ACU Qualifier: Race One
 |
Yamaha
GYTR ATV Racer James Hellewell
|
After helping his team to win the Under 18 class
at the legendary 12 hours of Pont De Vaux endurance
race the previous weekend, James came in to this
meeting in confident mood and aiming for a good
result, and settling down to the task at hand
put in a solid lap in practice to secure 6th pick
of gate. As the gates dropped for the opening
moto things did not go according to plan, James
stalling on the line and setting off in last position.
Undeterred and with wisdom beyond his years, James
regained his composure and with the Pro-Prep prepared
Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha working well around the
challenging circuit, James set off at a blistering
pace and began to scythe his way through the field,
making up an amazing eleven positions in the opening
two laps and moving up to 8th! Using his finely
honed skills to consistently clear the huge uphill
double on each lap, the only rider in his class
and one of only four riders in total capable of
doing so at the meeting, James was lapping two
seconds a lap quicker than his closest rival and
continued to dominate the race, moving up to 4th
as the halfway point approached in the twenty
minute plus two lap race. With none of his competitors
able to match his pace or tenacity, James comfortably
took the lead with three laps to go, James continuing
to push to the end of the race and opening up
a thirteen second lead at the chequered flag,
James taking an amazing victory having made up
seventeen places in ten laps.
ACU Qualifier: Race Two
With the forecast rainfall making an earlier
than forecast appearance just before the start
of race two, the tricky conditions made a good
start all the more important. As they charged
along the uphill start straight and around the
sweeping first turn, James got a good start
and headed out in 10th and quickly began moving
through the field, moving up to 7th halfway
around the opening lap only to be forced off
the track near the end of the lap and dropping
back to 17th. With the surface conditions extremely
slippery and demanding the utmost skill from
the young rider, James nevertheless set of at
a furious pace and once again began to move
up the leader board, moving up five places for
12th with half the race run and setting 2nd
fastest lap of the race. Adapting to the changing
circuit and maintaining his relentless pace
as the race progressed, James continued to pick
off opponents for the remainder of the race,
James making up another six positions in the
final four laps to take the chequered flag in
6th position, James securing 2nd overall on
the day and making his first of what will no
doubt be many British Championship podium appearances.
Joe Maessen
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ATV Racer
Joe Maessen
|
“ It’s been a frustrating day for
sure and definitely not the result I was looking
for. It took me a while to get the bike set
up properly and get a good lap in practice,
but I was confident that my race pace would
be good. I got good drive of the line and had
was in the top five around the first corner
in the first race, but I get tangled up with
Lindsey on the next corner and it took us a
while to pull the bikes apart. When I finally did get underway I was able to
make up a lot of places in the early stages
by clearing the uphill double, but I couldn’t
do it every lap when we got in to back markers
and was happy enough to finish 8th. In the second
moto the conditions weren’t good, but
I got a good start and had settled in to a good
rhythm and was working my way up the field to
catch the leaders when my swingarm broke. It
was really disappointing as the bike felt really
good and I felt confident I could catch the
leaders. It’s just one of those things
that can happen and isn’t anyone’s
fault so I’ll just put it behind me and
concentrate on the next European round at Rudersberg
in two weeks.”
Ricky Tordoff
“ Although it’s been a difficult
day I’m happy with the overall result.
It would have been nice to have held on to the
lead in the opening race, but I got a really
bad stitch in my side with less than ten minutes
to go and had to ease off. It was a really good
race up until then and I enjoyed the track and
the battle with Paul. The conditions in the
last race were really difficult, and although
I had a lot of work to do after being shunted
off on the opening lap, I felt really comfortable
on the bike and was able to gradually work my
way back up the leaderboard. I’ve dropped
back to 3rd in the series but with only seven
points to 2nd place I’ll be giving it
my all at Culham on the 21st of September to
take the number two plate for next year. “
James Hellewell
|
Yamaha
GYTR ATV Racer James Hellewell
|
“ Today has been absolutely fantastic and
although I’d like to have won the overall
it’s still been a brilliant result. I came
in to this race on a high after my Pont De Vaux
result and everything just clicked in to place
and felt really good. I’ve been working
really hard on my fitness over the last six weeks
and I definitely felt the benefit of it in both
races as I was able to maintain a steady pace
throughout without getting tired. I was really
pumped for the start of the first moto and can’t
believe I stalled on the line, but it’s
an awesome track with lots of big jumps, and being
the only one to clear the uphill double made it
relatively easy to pick up places, and taking
the win in that way given the company I’m
racing in is a huge confidence boost. It was a
bit trickier in the second moto after being shunted
off and with the circuit really slick, but the
Goldspeed MX-R and MX-F tyres gave really good
grip and I was able to use lines that others couldn’t
too get passed. Richard and Ian at Pro-Prep have
done another excellent job with the bike and I’m
really looking forward to the last round in Culham
at the end of the month where I hope to go one
better.”
Brittish
Quad Championship Round 7 Race Results |
| Race
One |
Race
Two |
| 1. Leon Beda
2. Paul Winrow
3. John Mitchell
4. Ricky Tordoff
5. Paul Holmes
8. Joe Maessen
|
1. Paul Winrow
2. John Mitchell
3. Simon Hammersley
4. David Wray
5. William Waggott
9. Richard Tordoff
|
|
| Championship
Standings (after 7 of 8 rounds) |
1. Paul Winrow 333
2. John Mitchell 218
3. Ricky Tordoff 211
4. Paul Holmes 191
5. William Waggott 170
15. Joe Maessen 95
|
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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