Race
Report - 29th June 2008 - Hawkstone Park
Reid
Continues To Move Up In Series At Hawkstone Park
The historic
Hawkstone Park motocross circuit near Market Drayton provided
the setting for the latest round of the 2008 ACU British MMX Quad
Championship on Sunday the 29th of June, the Salop & District
MCC hosting the event at the spectacular Shropshire venue. Making
the long journey from their base in Comber for this the 4th round
in the eight round series, Justin Reid and the hard working crew
at Team Can Am had their sights focused on a good result and continuing
their ascension in the standings, and as they washed the dark
Hawkstone sand from the Team Can Am DS450 in preparation for the
three hundred and twenty mile journey home, Justin had put in
a fantastic display to overcome difficulties in both races, Justin
finishing joint 13th overall and moving up to 18th in the points
table as the series reached the halfway point.
Race
One
Heavy overnight
rain subsided as the riders took to the track for timed practice
on Sunday, the circuit drying quickly as the morning’s action
progressed. Struggling slightly to get the correct bike set up
for the demanding conditions in practice, Justin’s start
to the first moto was compromised by a second row pick of gate.
Heading out on the opening lap in an unfamiliar 26th position,
Justin quickly settled down to a steady pace and began to move
his way up through the field. With the Lonestar / PEP suspension
smoothing out the bumps around the circuit, Justin was able to
experiment with different lines and made up eight places for 18th
within four laps before moving in to 17th at the halfway mark.
With the forecast rain making an unwelcome return just ten minutes
in to the twenty five minute plus two lap moto, reduced visibility
slightly hampered Justin’s progress, but maintaining his
pace and composure and using the excellent handling of the Team
Can Am DS450 as the race progressed, Justin continued to make
up places and by lap eleven had moved up to 12th. Quickly closing
the gap to the rider in front and now involved in a three way
battle for 11th, a slight mistake in one of the rougher parts
of the circuit while challenging for position saw Justin drop
a spot and temporarily lose momentum, but quickly re-grouping
and continuing to push for the remainder of the race, Justin was
able to gradually close the gap to 12th, but with time running
out Justin was unable to improve on his position, Justin taking
the chequered flag after 14 laps having made up an incredible
thirteen positions for 13th.
Race
Two
As the gates
dropped for the start of the second moto, Justin got a slightly
better start and rounded the tight first corner in 22nd. Having
made a few adjustments to his bike set up from the opening race,
Justin was able to put the excellent handling of his bike to good
use and quickly began moving up the leader board, making up eight
places for 14th with fifteen minutes gone and quickly reeling
in 13th. With half the race remaining and circulating at a frenetic
pace, Justin was well poised for a top ten finish when his astonishing
progress was halted, a loosening hand grip the culprit and frustratingly
preventing Justin from maintaining his original pace. With no
other option but to reduce his pace to safely negotiate the challenging
terrain, Justin rode a lonely and uneventful closing half of the
moto to take the chequered flag after thirteen gruelling laps
in 14th place and securing 14th overall on the day.
Although the
overall result has seen Justin move up to 18th in the series standings,
Justin will no doubt have expected better results from this race
meeting. Justin’s starting position as a result of struggling
to get the bike dialled in during practice played a major factor
on this circuit where passing can be difficult and a good start
is key. Still adapting to and familiarising himself with the handling
characteristics of the Can Am DS450, Justin can once again take
heart in the fact that he was able to make up several positions
and showed good pace and fitness despite the frustrating problems
that were experienced over the weekend.
Reid
‘My
atrocious qualifying really compromised my chances of a decent
finish in the races today – I just didn’t seem to
be able to put together a clean lap and wasn’t really happy
with the set up. We made some changes for the first race but it
rained quite heavily just before our moto and they didn’t
pay off. I felt that the second moto was much better and I was
much more comfortable with the quad when we reverted to our original
settings. I was pushing hard up to the halfway point and had caught
right up to John (Mitchell) when the right hand grip started to
turn and jam my throttle occasionally, which astounds me as it
was glued on and wired in four places! This totally blew my confidence
and I had to be content with just circulating which was really
frustrating as I was still catching the group in front but just
couldn’t risk pushing any harder.’
Results
Race
One
Winner
– Joe Maessen; 2nd – Paul Winrow; 3rd – Paul
Holmes; 4th – Stefan Murphy; 5th – David Hammersley…13th
– Justin Reid
Race
Two
Winner
– Paul Winrow; 2nd – Joe Maessen; 3rd – Mark
Watson; 4th – Paul Holmes; 5th – William Waggott…14th
– Justin Reid
Championship
Standings (after 4 of 8 rounds)
1st
– Paul Winrow 189; 2nd – Ricky Tordoff 131; 3rd –
Paul Holmes 114; 4th – David Hammersley 106; 5th –
William Waggott 101…18th – Justin Reid 45
Next
Race: Saturday 5th July – Ulster Premier Quadcross
Championship (Round 3), Tandragee Motocross Park, Tandragee
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