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Reid Moves Up In Series Despite Dean Moor Difficulties

Reid Moves Up In Series Despite Dean Moor Difficulties

The picturesque Dean Moor Motocross Park near Whitehaven in Cumbria provided the venue for the latest round of the 2008 ACU British MMX Quad Championship on Sunday the 18th of May, Team Can Am rider Justin Reid making the relatively short trip from his base in Comber for the 3rd round of the eight round series. Having made a promising British Championship debut on the cutting edge Team Can Am DS450 at their home round in Desertmartin three weeks earlier, Justin and the crew were upbeat about a good result as the action began on Sunday morning, but as the days racing drew to a close it had been a frustrating day for the team, Justin managing to move up in the series in spite of severe arm pump in moto one and fuel problems in the closing race.

Race One

Sunshine and clear blue skies greeted the riders as they took to the line for practice on Sunday morning, Justin struggling slightly to get his quad set up properly for the track conditions but nevertheless securing a front row start. Getting good drive of the concrete start and slotting in to 11th as they headed out on their opening lap, Justin quickly settled in to his rhythm and moved in to the top ten on the next lap after passing Chris North. Involved in a four way battle with Michael McAneney, David Cowan and Ricky Tordoff, Justin was putting tremendous pressure on McAneney and was trying different lines to get past when his progress was temporarily halted, the onset of severe arm-pump slowing Justin’s pace. Dropping back a place five laps in but with the pain subsiding slightly, Justin used the fantastic handling of his Lonestar / PEP suspension to gradually increase his pace again, passing early race leader Lindsay Duke and Simon Hammersley at the halfway point, before moving past James Behan for 8th with ten minutes of the twenty five minute plus two-lap moto remaining. Quickly closing the gap to McAneney in 7th, Justin was again poised to make a move when the arm-pump returned with a vengeance. Unable to maintain his initial race pace, Justin dropped to 11th with three laps to go, but riding with the grit and determination that has helped him win multi British and Ulster titles, Justin continued to push to the chequered flag, taking the Team Can Am DS450 to a fantastic 8th place finish after fourteen laps of the testing Dean Moor circuit.

Race Two

A poor start by his standards resulted in Justin circulating in 16th place at the end of the opening lap of the second moto, but quickly adapting to the changing circuit and with his bike handling beautifully, Justin increased his pace over the next two laps, moving past John Mitchell and Stefan Murphy for 14th by the end of lap three. Setting a blistering pace and with the track coming to him, the Comber rider quickly closed the gap to the battling trio in front as the race reached half distance, and was once again well poised to break in to the top ten when disaster struck, Justin’s bike losing power as a result of a fuel problem which could not be rectified, Justin was unfortunately forced to retire from the race.

This has been a frustrating day for Justin and Team Can Am, uncharacteristic arm pump preventing Justin from utilising his fitness and speed to it’s full potential in the opening race, while the fuel problem in the second moto forced him to retire. Despite these problems, however, Justin still managed to move up a place in the overall standings, and with five rounds remaining in the series there are still a lot of opportunities for Justin and Team Can Am to realise the true potential of the Justin Reid / Team Can Am DS450 combination.

Reid

“We struggled a little this morning to find the optimum set up for qualifying and as a result qualified a lower than I would have expected, though it was very close with only 3.5 seconds covering the top 16. The track is very fast but not so technical so the pace was high and it was dusty in places - the first couple of laps were very intense. I was riding very tight and suffered badly from arm pump, which I usually never get – it’s really frustrating because I wasn’t tired at all but I was finding it difficult to hold on and my corner speed really suffered.

In the second moto someone came right into the side of me off the start so I was mid pack on the first lap. I felt better this race and was really able to attack on the roughest parts of the track as my Can-Am was now handling superbly. Unfortunately my race was cut short as my quad lost power due to some contaminated fuel and I was forced to retire. We have just received some new parts so I’m looking forward to testing them and coming back here later in the season to make amends for today!’

Results

Race One

Winner – Paul Winrow; 2nd – William Waggott; 3rd – Leon Beda; 4th – Ricky Tordff; 5th – David Hammersley…8th – Justin Reid

Race Two

Winner – Leon Beda; 2nd – Paul Holmes; 3rd – Paul Winrow; 4th – Mark Watson; 5th – William Waggott

Championship Standings (after 3 of 8 rounds)

1st – Paul Winrow 142; 2nd – Ricky Tordoff 104; 3rd – David Hammersley 80; 4th – Paul Holmes 76; 5th – Leon Beda 75…19th – Justin Reid 30

Next Race: Saturday 31st May – Ulster Premier Quadcross Championship Round 2), Downpatrick Motocross Park, Downpatrick

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