Team Can-Am Podiums Again at
Llangrove
2009 QRA ACU British Quad Cross Country Championship
- Round 3
Europe (7/6/2009) - Sunday the
14th of June saw Team Can-Am travel to the Welsh
Border location of Llangrove for British Championship
action, Tony Nash and the diligent crew at the
QRA UK promoting the 3rd round of the 2009 QRA
ACU British Quad Cross Country Championship at
the spectacular venue. A challenging layout with
a mixture of fast open sections, wooded areas,
some river and stream crossings and also taking
in part of the motocross circuit used for the
Inaugural Quadcross of Nations held in 2007, the
venue provided a mix that tested riders of all
abilities.
With two of the five-strong team forced to sit
out the meeting, Iain Johnston recovering from
injuries sustained at the opening meeting while
Shaun Gunther was left without a ride after his
bike was stolen just prior to the event, the remaining
trio travelled to the Herefordshire venue focused
on delivering more outstanding results for the
team, and after three fast and furious hours action
all three had put in a superb display despite
difficulties throughout the day, Justin Reid and
Beverley Barnes taking 3rd and 4th in their respective
classes, with Chris Cooper cruelly robbed of a
possible podium and Can-Am 1-2 after running out
of fuel at half distance.
Beverley Barnes
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Beverly Barnes
had a bad start, but was able to make
her way up to 3rd position at the halfway
point
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As the flag dropped for the start of the Clubman
class race, Beverley uncharacteristically stalled
twice off the line and headed out on the opening
lap in 20th position and dead last. Quickly finding
her rhythm and settling down to a fast pace in the
opening stages, Beverley used the
excellent power and handling of the DS450 Xmx and
began to charge through
the field, making up an amazing seventeen positions
for 3rd at the halfway point. Continuing to circulate
at a furious pace but suffering in the latter stages
from the after effects of a head cold, Beverley
battled valiantly for the remainder of the race
to take the chequered flag after
eighteen gruelling laps for a fantastic 4th. "I'm
a little disappointed that I lost my 3rd place in
the closing stages after fighting so hard to get
through from dead last. I don't know exactly how
I managed to stall twice off the line, but once
I got going I quickly got in to the track and was
able to really attack. The long fast straights were
perfect to make the most of the power of the standard
DS450 Xmx, and after walking the track earlier I
made a few suspension adjustments which worked perfectly
around the entire circuit. I've had a really bad
head cold during the week, which began to take it's
toll in the last hour and I dropped off my original
pace
slightly, but I dug deep in the closing laps and
was able to hold on to 4th so I'm happy with that."
Chris
Cooper
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Can-Am's
Chris Cooper had yet another great start
in the Pro class
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Getting fantastic drive off the line for the start
of the Pro class race, Chris took the holeshot as
he lead the field out on the opening lap of the
three-hour moto. Setting a frantic pace from the
off, a slight mistake near the end of the opening
circuit saw Chris riding side-saddle as he battled
to
regain control after hitting a rut, Team-mate Justin
Reid slipping past as Chris regained his composure.
Increasing his pace as the race progressed and with
the lead changing several times with never more
than a few seconds the gap between the battling
duo, Chris had pulled a thirty second gap to 3rd
as the race approached half distance with the "fuel
next lap" board being shown from the pit crew,
but just two corners in to the lap his bike began
to show signs of low fuel and forced Chris to ease
his pace, Chris nursing his bike around the circuit
but running out of fuel halfway around the lap and
forced to take no further part in the race. Chris
commented after the race "I had such a good
time racing with Justin, we showed what a good bike
the Can-Am DS450 Xmx is today. I made a mistake
which basically saw me riding side saddle, thankfully
Justin came past and no one else and I managed to
stay with him and also make a sneaky pass. I'm really
happy with the power and handling of the bike and
I'm feeling very confident about the rest of the
year with how the race went, it's just a shame we
couldn't get a Can-Am 1-2".
Justin Reid
A fantastic start to the three-hour Pro class race
saw Justin slot in to 2nd around the first corner
as the field headed out on the opening lap. Quickly
finding his rhythm and gradually increasing his
tempo, Justin passed team-mate Chris Cooper near
the end of the first lap and the duo battled for
position in the early stages as they pulled a half-minute
gap to 3rd. Maintaining his lead as the race approached
half distance, Justin was setting a blistering pace
on the last lap before his scheduled fuel stop when
his bike cut out near the start of the lap, Justin
quickly realising his fuel level was lower than
anticipated and wisely backed off in order to get
back to the refuelling area. Losing valuable positions
and time as he nursed his machine around the long
circuit, Justin quickly refuelled and set off to
make up positions, charging through the field in
the latter stages to bring the Team Can-Am DS450
Xmx home in a fantastic 3rd, the result taking him
to 7th in the series standings and tied on points
for 6th. "The first hour and twenty minutes
went perfectly to plan but the circuit was very
fast here so we used considerably more fuel than
we expected and it cost us dearly. My 'in lap' took
about 2 minutes more than a normal lap which undid
all the advantage that we had gained and more. I'm
still pretty new to this discipline of racing so
I'm learning every race but today was a harsh lesson!
On the positive side my DS450 was performing flawlessly
and I think that Chris and I proved today that the
bike has the pace to win."
| Pro
Class Results |
| Winner |
Paul Winrow |
| 2nd |
David Baldwin |
| 3rd |
Justin Reid |
| 4th |
Jason Wildman |
| 5th |
Martin Benbow |
| Clubsmans
Class Results |
| Winner |
Jaime Hall |
| 2nd |
Sam Barrett |
| 3rd |
Christian Bye |
| 4th |
Beverkt Barbes |
| 5th |
Elizabeth Price |
| Championship
Standings (after 3 of 6 rounds) Pro Class |
| 1st |
Paul Winrow |
75 points |
| 2nd |
Jason Wildman |
62 points |
| 3rd |
David Baldwin |
52 points |
| 4th |
Stefan Murphy |
49 points |
| 5th |
Martin Benbow |
45 points |
| 7th |
Justin Reid |
38 points |
| 8th |
Chris Cooper |
37 points |
| Championship
Standings (after 3 of 6 rounds) Clubsmans
Class |
| 1st |
Jamie Hall |
72 points |
| 2nd |
Christian Bye |
63 points |
| 3rd |
Beverly Barnes |
58 points |
| 4th |
Peter Gallagher |
50 points |
| 5th |
Nick Grant |
40 points |
PHOTOS COURTESY OF PETE COBBE of www.endurophotos.co.uk
www.can-am.brp.com
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