Race
Report - 13th July 2008 - Dean Moor
Dean
Moor Delight As Reid Finishes Fantastic 5th Overall
After
a clean sweep of race wins in the Highland Bakery Ulster Premier
Quad Championship on the weekend prior to this event, Justin Reid
and Team Can Am were in buoyant mood as they travelled to the
spectacular Dean Moor Motocross Park for the 5th round of the
2008 ACU British MMX Quad Championship on Sunday the 13th of July.
Hosted by the Iveston & Satley MCC at the picture perfect
venue on the edge of the Lake District, this meeting was also
the venue for the opening round of the inaugural 2008 British
Youth Quad Championship, and as Justin and his dedicated crew
washed down the Team Can Am DS450 after a frantic days racing
in preparation for the short trip home to Comber, Justin had shown
the future champions of the sport the skills and determination
that have helped him to win numerous British and Ulster Championship
honours, Justin recording 8-5 on the day to finish a fantastic
5th overall and continuing his ascent in the series.
Race
One
A
bright and dry Sunday morning greeted the riders as they took
to the circuit for timed practice, Justin securing a front row
start with a respectable 14th fastest time. A fantastic start
in the opening moto which saw Justin circulating in 6th was negated
just ten minutes in to the twenty five minute plus two lap race,
a nasty tumble by Mark Watson bringing out the red flag and the
racing halted temporarily as the excellent First Aid crew tended
to Watson’s injuries. A missed gear while powering up the
straight on the restart saw Justin get swallowed up by the pack
and round the first corner in a lowly 22nd. Quickly settling in
to a blistering pace on the opening lap, Justin broke the timing
beam for the first of fifteen laps having already made up three
places to 19th. With the Team Can Am DS450 working well in the
fast and dusty conditions, Justin continued his meteoric rise
up the leader board, James Behan, Jonny Kelly and Oli Sansom getting
a good look at the silencer of the DS450’s Leo Vince X3
exhaust by the end of the fourth lap, David Wray and Wayne Tyson
succumbing to the same fate a lap later. Using the excellent handling
of the Lonestar / PEP suspension, Justin gradually closed the
eight second gap over the next five laps to the battling quintet
in front, Justin passing David Hammersley and Michael McAneney
as the race reached two-thirds distance before demoting Lindsey
Duke, Willy Waggott and Carl Bunce on subsequent laps. With Simon
Hammersley in his sights and with two laps to go Justin was well
poised to take the position, but a puncture forced Justin to ease
his pace in the closing stages of the race, Justin taking the
chequered flag in a fantastic 8th place having made up an amazing
thirteen places after thirty minutes fast and furious racing!
Race
Two
Getting
fantastic drive off the concrete start line as the gates dropped
for race two, the awesome power from the Rotax engine propelled
Justin up the long start straight and around the first corner
in 5th, Justin passing Lindsey Duke on the opening lap for 4th
before a slight mistake on the second circuit dropped him back
to 5th. Quickly settling in to a furious race pace and with his
quad working beautifully around the demanding circuit, Justin
moved back to 4th on lap five after passing Stefan Murphy. Continuing
to set a blistering pace and gradually catching the leading trio,
Justin was joined at half distance by John Mitchell, Mitchell
applying all sorts of pressure with Justin easily fending off
his many challenges, but a problem with a leaking hose on his
rear shock absorber left Justin unable to commit to the many huge
jumps on the back section of the circuit and dropped him to 5th.
Pushing as hard as he safely could without taking any chances,
Justin was able to gradually close the gap to 4th in the latter
stages of the race, but unfortunately time was not on his hands,
Justin taking the chequered flag after fifteen gruelling laps
for a well deserved 5th and 5th overall on the day.
This
has been a fantastic result for the Comber rider and after the
clean sweep at Tandragee the previous weekend will bolster Justin
and the team’s confidence as the season enters the closing
stages. Justin’s pace and fitness in both races was superb,
and his ascent through the field in the opening race was an outstanding
achievement on it’s own. Having had a difficult start to
the season these results show the true potential of the Justin
Reid / Team Can Am DS450 combination, and having moved up three
positions to 15th in the series and only five points behind 11th
with three rounds remaining, Justin and Team Can Am now turn their
attention to the next round at Blaxhall Pit on Sunday the 20th
of July.
Reid
‘I’m
still not very happy with my qualifying today but luckily there
was a gate left right at the top of the start straight, tight
beside the fence which gave me some chance of getting a decent
start. I got away well in the first moto but unfortunately it
was red flagged and I really screwed up the restart. The track
was really dry and there are line lines available to pass so I
was able to cut through the field quite easily, it was really
dusty though and I was getting roosted quite badly at times…
The
second moto was much better, I gated about 5th and was behind
Stefan Murphy for a few laps, until I found a way past at the
bottom of the circuit. I had a good dice with John for a couple
of laps but unfortunately I lost the damping in my rear shock
when the hose to the reservoir started leaking – I was my
own fault as it was badly routed and had been rubbing on a sharp
edge. After that I couldn’t really attack the big jumps
so I just circulated but ended up reeling in Ricky Tordoff. It
was the last couple of laps though so I crossed the line about
a second behind him.
I’m
a lot happier to be back at the sharp end and had a lot of fun
today – the DS450 is just going from strength to strength
now.’
Results
Race
One
Winner
– John Mitchell; 2nd – Paul Winrow; 3rd – Paul
Holmes; 4th – Ricky Tordoff; 5th – Leon Beda…8th
– Justin Reid
Race
Two
Winner
– Paul Winrow; 2nd – John Mitchell; 3rd – Paul
Holmes; 4th – Ricky Tordoff; 5th – Justin
Reid
Championship
Standings (after 5 of 8 rounds)
1st
– Paul Winrow 236; 2nd – Ricky Tordoff 167; 3rd –
Paul Holmes 154; 4th – John Mitchell 132; 5th – David
Hammersley 128…15th – Justin Reid 74
Next
Race: Sunday 20th July – 2008 ACU British MMX Quad
Championship (Round 6), Blaxhall Pit, nr Woodbridge, Suffolk
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