The Red Bull Pro Stroke National is set to be back with a bang in 2024, bigger and better than ever.
Running alongside the Apico 2-Stroke Festival weekend at Sellindge MX track in Kent, on Sunday the 18th of August, the Pro and Pro-Am event will see both MX1 and MX2 riders race against each other at the same time, on the same track. While this will make an epic spectacle for spectators, the competitors will have the reassurance of both classes being scored separately.
Festival promoter Dave Willet believes the Red Bull Pro Stroke National provides an important platform for UK racers to test themselves and put themselves in front of heavyweights within the sport. For example, Conrad Mewse deputed on a KTM450 against Tommy Searle in 2022, and upcoming young gun Billy Askew stepped up as a youth rider to compete against the adults and won the MX2 class, highlighting his skills to Red Bull in the process.
Willet outlined his thoughts; “While, like most, I am a believer in the 125 2-Stroke class as a stepping stone into Europe, it would be rash to discount MXGP as the pinnacle of the sport. Our aim is to offer a way to help develop our riders and the sport in the UK to help younger riders get on the world stage.
“Also, in 2023 the Red Bull Pro Stroke National was up there in terms of offering big prize money, perhaps the biggest for a single event in the UK. That’s important too and is an incentive that will continue.”
Pictured: Billy Askew at the 2023 Apico 2-Stroke Festival. Image credit: Adam Duckworth Photography.