Race
Report - 18th May 2008 - Dean Moor
Reid
Moves Up In Series Despite Dean Moor Difficulties
The
picturesque Dean Moor Motocross Park near Whitehaven in Cumbria
provided the venue for the latest round of the 2008 ACU British
MMX Quad Championship on Sunday the 18th of May, Team Can Am rider
Justin Reid making the relatively short trip from his base in
Comber for the 3rd round of the eight round series. Having made
a promising British Championship debut on the cutting edge Team
Can Am DS450 at their home round in Desertmartin three weeks earlier,
Justin and the crew were upbeat about a good result as the action
began on Sunday morning, but as the days racing drew to a close
it had been a frustrating day for the team, Justin managing to
move up in the series in spite of severe arm pump in moto one
and fuel problems in the closing race.
Race
One
Sunshine
and clear blue skies greeted the riders as they took to the line
for practice on Sunday morning, Justin struggling slightly to
get his quad set up properly for the track conditions but nevertheless
securing a front row start. Getting good drive of the concrete
start and slotting in to 11th as they headed out on their opening
lap, Justin quickly settled in to his rhythm and moved in to the
top ten on the next lap after passing Chris North. Involved in
a four way battle with Michael McAneney, David Cowan and Ricky
Tordoff, Justin was putting tremendous pressure on McAneney and
was trying different lines to get past when his progress was temporarily
halted, the onset of severe arm-pump slowing Justin’s pace.
Dropping back a place five laps in but with the pain subsiding
slightly, Justin used the fantastic handling of his Lonestar /
PEP suspension to gradually increase his pace again, passing early
race leader Lindsay Duke and Simon Hammersley at the halfway point,
before moving past James Behan for 8th with ten minutes of the
twenty five minute plus two-lap moto remaining. Quickly closing
the gap to McAneney in 7th, Justin was again poised to make a
move when the arm-pump returned with a vengeance. Unable to maintain
his initial race pace, Justin dropped to 11th with three laps
to go, but riding with the grit and determination that has helped
him win multi British and Ulster titles, Justin continued to push
to the chequered flag, taking the Team Can Am DS450 to a fantastic
8th place finish after fourteen laps of the testing Dean Moor
circuit.
Race
Two
A poor start by his standards resulted in Justin circulating in
16th place at the end of the opening lap of the second moto, but
quickly adapting to the changing circuit and with his bike handling
beautifully, Justin increased his pace over the next two laps,
moving past John Mitchell and Stefan Murphy for 14th by the end
of lap three. Setting a blistering pace and with the track coming
to him, the Comber rider quickly closed the gap to the battling
trio in front as the race reached half distance, and was once
again well poised to break in to the top ten when disaster struck,
Justin’s bike losing power as a result of a fuel problem
which could not be rectified, Justin was unfortunately forced
to retire from the race.
This
has been a frustrating day for Justin and Team Can Am, uncharacteristic
arm pump preventing Justin from utilising his fitness and speed
to it’s full potential in the opening race, while the fuel
problem in the second moto forced him to retire. Despite these
problems, however, Justin still managed to move up a place in
the overall standings, and with five rounds remaining in the series
there are still a lot of opportunities for Justin and Team Can
Am to realise the true potential of the Justin Reid / Team Can
Am DS450 combination.
Reid
“We
struggled a little this morning to find the optimum set up for
qualifying and as a result qualified a lower than I would have
expected, though it was very close with only 3.5 seconds covering
the top 16. The track is very fast but not so technical so the
pace was high and it was dusty in places - the first couple of
laps were very intense. I was riding very tight and suffered badly
from arm pump, which I usually never get – it’s really
frustrating because I wasn’t tired at all but I was finding
it difficult to hold on and my corner speed really suffered.
In
the second moto someone came right into the side of me off the
start so I was mid pack on the first lap. I felt better this race
and was really able to attack on the roughest parts of the track
as my Can-Am was now handling superbly. Unfortunately my race
was cut short as my quad lost power due to some contaminated fuel
and I was forced to retire. We have just received some new parts
so I’m looking forward to testing them and coming back here
later in the season to make amends for today!’
Results
Race
One
Winner
– Paul Winrow; 2nd – William Waggott; 3rd –
Leon Beda; 4th – Ricky Tordff; 5th – David Hammersley…8th
– Justin Reid
Race
Two
Winner
– Leon Beda; 2nd – Paul Holmes; 3rd – Paul Winrow;
4th – Mark Watson; 5th – William Waggott
Championship
Standings (after 3 of 8 rounds)
1st
– Paul Winrow 142; 2nd – Ricky Tordoff 104; 3rd –
David Hammersley 80; 4th – Paul Holmes 76; 5th – Leon
Beda 75…19th – Justin Reid 30
Next
Race: Saturday 31st May – Ulster Premier Quadcross
Championship (Round 2), Downpatrick Motocross Park, Downpatrick
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