Reid Moves To 7th At Leuchars
Team Can-Am’s Justin Reid travelled across the Irish Sea to the East Coast of Scotland at the weekend, Glenrothes Youth Motocross club promoting round seven of the 2009 ACU British MMX Quad Championship at the demanding Leuchars circuit near Dundee. A technical deep sand circuit that was well suited to the Reid / DS450 Xmx combination, the meeting was not without it’s problems for an on form Reid, Justin putting in a superb display despite having to use his spare bike for both motos to take 8th overall, the result taking him to 7th in the series with a mere eight point deficit to 4th.
Race One
Clear blue skies and glorious sunshine greeted the riders as they took to the challenging track for timed qualification, Justin forced to switch to his spare bike mid-way through the session but able to post 10th fastest time and a front row start. Gating 12th as the field charged out on the first of two twenty-five minute plus two-lap motos, Justin quickly began to push through the field as he adapted to the deeply whooped out conditions, moving up to 10th by the end of the first full circuit before making his way through to 8th at the halfway point. Maintaining his pace and closing the gap to the riders in front, Justin used the excellent handling of the DS450 Xmx to try different lines and moved up to 7th with two-laps to go, comfortably holding the position to the chequered flag after fourteen hotly contested laps.
Race Two
Getting slightly bogged down on the line as the gates dropped for the final action of the day, Justin gated a lowly 18th around the first corner and with a lot of work to do, but undeterred and with his machine working beautifully around the circuit, Justin set off at a blistering pace and began to make his way through the pack, making up an amazing seven positions for 11th on the opening three laps. Continuing his relentless pace and with the track coming to him, Justin continued to rise through the ranks, and as the two-lap board came out had moved up to 9th with a five second deficit to the duo battling for 7th. Squeezing every ounce of power from the Rotax motor as he quickly reduced the deficit, Justin moved up to 8th half way around the closing lap and was challenging for 7th when a coming together in one of the roughest parts of the circuit saw him take a small spill and drop back some positions, Justin taking the chequered flag after ascending a fantastic eleven positions for 9th and tied on points for 7th overall on the day.
Reid
‘Today was a bit frustrating because I feel that I rode better than my results show. I let the engine bog a little and got swallowed up in the start of the second moto – so I had a lot of work to do right from the start though I maintained a steady pace and got by a lot of guys late in the race. I passed Willy Waggot on the last lap and was getting around Paul Winrow on the outside of one of the last corners when we just touched and my wheel climbed over his and I got pitched off. It was fairly minor however and I got going straight away but Willy had got past and I lost a few points to my championship rivals today. There still isn’t much in it though so it’s all still to play for at the last two rounds.’
Results
Race One
1st – John Mitchell, 2nd – Paul Winrow, 3rd – Jason Macbeth, 4th – Leon Beda, 5th – Stefan Murphy Honda…7th – Justin Reid Team Can-Am
Race Two
1st – Paul Holmes, 2nd – John Mitchell, 3rd – Jason Macbeth, 4th – Carl Bunce, 5th – Stefan Murphy…9th – Justin Reid Team Can-Am
Championship Standings (after 7 of 9 rounds)
1st – Paul Winrow 304 points, 2nd – Paul Holmes 266, 3rd – Jason Macbeth 258, 4th – Leon Beda 184, 5th – Carl Bunce 182, 6th – Stefan Murphy 181, 7th – Justin Reid 176
Next Race: Sunday 16th August – 2009 ACU British MMX Quad Championship (round 8), Blaxhall Pit, Suffolk
Race Report - PDF Version
