Race
Report - 5th July 2008 - Tandragee
Reid
Tops Table With Can Am Clean Sweep
A revamped
Tandragee Motocross Park was the venue for the latest round of
the 2008 Highland Bakery Ulster Premier Quadcross Championship
on Saturday the 5th of July, the North Armagh & District MCC
promoting the meeting at John Sinton’s fantastic circuit
on the outskirts of Laurelvale village. Sitting 5th after two
rounds of the six round series, Justin Reid and Team Can Am made
the trip from their Comber base determined to deliver a good result
and reduce the twenty eight point deficit to the top of the table,
and as the Team Can Am DS450 was packed away after another days
hectic racing, Justin had put in an outstanding performance in
all three motos to dominate the days racing, Justin taking a hat-trick
of victories and moving to the top of the leader board.
Race
One
Heavy early
morning rain made for difficult conditions as practice got underway,
the hardpack surface extremely slippery in some parts with large
areas of standing water in lower parts of the circuit. Securing
a good pick of gate after posting 2nd fastest time in timed qualification,
Justin got fantastic drive off the line and lead the pack in to
the redesigned tight and extremely slippery first corner only
to be nudged from behind by Michael Taggart and pushed in to the
deep sticky mud on the outside of the corner, Justin temporarily
loosing momentum and slotting in to 2nd. Quickly adapting to the
tricky surface conditions, Justin passed Taggart halfway around
the opening lap to take the lead and began to increase his pace
to pull away from the pursuing pack. With the Carlisle tyres giving
superb traction and the Team Can Am DS450 working well around
the circuit, Justin set a blistering pace over the opening half
of the fifteen minute plus one lap race, circulating at over three
seconds a lap quicker than his fastest rival to open up a twelve
second advantage, Justin easily maintaining this advantage to
the chequered flag for a fantastic gate to flag victory.
Race
Two
Once again
getting fantastic drive off the line, the Rotax powered DS450
propelled Justin down the straight to lead around the first corner
and out on the opening lap. With the early rain having subsided
and the circuit now starting to dry, Justin quickly adapted to
the changing surface conditions to settle in to a rhythm and began
to pull away from the chasing trio of Brian Kerr, Johnny Kelly
and David Wray. Having opened up a ten second advantage with two-thirds
of the race run, Justin was comfortably cruising around the circuit
maintaining his lead when disaster struck, an aftermarket bearing
in the axle bearing carrier collapsing and forcing Justin to ease
his pace and lose his advantage. With two laps to go Kelly had
passed Kerr and was now right on Justin’s rear wheels and
trying to pass, but remaining composed and using the skills the
have helped him to multi British and Ulster Championship titles,
Justin fended of the many challenges of Kelly in the dying stages
to take the chequered flag after eight laps for another outstanding
gate to flag victory.
Race
Three
As
the gates dropped for the start of the closing moto, Justin once
again got another fantastic start and rounded the opening corner
in 3rd and hot on the heels of Johnny Kelly and Sean Goss. With
the Lonestar / PEP suspension handling perfectly around a now
completely dry Tandragee circuit, Justin quickly settled down
to the task of getting to the front and passed Kelly halfway around
the opening lap to move in to 2nd. Experimenting with different
lines as he closed the gap to Goss, Justin applied tremendous
pressure before making his move on lap three to take the lead
from the current Ulster Champion, Justin setting a blistering
pace and opening up a comfortable gap over the remaining five
laps of the fast and furious one mile circuit to take the chequered
flag for a clean sweep of victories and a perfect scorecard for
the day, Justin now sitting at the top of the leader board as
the series reaches the halfway point.
This has been
a fantastic result for Justin and Team Can Am and will no doubt
bolster their confidence after a promising but sometimes frustrating
start to the year. Justin’s domination of the race meeting
and sheer determination to win were personified in the closing
stages of the 2nd moto, and the team have shown today that the
Justin Reid / Team Can Am DS450 combination is a potent race winner
no matter what kind of weather and track conditions are presented
to them.
Reid
‘I knew
that everything would come together and it would just ‘click’
one of these days! The conditions were wild for practice but I
was able to put a half decent lap together to qualify 2nd which
gave me a good choice of gate. I started right from the outside
as it looked like the ground was in better condition out there
and it worked out as got the holeshot. Unfortunately I ran into
the first corner a little hot and then was hit from behind but
I got away with it and was able to pass Michael Taggart on the
first lap and pull clear quite easily. Passing some of the back
markers was difficult because I was getting roosted badly at times
and having to make passes in the mud on the outside of the circuit
but I was using the Oakley laminated tear off system so thankfully
vision wasn’t a problem and my goggles lasted the distance
perfectly.
The track
had dried significantly for the second race but I still chose
to run the taller tyres as it was still very sticky off the racing
line and in the start area, it worked out ok because I got the
holeshot again but the tall tyres weren’t really the hot
set-up on the dry racing line. I felt the bike starting to get
a little loose towards the end of the race with the back end shaking
badly so I eased the pace and just covered my line.
In the third
race the track was pretty much dry and more lines had become available
so I reverted to my preferred Edge RF1 and Turf tamer tyre set
up. I just got edged out in the start so I followed Johnny and
Sean for as lap or so and had a look at their lines. I knew that
I was a lot faster in one particular part of the circuit so I
passed Johnny one lap and then Sean a lap or so later in the same
place.
I’m
obviously very pleased with today’s result, especially as
the conditions were so varied here and can’t wait for the
race next weekend. To be leading the Championship now is a bonus,
this will go a long way to making up for the disappointment at
Hawkstone!’
Results
Race
One
Winner –
Justin Reid; 2nd – Johnny Cullen; 3rd – Michael Taggart;
4th – Brian Kerr; 5th – Cathal McGilligan
Race
Two
Winner –
Justin Reid; 2nd – Johnny Kelly; 3rd – David Wray;
4th – Brian Kerr; 5th – Johnny Cullen
Race
Three
Winner –
Justin Reid; 2nd – Sean Goss; 3rd – Michael McAneney;
4th – Gary Mullan; 5th – Jonathan McKnight
Championship
Standings (after 3 of 6 rounds)
1st –
Justin Reid 177, 2nd Brian Kerr 176, 3rd Michael McAneney 169,
4th David Wray 151, 5th David Cowan 148
Next
Race: Sunday 13th July – ACU British MMX Quad Championship
(Round 5), Dean Moor Motocross Park, Whitehaven, Cumbria
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