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Torrington Torment For Beda While Maessen Maintains Second Spot

Waggadon Farm near Torrington was the venue for the 5th round of the 2007 CCM British MMX Quad Championship on Sunday the 1st of July. The torrential rain that had engulfed the entire country in the previous weeks had taken it's toll on the circuit, but despite the conditions in the paddock being far from desirable, the rain stayed away for most of the day and the track dried out quickly once racing was underway.

Race One

The opening race was to prove exciting and eventful for both riders. After posting 3rd and 8th fastest times in practice, Joe and Leon made the most of their gate pick and blasted around the first corner in 2nd and 3rd respectively, hot on the heels of Paul Winrow on the Interlock Lonestar Honda. A couple of small mistakes on the opening lap moved Joe and Leon to 3rd and 5th respectively, before Joe stalled his machine whilst challenging Lindsay Duke for 2nd, losing valuable time and allowing William Waggott to slip past for 3rd. As the race approached two thirds distance, Joe and Leon were continuing to put pressure on Waggott when disaster struck, the chain on Leon's machine coming off and jamming solid, resulting in a disappointing DNF for the affable Scot. Joe continued to push hard for the remainder of the race, trying everything to get past Waggott, but with the track having dried out extremely one lined making it difficult to pass, Joe took the chequered flag after twelve laps in 4th place.

Race Two

As the gates dropped for the start of the second moto, the Mercuria pairing had poor starts, Joe getting caught on the line and Leon seeming to lose drive going up the steep start straight. Running in dead last as the field headed out on their opening lap, Leon quickly settled down and had made up two places, but a bent sprocket was causing the chain to jump the teeth when Leon fed the power in, leaving the young Scot no alternative but to retire after four laps and another DNF.
After his poor start had left him running 10th, Joe was hard at work making up as many places as he could in the thirty-minute plus two-lap race. With the Lonestar / Ohlins suspension working hard on the increasingly rough and demanding circuit, and the Goldspeed tyres giving tremendous grip in a mixture of hard pack and muddy conditions, Joe was able to make up five places for 5th by the halfway point, before moving in to 4th three laps from the end, holding on to this postion to the chequered flag after twelve laps for 4th overall on the day.

Joe Maessen

I suppose I should be happy that I'm still joint second in the championship and only five points behind John Mitchell, but I can't help being frustrated at stalling the bike in the opening race after getting such a good start. The track has dried out really well but unfortunately it has left the circuit really one lined and difficult to pass on. The second moto didn't go well at the start, but once again the fantastic handling of the bike made it possible to make my way up to 4th.

Leon Beda

This has definitely not been a good day at the office. The chain came off and jammed at the furthest spot away from the paddock and it was over an hour before we got back to the truck to fix the damage, and a bent sprocket in the second race kept throwing the chain off so I had no alternative but to pull in. On a positive note I got a great start in the first race and my speed was good, and although I've scored no points today, I'm joint 11th in the standings and only five points behind 10th place.

Results

Race One

Winner - Paul Winrow; 2nd - Lindsay Duke; 3rd - William Waggott; 4th - Joe Maessen;
5th - Ricky Tordoff; 6th - John Mitchell

Race Two

Winner - John Mitchell; 2nd - Paul Winrow; 3rd - Lindsay Duke; 4th - Joe Maessen;
5th - Paul Holmes; 6th - Carl Bunce

Championship Standings (after 5 of 9 rounds)

1st - John Mitchell 192; 2nd - Joe Maessen 187; 3rd - Paul Winrow 187; 4th - William Waggott 142; 5th - Lindsay Duke 131; 6th - Jason Macbeth 118….11th - Leon Beda 83

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.