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The Mercuria GYTR Yamaha Racing Team, Dutch rider Joe Maessen and Scottish rider Leon Beda, had a very successful start to their 2007 championship campaign, at the opening round of the CCM MMX British Quad Championship at Whiteway Barton in Devon on Sunday the 15th of April. Despite having to make extremely long journeys to get to the circuit, under the guidance of team manager Richard Cole the young Dutch man and the flying Scot came away from the weekend with a 1st overall and 8th overall respectively.

Race One

The fast twisting circuit was a new venue for both riders, but despite no prior track knowledge, Joe put together a blistering lap in timed practice to qualify 3rd overall, while Leon was hot on his heels qualifying 4th. As the gates dropped at the start of race one, the Steve Clitheroe tuned Yamaha YFZ 450's pulled strongly off the concrete start and they rounded the first corner in 1st and 2nd place, with Leon having the advantage over Joe as they headed out on their first circuit. After one lap the order had been reversed, Joe leading Leon with a group of riders in tow. With the Lonestar / Ohlins suspension combination working extremely well around the hardpack track, both riders were running at a blistering pace and the positions remained the same until lap eleven, when Ricky Tordoff passed Leon for 2nd as they started to pick their way through backmarkers. The Mercuria GYTR Yamaha Racing Team riders continued to push hard through the field, in 1st and 3rd place, and as the chequered flag came out, Joe took the win by over six seconds from Tordoff, while in an extreme piece of bad luck, Leon got pushed wide passing a back marker in the last corner, allowing Jason Macbeth to nip up the inside to snatch 3rd by eight tenths of a second.

Race Two

The second race of the day was a bag of mixed fortunes for the Mercuria GYTR Yamaha Racing Team. Joe again pulled strongly off the line, and slotted in to second place behind Lindsay Duke. Leon, however, had to take evasive action in the first corner, causing him to loose traction in the deep dirt on the outside of the track, and as they completed the first lap Leon was circulating in 25th position. The track was extremely one lined in places making passing almost impossible, but with thirty minutes left on the clock, the stage was set for a remarkable battle for both riders. Joe was hot on the heels of Duke, but with Duke riding well and sticking to the racing lines in the tight corners, it was not going to be easy to get past. Leon, however, was on a mission. Settling in to a blistering pace early on, the "Balgonie Bullet" started to use his speed and the excellent handling of the bike to good use, moving up to 22nd by the end of lap four and gaining four more places to secure 18th place as they approached half distance on lap nine. Leon continued his amazing climb through the field in increasingly difficult conditions, taking 16th position two laps later, before moving in to 14th place on lap 13 and securing 13th position on lap fifteen. As the chequered flag came out at the end of lap seventeen, Joe had tried everything in the book to get past Duke, but was pipped to the post by two tenths of a second to finish 2nd and take 1st overall on the day, while the hard charging Scot had blasted his way through the field to finish in a well deserved 13th position and claim 8th overall on the day.

Joe Maessen

I am really happy to come away with the overall on the day and to be leading the championship. This is only the fourth race meeting I have taken part in since surgery on my scaphoid bone over the winter, and I even considered using a thumb throttle today instead of my preferred twist throttle as I am still in a bit of pain. Although it would have been nice to win both races, Lindsay rode a good race in race two, covering the racing lines and making it extremely difficult to pass. Richard Cole and the team at Mercuria GYTR Yamaha Racing have done a fantastic job preparing the Yamaha YFZ450, and even though today was only the first time I had ridden the bike, it felt perfect from the start. Steve Clitheroe from SCT did a fantastic job on the motor to give us loads of useable power, and the Lonestar / Ohlins suspension combination handled beautifully, transferring the power to Goldspeed tyres which gave amazing grip around the track. It has been a fantastic day and I am really looking forward to the next round at Blaxhall Pit in two weeks time.

Leon Beda

Today has been a mixed bag of fortunes for me, but overall I'm happy with the results I came away with. I'm slightly disappointed that I couldn't hold on to 3rd position in the first race after holding off Jason for so long, but a backmarker came across me on the last corner and pushed me wide allowing Jason to pass on the inside. The second race was awesome. I came around the first corner in 27th position after being forced wide, but I settled in to a good rhythm early on and just worked my way through the pack to finish 14th and 8th overall. Richard and the team have done a great job preparing the bike and it handled beautifully all day. The Goldspeed tyres were fantastic and the Lonestar / Ohlins combination handled perfectly. I'm really happy that I have shown good speed and can work my way up through the pack in difficult overtaking conditions, and I'm looking forward to the next round at Blaxhall on the 29th of April.

Results

Race One
Winner - Joe Maessen; 2nd - Ricky Tordoff; 3rd - Jason Macbeth; 4th - Leon Beda;
5th - Lindsay Duke; 6th - Justin Reid

Race Two
Winner - Lindsay Duke; 2nd - Joe Maessen; 3rd - Willy Waggott; 4th Jason Macbeth;
5th - Justin Reid; 6th - Paul Winrow

Championship Standings

1st Joe Maessen 47; 2nd Lindsay Duke 41; 3rd Jason Macbeth 38; 4th Ricky Tordoff 35;
5th Willy Waggott 34; 6th Justin Reid 31; 7th Chris North 26; 8th Leon Beda 25;
9th Paul Winrow 19; 10th Ricky Toye 19

Next Round of 2007 CCM MMX British Quad Championship at Blaxhall Pit, Suffolk on Sunday 29th April

I'm very proud to be associated with the Mercuria GYT-R Team Yamaha. We have fantastic backing from Yamaha Motors UK Ltd and a great roster of young and very promising riders.

Our objective for 2006, our first season of competition, is to consolidate our position as a leading UK Quad Racing team.

And if everything goes to plan we'll be genuine Championship contenders in the years to follow.