Race Report - April 2009 - Mildenhall

Solid Start For Reid At British Series Opener

Justin Reid and Team Can Am travelled across the Irish Sea to Suffolk for the first round of the 2009 ACU British MMX Quad Championship at the weekend, the West Devon MCC hosting the event at Mildenhall race circuit on Sunday the 4th of April.  Campaigning the new Can-Am DS450x MX for this season, the Comber based rider was focused on getting the race season of to a good start, and after a tough days racing Justin had indeed made the endless hours of preparation before the event pay dividends, Justin taking an 8 – 9 scorecard and taking 8th overall.

Race One

Posting 10th fastest time after a blistering lap in timed qualification, Justin had a decent pick of gate for the all-important charge to the first corner.  As the gates dropped Justin got good drive off the line and rounded the first corner in 14th with quite a bit of work to do.  With the purpose built sand-based circuit having roughened up during the earlier practice and racing sessions, and many of the corners with one usable line, Justin used the excellent handling of the PEP suspension and grunt of the Rotax engine to attack the rougher areas of the circuit and make up positions.  Moving up to 11th by the end of the second lap and poised to break in to the top ten, Justin stalled his bike while tussling with Carl Bunce for position and dropped back to 14th.  Quickly regaining his composure and setting off at a furious pace, Justin moved past Oli Sansom and Lindsey Duke within a lap before giving David Wray, James Behan and Giles Davis a good look at the carbon fibre end cap on the Leo Vince exhaust as the race reached the halfway mark.  Circulating at a prolific rate in 9th, Justin continued to push for the remainder of the moto, catching and passing Bunce with five laps to go, Justin taking the chequered flag after fifteen arduous laps for a fantastic 8th.

Race Two

The Carlisle tyres hooked up well on the loose surface for the start of the closing race, Justin rounding the first corner in 12th as the field headed out on the first of fourteen laps.  Quickly finding his rhythm and making the most of the excellent handling of the Team Can-Am DS450x MX, Justin began to scythe his way through the field, moving up to 9th within two laps after passing Willy Waggott, Leon Beda and Ricky Tordoff before taking 8th from Davis on the following lap.  With the track now extremely rough and overtaking almost impossible, Justin pushed hard to close the gap to Watson in 7th, catching Watson at the halfway point before dropping a position when Watson hit neutral with Justin tight behind and allowing another rider through.  Increasing the pressure as the race progressed Justin’s attempts to pass were frustratingly thwarted as back markers came in to play and nullified the few overtaking areas, Justin taking the chequered flag after twenty-five minutes plus two laps for a hard fought 9th.

Reid

‘Things haven’t exactly gone to plan in the week running up to this event - unfortunately we’ve had to burn the midnight oil on more than on night this week and I think that it showed during the later half of the second moto but considering the circumstances I’m happy to have scored good points today. I had to make the decision to run with my practice bike on Friday evening, which left us at a slight disadvantage but I’d like to thank Tommy my mechanic for making the gargantuan effort required to make this happen today. I can’t wait to get out on my race bike at the next round and fully realise it’s potential.’

Results

Race One
Winner – John Mitchell; 2nd – Joe Maessen; 3rd – Jason Macbeth; 4th – Paul Winrow; 5th – Paul Holmes…8th – Justin Reid

Race Two
Winner – John Mitchell; 2nd – Paul Holmes; 3rd – Joe Maessen; 4th – Paul Winrow; 5th – Jason Macbeth…9th – Justin Reid

Championship Standings (after 1 of 9 rounds)
1st – John Mitchell 50; 2nd – Joe Maessen 42; 3rd – Paul Holmes - 38; 4th – Paul Winrow 36; 5th – Jason Macbeth 36…8th – Justin Reid 25

Next Race: Tuesday 14th April – 2009 Ulster Premier Quadcross Championship (Round 1), Donemana Motocross Park, Donemana

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