1950s through to present day. It is renowned for its racing surface made up of deep, loamy sand which becomes rougher as the meeting progresses, creating a new test for rider and machine. Another iconic feature of the track is the ‘Hawkstone Hill’ a very long and steep hill at the end of the track with an exposed rock face near the summit.

The team go into this weekend in confident spirits with Parker in 13th place in the standings on 102 points and Law sitting in ninth place with 156 points. Nez Parker said: “It’s been gutting watching from the side-lines so I’m glad to be getting back out there. It’s a really challenging circuit but I’m looking to make up for lost time and get some more points on the scoreboard this weekend.”

Jamie Law said: “Hawkstone Park is a great circuit and I’m looking forward to riding on it. My time with Team STR has been a great experience for me and I’m really looking forward to riding the 350 on Sunday.”

Commenting, Team Manager Steve Turner said: “After a couple of weeks break, it’s great to be back in action this weekend. The team have been busy getting everything set up for Hawkstone and I know Nez and Jamie are looking forward to the weekend, although Nez has picked up a knee injury which we are hoping wont hamper him too much.”

“The whole team is really disappointed that Matiss can’t race this weekend as he’s been on fire in the British Championship. It’s not looking good for Matiss, his back injury is worse than first thought and will keep him longer than we had hoped.”

“The team’s glad to have Nez back from injury for this weekend. We’re also lucky to have Jamie with the team as he’s done really well since joining.  He has shown a great attitude and has applied himself really well so we’ve every right to feel confident as we head to Hawkstone.”

Stephen Sword maintained his position at the top of the Red Bull Pro Nationals MX1 Championship table after carding 2-3 during round four of the series at Duns in Scotland on his RM-Z450 Tyco Suzuki.

His MX1 team-mate Martin Barr was third in the opening moto and the sixth MX1 machine across the line in the combined second moto. The Ulsterman remains third in the championship standings, nine points behind double winner at Duns, Nicolas Aubin, with Stephen Sword eight points to the good at the summit.

Dubliner Stuart Edmonds continued to show his true potential with an impressive third place overall in the MX2 class. The Irishman carded 6-2 for his day’s efforts and in the second combined moto he finished seventh overall, one place ahead of his MX1 team-mate Martin Barr. He now climbs to fifth in the MX2 standings.

Stephen Sword [MX1]:
“Duns went well considering I was off the bike for four weeks. I had good speed, qualifying fastest, but just lacked a bit of race time. I’m a bit disappointed as I wanted to win but I still hold the red plate and I will be in much better shape for Canada Heights in two week’s time, where I will be aiming for some wins. I felt good on the bike all day, apart from when I lost my rear brake in the last ten minutes of race two. My back didn’t cause me too much pain but I’m sure I’ll be stiff tomorrow!”

Martin Barr [MX1]:
“It was a frustrating day for me. I was third fastest in qualifying and holeshot the first race. Swordy passed me and we had a good battle, before I got back to the front and started pulling away. Unfortunately I made a mistake and had a big crash and ended up third. In race two I went down at turn one and when I started coming back through the field I went down again. I put my head down and managed to get back to sixth. I have the speed so I’m looking forward to Hawkstone this coming weekend.”

Stuart Edmonds [MX2]:
“That was a brilliant meeting for me taking third overall. In the first race I struggled a bit, but managed to take a strong sixth. I pulled a good start in the second moto and pushed myself up to second place giving me my overall podium, which I am very happy with. A big thanks to my mechanic Phil and everyone at Tyco Suzuki as the RM-Z250 was running superbly at Duns. I’m now going to push on and hopefully get on the box again at Hawkstone this week.”

Adam Lyons – Team Manager:
“Great results all round. Swordy did himself proud coming back from injury and still leads the championship after two determined performances. Martin is a bit frustrated with his rides yesterday, but he has the speed as we have already seen this year and should show well at Hawkstone. I’m delighted for big Stu, as he’s finally beginning to see what rewards come from hard work, and he’s more than capable of repeating that feat on a regular basis.”