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
 

The spectacular and demanding Hawkstone Park Motocross Circuit near Market Drayton in Shropshire provided the setting for the 4th round of the 2008 ACU British MMX Quad Championship, Salop and District MCC promoting the latest round of the series on Sunday the 29th of June. Winrow Honda UK Racing teammates Paul Winrow and Stefan Murphy came to the meeting aiming for good results, Paul focused on extending his lead in the series while Stefan’s aim was to improve on his already impressive 9th position. As they packed away the Honda TRX450R’s in preparation for the journey home at the end of a hectic action filled day, both Paul and Stefan had once again stepped up to the plate and delivered the goods, Paul taking the overall win after an epic battle in the final moto of the day, while Stefan had put in a fantastic performance on a circuit he’d never raced before to finish 4th overall and moving up to 7th in the rankings.
Race One
Heavy overnight rain subsided as the riders took to the line for practice on Sunday morning, the deep sand like terrain drying out quickly but leaving the circuit with only one racing line in many of the corners. Finding it difficult to find a rhythm and avoid the traffic around the long and technical circuit, Paul and Stefan managed to post respectable 6th and 11th fastest times in practice securing front row starts. As the gates dropped the Goldspeed MXF tyres hooked up well on the concrete start and propelled Stefan and Paul up the long straight and out on the first lap in 2nd and 3rd. With the circuit having changed significantly since practice, both Stefan and Paul struggled slightly to settle in to a good rhythm in the opening period of the race, Stefan dropping back to 4th at the halfway point while Paul had moved past early race leader David Hammersley for 2nd. With almost fifteen minutes left in the twenty five minute plus two lap moto, a significant gap had opened up to the race leader while Paul had battled further down the field, but using his years of wisdom and realising that the leader did not present a challenge to his championship campaign, Paul set a comfortable pace to the chequered flag to bring the Winrow Honda UK Racing TRX450 home for a fantastic 2nd. A slight mistake by Stefan had demoted him temporarily to 5th on lap eight, but using the excellent handling of the Lonestar / PEP suspension, Stefan quickly caught and passed Hammersley with ten minutes to go, Stefan comfortably holding the position to the chequered flag for a well deserved 4th place finish.

Race Two
The closing race of the day once again saw Paul and Stefan get off to a good start, Paul slotting in 2nd while Stefan completed the first circuit in 8th. Taking his time to adjust to the ever changing track conditions, a small mistake by Stefan on the second lap saw him drop back to 10th, but gradually increasing his pace as the track came to him, Stefan caught up to the battling duo of David Hammersley and Ricky Tordoff. Looking for new lines to pass the duo as the race approached half distance, Stefan easily disposed of Hammersley at half distance before moving past Tordoff with three laps to go, Stefan continuing to push hard to the chequered flag for a superb 8th and 4th overall on the day. At the front of the pack Paul was involved in an intense battle with Joe Maessen for the lead that had the crowd well entertained as the race progressed. Over the opening half of the race the lead changed hands no less than four times in four laps before Maessen made a pass stick and eased out a small lead. Using the excellent handling of the Lonestar / PEP suspension to increase his pace as the race entered the final stages, Paul closed the gap to Maessen with three laps to go before spotting an opportunity to pass as they approached a back marker, Paul taking the lead as the two lap board came out before comfortably cruising to a five second lead at the chequered flag, Paul taking his third overall win from four race meetings and increasing his lead to fifty eight points at the top of the table.

Paul Winrow
“ Today has been another good result both for myself and the team. I struggled a bit to find a rhythm early on in the first race, but I knew Joe was no threat to my championship so I just concentrated on scoring as many points as possible and took 2nd quite comfortably. In the second moto we had a really good battle early on with the lead changing all the time, but I just sat back for a few laps to see where I could make a break as I could see he was tiring. I saw the opportunity with three laps to go and once I got past I was able to pull away. This is a very demanding circuit but a few small adjustments between races made a lot of difference, and the Goldspeed MXF and MXR tyres were fantastic in all areas of the track. I’m also really pleased with Stefan’s result, he’s never ridden this circuit before so to finish 4th overall ahead of more seasoned riders is a fantastic achievement.”

Stefan Murphy
“ This has been an awesome day, and even though I’d liked to have finished higher in the final race, I’m really happy with my overall result. I’ve never ridden here before and it’s a tough track to learn, you really need to settle down quickly or you can lose a lot of time. I got a fantastic start in the opening race but struggled a little and dropped back a bit, but after ten minutes I was able to increase my pace and easily pull away and hold on to 4th. I didn’t get that good a start in the final race and again took a while to get in to it, but once I did I was able to catch and pass a few guys in front and had a good enough result for 4th overall. The Winrow Honda UK Racing TRX450R is working really well and my confidence is growing all the time, so having moved up to 7th in the points I’ll be focusing on the next round in Dean Moor where I feel confident I can go one better and get on the podium.”


Results

Race One
Winner – Joe Maessen; 2nd – Paul Winrow; 3rd – Paul Holmes; 4th – Stefan Murphy;
5th – David Hammersley

Race Two
Winner – Paul Winrow; 2nd – Joe Maessen; 3rd – Mark Watson; 4th – Paul Holmes;
5th – William Waggott…8th – Stefan Murphy

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…7th – Stefan Murphy 92
 

Wayne Smith’s victorious display last weekend could not be repeated on Sunday at Hawkstone Park, Shropshire for round four of the British Open Championship though he still managed to extend his championship points lead despite being feeling unwell and the sandy, energy sapping Hawkstone Park circuit took it’s toll. In the Under 21 category the Pioneer Emberson Yamaha trio had an eventful day with all having strong and spirited rides showing that they do have the pace to run up front.

Open

Wayne Smith posted third fastest qualifying time and got a reasonable start inside the top ten in the opening race and soon found himself up to 4th chasing Ray Rowson, Neville Bradshaw and Bryan MacKenzie. It was a steady race for Smith, really trying to save his energy but as the race was closing down he also found himself closing in on MacKenzie and made the pass to finish in third.
Smith was again inside the top ten as the gate dropped for race two and he made quick progress once again near the front of the race and again got himself into fourth. He maintained a strong position in fourth and could not mount a challenge to the leaders as his energy was all but gone but like race one he still managed to extend his series lead and now holds a commanding 54 point lead with just two rounds remaining and could well wrap up the championship at the next round at Blaxhall Pits, Suffolk in three weeks time.

Under 21

Daniel Arnold was 2nd in qualifying, with Alan Keet in 4th and Robert Hamilton in 15th.
Keet was the fastest of the three from the off in race one and was in 9th though a crash early on dented his challenge on the leaders dropping him back to 16th. A little further back and Hamilton was making a charge through the pack, initially outside the top ten he forced himself up the order with Arnold doing a similar job a few places further back in 17th. Hamilton was into 4th leading a freight train of eight riders and then received a puncture and then his disadvantage slipped him down the order. Both his team mates got past with Arnold recovering from a poor start to eventually pull through to a fine 7th while Keet also fought back just two places behind in 9th.
The heavens opened for race two and Hamilton got a good start into 4th after lap one with Keet just behind in 7th. Arnold was way down in 20th on lap one and had a big crash involving two other riders and was then 30 seconds behind the rest. Hamilton was having a steady race for the best part until championship leader Alex Snow came past with team mate Keet in tow who also got past Hamilton and finished in 5th and 6th respectively. Arnold never gave up from the back and fought defiantly to a 13th place finish.
Overall on the day Keet finished 6th, Hamilton 8th and Arnold 9th.

Full results and standings can be found on www.mylaps.com

GREGORY SOLID AT HAWKSTONE ON RM-Z450

The MMX British Open Championship took place at the legendary Hawkstone Park in Shropshire at the weekend, with the Relentless MX team making some changes to the usual format by giving Lewis Gregory an outing on the RM-Z450, alongside his regular big-class teammate Jamie Law.

With the sandy track in great condition, Law was looking to continue his good run of form in the MMX, starting the weekend off from his solid fifth place in the series standings. Frustrated with his eighth place in timed practice, Law was just one place behind teammate Gregory, who impressively was contesting the championship for the first time this year on the larger capacity RM-Z.

Unfortunately for Law, the weekend was not to improve, after a lot of wheel-spin off the concrete start in race one left the RM-Z rider at the back of the pack. An inspired ride, saw Jamie climb back through to tenth, before a massive crash coming down the infamous Hawkstone hill, left Jamie badly dazed, suffering a big impact to his face and a badly gashed knee, ending his day of racing.

Talking about the incident, team manager Rob Hooper commented, "It really was a big accident for Jamie, and we're delighted to see that he only suffered such minor injury. It's at times like these that you realise how important the development from our technical partners is such as Arai and CTi knee braces. It really is the difference between walking away relatively uninjured and not."

Following the retirement of his teammate, Gregory dug deep in race one, moving through the pack on the RM-Z450, using the power to cross the line in a very credible fifth place. Race two was to be no different, coming from 15th place to another strong finish in sixth.

"Congratulations to Lewis this weekend", continued Hooper. "The track was bumpy and the 450 gave him a great work-out. It's just a shame both riders couldn't bring it home safely. Thankfully, Jamie should be fine for the next MMX round at Blaxhall near Ipswich, while Jamie travels out to Holland for the European MX3 GP at Markelo, before they travel to Slovenia for the next round. Also, Scott Probert has made an excellent recovery from his shoulder surgery and had his first outing on a bike last Thursday. He is aiming to return to the race track at the Blaxhall event on July 20th.

For further press information contact Luke Plummer or Helen Morgan at the Suzuki GB Press Office (Motorcycles), Tel: 01296 680086 or 07725 956783.

Pioneer Emberson Yamaha produced their strongest showing yet this season at Dean Moor, Cumbria for round three of the British Open and Under 21 Championships.

It was the Cumbrian and championship leader going into this event, Wayne Smith that topped qualifying in the Open class while in the Under 21’s Daniel Arnold was 5^th Robert Hamilton was 11^th and Alan Keet was absent through illness.

Open

Wayne Smith gated well in the opening race in 2^nd chasing Bryan MacKenzie and passing was quite difficult as the quads had been out before in practice and pushed all the good dirt to one side but this did not deter a determined Wayne Smith. It looked liked MacKenzie was getting away at the front but Smith slowly wore him down at the front and by lap 8 of 15 managed to get close enough and make a good move into the lead and then controlled the race to the flag eventually winning by a commanding 11 seconds.

Race two was better from the off for Smith as he pulled the holeshot and was never headed though concentration was a must as any slip or mistake would have let by a chasing Jamie Law. Smith kept his head and put in some fast consistent laps taking the chequered flag by an eventual 15 seconds over Law.

Under 21

Both Pioneer Emberson Yamaha riders were inside the top ten in race one with Daniel Arnold in 3rd and Robert Hamilton in 8^th. Arnold was showing great speed mixing it with the leaders and Hamilton was having his best race of the year also and was slowly making progress forwards. Arnold was passed by Ashley Greedy on lap seven demoting him down to 4^th and Hamilton was picking up a few places into 5^th but could not get close enough to mount a challenge to his team mate in 4^th and that’s where they both ended up at the race end.

Race one could not be matched in race two as both Pioneer Yamaha riders had mixed starts with Arnold in 7^th and Hamilton in 18^th but on lap one Arnold had a collision with another rider bending his gear lever out of position effectively and disappointingly ending his race. Meanwhile further back Hamilton was making progress up into 11^th when a heavy landing off a jump forced a retirement too hurting his wrist on impact.

Click on to www.mylaps.com for full race results and championship standings

Whatley makes a winning debut for CCM

Kristian Whatley, son of former GP rider Jeremy Whatley, made a winning debut for CCM when he romped to a convincing first race victory at Round three of the British MMX Under 21 years old championship held at Dean Moor. Whatley was robbed of the outright overall win after being taken down early in the second moto, but still tied on points with eventual victor Ashley Greedy.

With Oliver Sandiford-Smith side lined due to a recent shoulder operation and Richie Worrall continuing to make a return to fitness since he broke his leg earlier in the season, Whatley was given the late opportunity to fly the lone flag at the MMX event for CCM in the absence of it’s regular riders. Whatley spent less than an hour on the CCM MX250 last Thursday in readiness for his first competitive outing, but despite the lack of time to adjust to his new mount, he was soon putting himself and CCM at the top of the table.

The eighteen year old was the only rider to break the two minute barrier in qualifying, as he recorded a lap time over half a second quicker than any of his championship rivals. Whatley carried his initial speed through to the first moto, slotting into second place during the opening three laps before taking command of the race. With Kristian out in front he gradually pulled clear of the pack to come home over eight seconds ahead of his nearest challenger and to open his CCM account in impressive style.

Looking for a repeat performance in race two Whatley made another strong start to hold sixth spot as they crossed the line for the first time, however disaster was about to strike as the CCM rider was wiped out by a wayward rider who left Kristian on the deck and with much work to do.

Whatley’s fight back was simply sensational and saw the youngster climb from twenty third position on lap two to secure seventh place by half race distance. Not happy to settle for a solid top ten placing, Kristian continued his drive through the field to claim an incredible fourth spot with just one lap remaining. Again this was not enough for Whatley, as he made one final push to grab third place come the chequered flag.

Following his heroic efforts Whatley now holds second place in the general standings, just two points behind current championship leader Alex Snow. Whatley’s next competitive outing will be alongside Greg Hanson, in CCM’s two rider assault at the British MXGP to be held at Mallory Park on 1^st June, where both will be looking to make their mark on the World stage.

CCM’s Managing Director Gary Harthern was suitably impressed with his new recruit’s debut. “We could not have not asked for more from Kristian, even when he went down in the second race he showed great speed and determination. With that kind of performance and some testing planned for this week, we are now focussed on giving both Kristian and Greg the best opportunity to get the right results at Mallory.”

Results:

2008 British MMX Under 21 Years Old Championship – Round 3 – Dean Moor

Moto One: 1: Whatley 2: Carless 3: Greedy 4: Arnold 5: Hamilton

Moto Two: 1: Greedy 2: Phillips 3: Whatley 4: Snow 5: King

Overall:  1: Greedy 45 2: Whatley 45 3: Phillips 34 Snow 33 5: King 26
Championship to date: 1: Snow 127 2: Whatley 125 3: Greedy 103 4: Dark 90 5: Preston 76

 

Issued by: G2F Media Ltd T: + 44 (0) 161 763 6660 F: + 44 (0) 161 763 6663 E: worldmedia@g2fmedia.com

CCM Motorcycles – Unit 1B Jubilee Works – Vale Street – Bolton – UK – BL2 6QF

T: 01204 544930 F: 01204 544931 E: info@ccm-motorcycles.com W: www.ccm-racing.com

High Flying Winrow Extends Series Lead At Dean Moor
 

Sunday the 18th of May saw Winrow Honda UK Racing teammates Paul Winrow and Stefan Murphy make the trip to the northern edge of the Lake District, the West Cumbria MXC promoting the round three of the 2008 ACU British MMX Quad Championship at the spectacular Dean Moor Motocross Circuit near Whitehaven, Cumbria. Already on a high from their results at the previous British round at Desertmartin and Paul’s fantastic 2nd overall at the opening round of the 2008 UEM GOLDSPEED European Quad Championship in France the previous weekend, both riders were focused on delivering more of the same at this venue. As they packed up and headed home after a frantic days action, the glorious sunshine was not the only thing that had warmed the huge crowd of spectators that had gathered, Paul and Stefan doing their part to entertain the crowd with some of the hottest quad racing action witnessed for some time.

Race One
Timed practice was a mixed bag for the team mates, Paul securing 2nd pick of the gate just one tenth of a second of pole while Stefan had to make do with a second row start, arm pump during the session making it impossible to get a good lap in. As the opening moto got underway both riders struggled slightly out of the gate, Paul in an unusual 4th place heading out on the opening lap while Stefan had slotted in to 17th.

Using the excellent handling of the Lonestar / PEP suspension around the fast and demanding circuit, both Paul and Stefan quickly began making up places, Paul moving past William Waggott, Leon Beda and Lindsay Duke within three laps for the lead, while Stefan had moved up two spots for 15th at the expense of Chris North and Johnny Kelly. As they approached half distance in the 25 minute plus two lap race, Paul’s blistering pace at the front had seen him decimate the field and open up a ten second lead, while Stefan had dropped back a spot and was involved in a four way tussle for 12th. With the Honda TRX450R’s working perfectly in all areas of the circuit, Paul and Stefan continued pushing at a frenetic pace to the chequered flag, Stefan moving past Ricky Toye and Paul Holmes having made up five places for a fantastic 12th, while Paul had eased off in the closing stages of the race but still managed to cross the finish line almost fourteen seconds in front of 2nd place to take his fourth win from five races.

Race Two

Blasting of the concrete start line and in to the first corner for the start of moto two, Stefan got a slightly better start and headed out on the opening lap in 15th, while Paul had to take evasive action to avoid Mark Watson, the resulting loss of time as he rode through a loose berm dropping him back to 8th.

With the Goldspeed tyres giving tremendous grip to harness the power of the SCT tuned motor, Paul set a blinding pace in the opening three laps, passing a stricken John Mitchell for 7th before demoting David Hammersley on the following lap. Using every inch of the track to pass, Paul passed Carl Bunce, Paul Holmes, Lindsey Duke and William Waggott before the race reached the half way mark, Paul’s attention focused firmly on chasing down the leader, but with arm pump setting in as a result of the tremendous effort in the opening stages of the race, Paul was unable to close the gap to the race leader, Paul taking the chequered flag in 3rd place to finish joint first overall, Paul taking the second step on the podium as a result of a lower second race finish. Not to be outdone Stefan was also starting to make his way through the field after dropping back a place when a rock hit his hand, Stefan quickly re-grouping and now in a four way tussle for 13th. Entering the second phase of the race, Stefan passed David Cowan, James Behan and Wayne Tyson on the same lap to move up to 13th, and continuing to push hard in the closing stages of the race made up two more positions to finish in 11th place, enough for a fantastic 10th overall on the day and another sterling result for the teenager.

Stefan Murphy
“ Today has been a bit frustrating as I suffered from arm pump during practice and just couldn’t manage to get a quick lap in, the second row start making it all the more difficult for me to get a good start. They’ve changed the track from when we raced here last year and taken out one of the best places for overtaking so I had to work really hard to make up places. The Winrow Honda UK Racing TRX450R worked flawlessly all weekend and I’m happy with my overall speed and fitness, and although I’ve dropped a place to 9th in the championship standings, there are only fifteen points between 9th and 4th with five rounds left to go so I’ll be aiming for a top ten finish at Hawkstone on the 29th of June.”
 

Paul Winrow
“ Overall I’m really pleased with my result today, and although it would have been nice to have taken the overall, I’ve increased my lead over 2nd to thirty eight points. I got an OK start in the first moto and was able to work my way to the front pretty quickly and pull out a comfortable gap and hold it to the end, but in the second race I had to go in to the loose dirt in a berm to avoid a rider and dropped to 8th. I moved up to 2nd by half distance but I think I pushed too hard too soon and ended up with really bad arm pump and had to ease my pace. The Winrow Honda UK Racing TRX450R coped easily with the challenging conditions that as the day progressed, and I’m really looking forward to the next round at Hawkstone at the end of June as it’s a very technical track and suits my style of riding.”


 

Results

Race One
Winner – Paul Winrow; 2nd – William Waggott; 3rd – Leon Beda; 4th – Ricky Tordoff; 5th – David Hammersley…12th – Stefan Murphy

Race Two
Winner – Leon Beda; 2nd – Paul Holmes; 3rd – Paul Winrow; 4th – Mark Watson; 5th – William Waggott…11th – Stefan Murphy

Championship Standings (after 3 of 8 rounds)
1st – Paul Winrow 142; 2nd – Ricky Tordoff 104; 3rd – David Hammersley 80; 4th – Paul Holmes 76; 5th – Leon Beda 75…9th – Stefan Murphy 61