Team Can-Am Take Three Top
Five Finishes at Little Brickhill
2009 QRA ACU British Quad Cross Country Championship
- Round 2
Europe (5/26/2009) - Little Brickhill
near Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire provided the
setting for the second round of the 2009 QRA ACU
British Quad Cross Country Championship on Sunday
the 17th of May, Tony Nash and his dedicated team
at QRA UK once again putting together a fantastic
track layout at an all new venue, the mixture of
fast open ground, a small boggy area and wooded
sections providing a challenge for all riders at
all levels. A rider short for this event, Iain Johnston
forced to sit out the meeting under medical advice,
the remaining four members of Team Can-Am approached
the meeting spurred on by their performances in
the series opener at Hannington, and after a tough
days racing that tested the abilities of rider and
machine, Team Can-Am and the DS450Xmx had again
delivered outstanding results, all finishing inside
the top fifteen with a fantastic top-five finish
for three of the four.
Beverley Barnes
|
|
Beverly Barnes
was able to maintain her pace and be the
first lady competitor to finish the race
|
As the flag dropped for the start of the three-hour
Clubman's race, Beverley set off tentatively on
the slick grassy surface, careful not to spin
out on the opening lap like many of her fellow
competitors, and began to work her way through
the field. Negotiating the trickier tree sections
of the circuit with ease as she increased her
pace, the one hour mark saw Beverley running in
5th just four seconds adrift of 4th. With the
surface conditions beginning to roughen up as
the race progressed, Beverley used the excellent
handling of the DS450 Xmx to maintain her pace
and move in to 2nd place with two hours run, Beverley
taking the chequered flag after
seventeen demanding laps in a superb 3rd and first
lady competitor to finish. "It's been another
successful day for myself and the team" commented
Beverley after the race, "I took my time
in the opening laps as the grass was really slippery
and it was easy to spin out, but with the Team
Can-Am DS450 Xmx working really well as the circuit
got rougher and I was able to increase my pace
and work through the field. I think I could possibly
have pushed a little harder in the tree sections,
but I wanted to get through them cleanly and without
any problems, but as I get more
acclimatised with the bike and my confidence increases
I know that my lap times will continue to improve
along with my results." Chris
Cooper
|
|
Can-Am's
Chris Cooper had a great start in the
pro class
|
A fantastic start to the Pro Class race saw Chris
head out on the opening lap in 2nd for the first
of twenty fast and furious laps, a missed gear
on one of the long straights dropping Chris back
to 4th as they completed the opening lap. With
the sandy surface getting deeply rutted in many
parts, a stranded rider blocking his path dropped
Chris back to 9th just after the one hour mark,
but quickly settling in to a blistering pace as
he got underway Chris battled through to 5th with
one hour to go. Moving up to 4th with less than
thirty minutes remaining, a mistake in the woods
saw Chris relegated to 8th, but with dogged determination
Chris set a
relentless pace in the closing stages to move
back up the field, Chris taking the chequered
flag for a hard-fought 5th. Chris commented after
the race "Today has been a good result and
overall I'm pleased with my performance. The track
did get some really deep ruts in places and at
times could result in you gaining or losing positions,
I did get caught behind a few riders and as I
was committed to my line dropped a few places
while they got underway. The Team Can-Am DS450
Xmx worked flawlessly all day and allowed me to
push really hard in the dying stages when everyone
else was getting tired, and having moved up to
4th in the series and just one point behind 3rd,
I'm really looking forward to the next round in
June
where I'll be aiming for a top-three finish."
Shaun Gunther
|
|
Shaun Gunther
was able to get a well deserved 14th place
|
After losing almost six minutes to the leaders
on the opening lap, Shaun having to push his bike
to the work area to jump start a flat battery,
Shaun set off in pursuit of the leading group
and quickly settled in to a comfortable pace as
he negotiated the challenging circuit. Reaching
one-third distance of the three hour race having
moved up two positions to 18th, Shaun continued
to make his way up the leaderboard, circulating
in 16th as the race entered the final hour, the
determined South African pushing to the chequered
flag after three exhausting hours for a well
deserved 14th. "It's been a great result
given the start I got, to lose that much time
put me at a real disadvantage but once I got going
the race itself went without any incidents. The
bike was working really well around the circuit,
and even though it got really rough the standard
suspension was awesome. I feel really good physically
and was able to maintain my lap times throughout
the race and move through the pack, so I feel
confident that as I spend more time on the bike
and with a good start I should be able to finish
well inside the top ten at the next round in Hereford."
Justin Reid
A second row start left Justin with a lot to do
as the flag dropped, but using the excellent handling
of the Team Can-Am DS450 Xmx in the early stages,
Justin began to work his way through the pack
and by the one hour mark had moved up to 4th.
An unscheduled stop for fresh goggles just after
that point saw Justin back to 9th in the middle
stint, but quickly setting off at a furious race
pace, Justin setting second quickest lap time
of the meeting in the final hour of the race with
the circuit at it's roughest, Justin scythed his
way through the field to take the chequered flag
for an outstanding 4th. Justin commented after
the race "The track has a sort of
sandy base here and it drained really well considering
all the rain we had yesterday and this morning
but it really did cut up which was probably to
my advantage. I was going well at the start and
was part of the lead group but I had take off
my goggles and dropped from 3rd to 9th in about
a lap - it was impossible to ride without them
here so I had to make an unscheduled stop for
some fresh ones. I worked hard to get back into
contention but we lost too much time fuelling
at the second stop because, as I'm new to this
discipline, we don't have a quick fill system
yet. All in all it was a good result and my Can-Am
DS450 Xmx performed faultlessly all day, next
time though I aim to be on the podium!"
|
|
Justin
had set the second quickest lap time of
the meeting in the final hour of the race |
| Pro
Class Results |
| Winner |
Paul Winrow |
| 2nd |
Jason Wildman |
| 3rd |
Stefan Murphy |
| 4th |
Justin Reid |
| 5th |
Chris Cooper |
| 14th |
Shaun Gunther |
| Clubsmans
Class Results |
| Winner |
Jaime Hall |
| 2nd |
Peter Gallagher |
| 3rd |
Beverly Barnes |
| 4th |
Christian Bye |
| 5th |
Andrew Kelly |
| Championship
Standings (after 2 of 6 rounds) Pro Class |
| 1st |
Paul Winrow |
50 points |
| 2nd |
Jason Wildman |
44 points |
| 3rd |
Stefan Murphy |
33 points |
| 4th |
Chris Cooper |
32 points |
| 5th |
David Baldwin |
30 points |
| 10th |
Justin Reid |
18 points |
| 15th |
Shaun Gunther |
14 points |
| 21st |
Iain Johnston |
3 points |
| Championship
Standings (after 2 of 6 rounds) Clubsmans
Class |
| 1st |
Jamie Hall |
47 points |
| 2nd |
Christian Bye |
43 points |
| 3rd |
Beverly Barnes |
40 points |
| 4th |
Peter Gallagher |
37 points |
| 5th |
Anthony Barrett |
30 points |
PHOTOS COURTESY OF PETE COBBE of www.endurophotos.co.uk
www.can-am.brp.com
Discuss
this in ATVriders.com Forum
|
