 |
Richard
Tordoff
|
Cypress, CA (7/15/2008)
- Sunday the 13th of July saw Filtec GYTR Team
Yamaha travel to the North West edge of the Lake
District for British Championship action, the
Iveston & Satley MCC promoting the 5th round
of the 2008 ACU British MMX Quad Championship,
in conjunction with the 2nd round of the British
Quad Qualifier Championship and the opening round
of the inaugural British Youth Quad Championship,
at the picturesque but challenging Dean Moor Motocross
Park near Whitehaven, Cumbria. With Ricky Tordoff
currently 2nd in the ACU British MMX class and
James Hellewell taking part in his first British
Qualifier race, James missing the opening round
due to injury, team mentor Richard Cole was upbeat
that both riders would do well in their respective
classes, and as the dust settled at the end of
a fast and furious days racing, both Ricky and
James had delivered outstanding results, Ricky
finishing 4th overall despite a frustrating closing
race, while James had scored 8-7 for an impressive
7th overall.
Race One
After dominating practice to
record the fastest time by over a second, Ricky
got a poor start by his standards in the re-started
opening race, the first attempt red flagged
ten minutes in after a nasty off by Mark Watson,
Ricky rounding the first corner in a lowly 14th
but setting a blistering pace on the opening
lap to move up to 8th. With the Lonestar / Ohlins
TTX suspension working overtime to tame the
challenging circuit, Ricky continued his furious
pace in the opening phase of the race, passing
David Cowan and Leon Beda on lap two before
catching and passing Wayne Tyson and Stefan
Murphy on the following lap. Using the excellent
grip of the Goldspeed tyres to close the gap
to Paul Holmes and Paul Winrow, Ricky was now
involved in a three-way battle for 2nd with
just ten minutes gone in the twenty-five minute
plus two-lap moto. Circulating nose to tail
around the fast circuit, the battle ensued for
the remaining twenty minutes, Ricky moving past
Holmes for 3rd at the halfway point but dropping
back to 4th with a painful stitch two laps later.
Using his full arsenal of skills to apply pressure
and trying different lines to pass, Ricky moved
up to 3rd as the last lap board came out, but
a small mistake drifting wide halfway around
the final lap dropped Ricky back a place, Ricky
taking the chequered flag after fifteen laps
for a hard fought 4th.
 |
Ricky Tordoff
|
Forced to start from the second row for his opening
race of the day, the pick of gate based on the
result from the opening round, which he missed
through injury, James got a decent start and headed
out on the opening lap in 15th and quickly found
his rhythm. Using skills and wisdom beyond his
years and choosing not to run the risk of re-injuring
his healing wrist by taking on the huge jumps
along the back of the circuit, James instead relied
on his excellent corner speed and gradually began
to work his way through the field, making up four
positions for 11th at the halfway point in the
twenty minute plus one lap moto. Using the awesome
power from the SCT tuned YFZ450 James continued
his relentless pace for the remainder of the race,
James making up further places in the closing
stages to take the chequered flag for an excellent
8th.
Race Two
A slightly better start in his final
moto of the day saw Ricky head out on the opening
lap in 9th, but setting a relentless pace on
the first circuit Ricky crossed the timing beam
for the first time having passed David Wray,
Wayne Tyson, Willy Waggott and Lindsey Duke
for 5th. Using the excellent handling and power
of the Yamaha YFZ450, Ricky moved up to 4th
a lap passing demoting Justin Reid, before taking
the lead on the next lap after moving past Stefan
Murphy, Paul Winrow and Paul Holmes, Ricky having
made up an amazing eight places in just two
laps! With a clear track in front the Elland
native began to use his superior speed to pull
away from the chasing duo of Winrow and Holmes,
and at the halfway point Ricky had opened up
a substantial lead when disaster struck, Ricky’s
clutch starting to slip. Unable to get good
drive out of the corners to lift the front wheels
out of the many ruts around the circuit, Ricky’s
pace slowed dramatically over the closing stages
allowing the chasing pack to catch up, and despite
his best efforts to fend of their challenges,
Ricky took the chequered flag after thirty minutes
action packed racing for a valiant 4th place
and 4th overall.
 |
Joe Maessen
|
Starting from the front row after his excellent
opening moto result, James got slightly bogged
down on the line and completed his first lap
in 12th. With the circuit now extremely rough
and making overtaking more difficult, James
nevertheless quickly settled down to a fast
pace and began making up positions. Once again
using the excellent handling of the Filtec GYTR
Team Yamaha YFZ450, James had moved up to 10th
at the halfway point, and now confident that
his wrist could safely cope with the demands
of the huge table top at the back of the circuit,
James weighed up and past three more competitors
at this point on the way to the chequered flag,
James finishing an impressive 7th to round out
his day 7th overall.
Ricky Tordoff
“ Overall I’m happy with
my performance and result today, although the
result in the last race was a bit disappointing
as I had opened up a good lead and was confident
that I could win, but that’s racing I
suppose. Richard and Ian once again gave me
a really fast bike and it worked really well
around the circuit, and after a spell in the
doldrums I’m really happy with the pace
that I had today and know that I’m as
quick as anybody else out there. It’s
Blaxhall Pit next weekend so I’m looking
forward to a good race there and will be aiming
to better this result and strengthen my 2nd
place position in the points table.”
James Hellewell
“ It’s been a good days racing and
I’m really happy with my result. My start
position in the opening race was compromised
as I’d missed the first round in Desertmartin
due to injury so I had a second row start, but
I felt confident and comfortable on the bike
and was able to make up quite a few places despite
not taking on the big tabletop out the back.
In the final race I had to work really hard
to make my way through as the track was very
rough, but I tried the same tabletop and it
felt OK so I was able to pick of places there.
Overall it’s been a really positive day,
the bike was awesome, my pace and fitness is
good and the many hours of physio is definitely
working as my wrist felt really good and is
getting better all the time.”
Brittish
Quad Championship Round 4 Race Results |
| Race
One |
Race
Two |
- John Mitchell
- Paul Winrow
- Paul Holmes
- Ricky Tordoff
- Leon Beda
|
- Paul Winrow
- John Mitchell
- Paul Holmes
- Ricky Tordoff
- Justin Reid
|
|
| Championship
Standings (after 5 of 8 rounds) |
- Paul Winrow 236
- Ricky Tordoff 167
- Paul Holmes 154
- John Mitchell 132
- David Hammersley 128
|
About Yamaha:
Yamaha ATVs and SxS vehicles are designed, engineered
and built tough! Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A.
headquarters are located in Cypress, California.
For more information on Yamaha, visit yamaha-motor.com.
www.yamaha-motor.com
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