Nunn Thrills Packed British Grand Prix

RINGWOOD, England, June 6 -- Factory KTM rider Carl Nunn electrified the 27,000 fans packed into Matchams Park yesterday when he won a leg of the British Grand Prix; round seven of seventeen in the FIM Motocross World Championship. The 25 year old from Mildenhall claimed his first chequered flag since 2000 and became the first Brit to taste victory on these shores for five years.

Nunn, who qualified on pole for the MX2 class Saturday afternoon, led from start-gate to the finish line in a performance that sent the packed circuit into noisy rapture at the best attended event so far on the Grand Prix calendar.

The Bury St Edmunds resident, who is also leading the high-profile British Championship, was ecstatic with his achievement and was mobbed by well-wishers.

"The fans helped out so much in that first race because Andrew McFarlane stayed with me the whole way and didn't give me any room to breathe," he said afterwards. "I just tried to defend the lead as much as I could. It was a difficult race but I was so happy to win with my family, daughter, fiancée and all the English fans; they pushed me beyond what I thought I could do. I owe it to the team to win as they have worked so hard and built an awesome bike."

His dreams of completing a race double took a blow in the second 'moto' when he fell while holding a runner-up spot and took an age to kickstart the KTM back into life. He fought back from dead last to thirteenth and missed the overall podium by just one point. "I made a stupid mistake and it took me a while to restart the bike," he continued. "The race was then hard but I was really pleased with my lap-times all the way through; it was good to salvage some points and I owed it to the fans for supporting me today."

Australia's Andrew McFarlane, who finished second behind Nunn earlier in the day, celebrated his third victory of the season and now heads the Championship. Eight times World Champion Stefan Everts won both motos in the MX1 class.

Despite some persistent rainfall in the afternoon the event was a success with the hefty attendance and a new track that drew praise from the top Grand Prix stars.