Race
Report - 26th April 2008 - Desertmartin
Promising
Return For Reid At Desertmartin
After
having to unfortunately sit out the first round of the 2008 ACU
British MMX Quad Championship due to illness, Justin Reid and
Team Can Am travelled to Desertmartin on Saturday the 26th of
April to make their British Championship debut, Quad Racing Ireland
promoting the 2nd round of the eight round series at the fantastic
Porters Pit GP circuit, Billy McKeown and the Cookstown and District
MCC once again supplying an immaculately prepared track for some
spectacular racing. After a hectic days racing around the challenging
one mile circuit, Justin and the team made the short trip home
to Comber in buoyant mood, the Team Can Am DS450 finishing a respectable
14th overall despite a frustrating closing race.
Race
One
The
overnight and early morning drizzle departed earlier than forecast
and glorious sunshine greeted the riders as they headed out for
timed practice. Having burned the midnight oil the night prior
to the race to install new suspension components, and having had
no chance to test or set up the bike before the meeting, Justin
struggled to get the suspension dialled in during practice and
qualified in an unusual 20th place and a second row start. As
the gates dropped and the thirty-two riders rounded the sweeping
right-hander for the start of the opening race, Justin had settled
in to 23rd by the close of the lap and set off to make up places.
A few minor modifications to the all new Lonestar / PEP suspension
before the race had improved the handling of the Team Can Am DS450
from the earlier practice session, Justin able to settle in to
a consistent pace and move past David Cowan to 22nd on the next
lap before getting tangled with a wayward Ben Richmond which dropped
him back to 24th. Adapting quickly to the ever changing sandy
surface, Justin made up for the mishap on the next lap, passing
Sam Bishop on the Fourtech ATV Racing Honda for 23rd before passing
the ATV World Yamaha’s of current British and European Champion
John Mitchell and current Ulster Champion Sean Goss as the race
approached 1/3rd distance.
The
Cromwell trucks Yamaha of Oli Samson fell fowl of the quickly
ascending Reid on the next lap, while Yamaha mounted David Cowan
and Lindsey Duke on the L&G Plant Hire Honda got a good look
at the rear of the factory Can Am with half of the twenty five
minute plus two lap race gone. With the Rotax powered DS450 working
well in the demanding conditions, Justin quickly caught and passed
Mark Watson on the Anderson ATV Suzuki for 17th before demoting
David Wray on the JMK Honda and Leon Beda on the 131 Racing Yamaha
two laps later. Passing James Behan on the Fourtech ATV Racing
Honda for 14th on lap eleven, Justin now had a top ten finish
in his sights as he closed in on the group of riders in front,
and using the superb handling of his machine he moved up to 12th
within a lap after passing the KIK Honda of Willy Waggott and
Richard Toye on the YFZ450 Yamaha. As the two lap board greeted
the riders, Justin was involved in a three way tussle with Chris
North on the ATV UK Racing Honda and Carl Bunce on the Anderson
ATV Suzuki, but using his years of experience and the skills that
have helped him to multi British and Ulster titles, Justin easily
moved passed both North and Bunce in the closing stages to take
the chequered flag for a fantastic 10th position.
Race
Two
A
better start in moto two saw Justin circulating in 16th at the
end of the opening lap. With the Lonestar / PEP suspension now
dialled in and working perfectly around the challenging Porters
Pit circuit, Justin quickly began moving through the field once
again, moving up to 14th on the next lap after passing Johnny
Kelly on the Eglinton Timber Products Honda and the Lamos Yamaha
of David Hammersley. The Winrow Honda UK Racing TRX of Stefan
Murphy and Yamaha of David Cowan were demoted just one lap later,
while Justin broke in to the top ten after amazingly passing Yamaha
mounted Ricky Toye, J B Homes Yamaha Michael McAneney and Wayne
Tyson on the KIK Honda for 9th just one lap later! Setting a blistering
pace with only a third of the race run, Justin was hot on the
heels of Tyson’s KIK Honda team mate Willy Waggott, Justin
catching and passing Waggott within a lap, and was looking good
for a top five finish when disaster struck, Justin’s bike
throwing the chain and temporarily halting his progress. Working
furiously trackside to fix the problem, Justin eventually got
underway again but the resultant loss of well over a minute in
time had dropped him back to 20th position. Undeterred and quickly
putting the disappointment behind him, Justin quickly settled
back in to his rhythm and gradually started to make up places,
taking the chequered flag at the end of fourteen gruelling laps
of the fantastic GP circuit for a solid 15th place and 14th overall.
This
has been a promising debut British Championship appearance for
Justin and the hard working crew at Team Can Am, particularly
when taking in to account that Justin is still not back to race
fitness after an illness at the start of the month and he had
not had a chance to test the Team Can Am DS450 with the Lonestar
/ PEP suspension set-up before the race meeting. Obviously disappointed
at the result in the second moto, the speed and determination
that Justin showed in both races to make his way through the field
is a good indication of how good a package Team Can Am have in
place, Justin and the team looking forward to the remainder of
the season and constantly improving race results.
Reid
‘I
have mixed feelings about my results today. Obviously I was far
from happy with my qualifying position but practice was literally
the first time I had thrown a leg over this quad with this new
suspension set-up and it takes more than a couple of laps to build
the confidence to attack a track as technical as this one. I was
happy to have broken into the top ten in the opening race as my
first lap was horrendous – I think I was down in about 25th
place at one time. My fitness pulled me through though and I really
capitalised on the fact the other riders were slowing towards
the end of the moto.
The
second race started much better and I was able to charge right
from the beginning. The chain coming off is just one of those
racing incidents but it’s frustrating because judging by
whom I was racing with at the time; I could have easily been on
for a podium.
I
feel we have made good progress today and can’t wait for
the next round at Dean Moore where I can really use the power
of the Can Am.’
Results
Race
One
Winner
– Paul Winrow; 2nd – Wayne Tyson; 3rd – Paul
Holmes; 4th – Stefan Murphy; 5th – Ricky Tordoff…10th
– Justin Reid
Race
Two
Winner
– John Mitchell; 2nd – Paul Winrow; 3rd – Mark
Watson; 4th – Carl Bunce; 5th – Paul Holmes…15th
– Justin Reid
Championship
Standings (after 2 of 8 rounds)
1st
– Paul Winrow 97; 2nd – Ricky Tordoff 73; 3rd –
Paul Holmes 54; 4th – Mark Watson 51; 5th – David
Hammersley 50…20th – Justin Reid 17
Next
Race: Sunday 18th May – ACU British MMX Quad Championship
(Round 3), Dean Moor, Cumbria
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