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Reid Continues To Move Up In Series At Hawkstone Park

The historic Hawkstone Park motocross circuit near Market Drayton provided the setting for the latest round of the 2008 ACU British MMX Quad Championship on Sunday the 29th of June, the Salop & District MCC hosting the event at the spectacular Shropshire venue. Making the long journey from their base in Comber for this the 4th round in the eight round series, Justin Reid and the hard working crew at Team Can Am had their sights focused on a good result and continuing their ascension in the standings, and as they washed the dark Hawkstone sand from the Team Can Am DS450 in preparation for the three hundred and twenty mile journey home, Justin had put in a fantastic display to overcome difficulties in both races, Justin finishing joint 13th overall and moving up to 18th in the points table as the series reached the halfway point.

Race One
Heavy overnight rain subsided as the riders took to the track for timed practice on Sunday, the circuit drying quickly as the morning’s action progressed. Struggling slightly to get the correct bike set up for the demanding conditions in practice, Justin’s start to the first moto was compromised by a second row pick of gate. Heading out on the opening lap in an unfamiliar 26th position, Justin quickly settled down to a steady pace and began to move his way up through the field. With the Lonestar / PEP suspension smoothing out the bumps around the circuit, Justin was able to experiment with different lines and made up eight places for 18th within four laps before moving in to 17th at the halfway mark. With the forecast rain making an unwelcome return just ten minutes in to the twenty five minute plus two lap moto, reduced visibility slightly hampered Justin’s progress, but maintaining his pace and composure and using the excellent handling of the Team Can Am DS450 as the race progressed, Justin continued to make up places and by lap eleven had moved up to 12th. Quickly closing the gap to the rider in front and now involved in a three way battle for 11th, a slight mistake in one of the rougher parts of the circuit while challenging for position saw Justin drop a spot and temporarily lose momentum, but quickly re-grouping and continuing to push for the remainder of the race, Justin was able to gradually close the gap to 12th, but with time running out Justin was unable to improve on his position, Justin taking the chequered flag after 14 laps having made up an incredible thirteen positions for 13th.

Race Two
As the gates dropped for the start of the second moto, Justin got a slightly better start and rounded the tight first corner in 22nd. Having made a few adjustments to his bike set up from the opening race, Justin was able to put the excellent handling of his bike to good use and quickly began moving up the leader board, making up eight places for 14th with fifteen minutes gone and quickly reeling in 13th. With half the race remaining and circulating at a frenetic pace, Justin was well poised for a top ten finish when his astonishing progress was halted, a loosening hand grip the culprit and frustratingly preventing Justin from maintaining his original pace. With no other option but to reduce his pace to safely negotiate the challenging terrain, Justin rode a lonely and uneventful closing half of the moto to take the chequered flag after thirteen gruelling laps in 14th place and securing 14th overall on the day.
Although the overall result has seen Justin move up to 18th in the series standings, Justin will no doubt have expected better results from this race meeting. Justin’s starting position as a result of struggling to get the bike dialled in during practice played a major factor on this circuit where passing can be difficult and a good start is key. Still adapting to and familiarising himself with the handling characteristics of the Can Am DS450, Justin can once again take heart in the fact that he was able to make up several positions and showed good pace and fitness despite the frustrating problems that were experienced over the weekend.

Reid
‘My atrocious qualifying really compromised my chances of a decent finish in the races today – I just didn’t seem to be able to put together a clean lap and wasn’t really happy with the set up. We made some changes for the first race but it rained quite heavily just before our moto and they didn’t pay off. I felt that the second moto was much better and I was much more comfortable with the quad when we reverted to our original settings. I was pushing hard up to the halfway point and had caught right up to John (Mitchell) when the right hand grip started to turn and jam my throttle occasionally, which astounds me as it was glued on and wired in four places! This totally blew my confidence and I had to be content with just circulating which was really frustrating as I was still catching the group in front but just couldn’t risk pushing any harder.’

Results
Race One
Winner – Joe Maessen; 2nd – Paul Winrow; 3rd – Paul Holmes; 4th – Stefan Murphy; 5th – David Hammersley…13th – Justin Reid
Race Two
Winner – Paul Winrow; 2nd – Joe Maessen; 3rd – Mark Watson; 4th – Paul Holmes; 5th – William Waggott…14th – Justin Reid

Championship Standings (after 4 of 8 rounds)

1st – Paul Winrow 189; 2nd – Ricky Tordoff 131; 3rd – Paul Holmes 114; 4th – David Hammersley 106; 5th – William Waggott 101…18th – Justin Reid 45

Next Race: Saturday 5th July – Ulster Premier Quadcross Championship (Round 3), Tandragee Motocross Park, Tandragee

www.justwinracing.com

Best Regards,

Justin Reid

http://www.justwinracing.com

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