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Behan
Racing's James Behan took 9th in Race
2 at Castlenau de Levis aboard his
Hond TRX450R ATV
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South France(4/25/2011) -
OEC Behan Racing’s James Behan
yet again delivered an outstanding performance
on the European stage at the weekend, the
Oxford native making the 1500 mile round-trip
to Castlenau de Levis well worthwhile with
a 14-9 scorecard to take a superb 11th overall
on the day, jumping five places to 11th in
the 2011 GOLDSPEED EMX Quad European Championship.
Traveling for the first time to the spectacular
Circuit Puech Rampant nestled in the hills
near Albi in the south of France, Behan put
in a superb display despite being bed-ridden
in the run up to the event, battling valiantly
to record his maiden European top ten finish
and leave himself well placed to progress
inside the top ten in the overall standings.
One of the most spectacular and demanding
venues on this year’s calendar, the
1.1 mile hardpack circuit provided a fast-flowing
and challenging mix of downhill and uphill
tabletops and doubles that would demand the
ultimate performance from riders and machines
and provided some fantastic racing action
to entertain the thousands of spectators in
attendance.
Still suffering from the after-effects of
fever and tonsillitis from the previous Wednesday,
Behan struggled slightly in the hot and demanding
conditions during Saturday’s free practice
and qualifying sessions, posting 19th fastest
time to make it through to Sunday’s
action with a good pick of gate from the second
row.
With glorious sunshine and bright blue skies
the order of the day as the first of Sunday’s
two thirty-minute plus two-lap motos got underway,
Behan got a decent jump on the gate and rounded
the first corner mid-pack only to have his
good start negated, having to pull up sharply
to avoid some crashed riders in front and
stalling the bike. Dropping to dead last as
he fought to get underway, Behan set a furious
pace in the early stages and began to work
his way through the field, charging to 11th
at three-quarter distance before tiring slightly
in the closing phases and coming home a valiant
14th.
Replenished during the interval with some
Vyomax Nutrition drinks and having made a
few adjustments to the Extremetech Suspension,
Behan took to the line for the second heat
and once again got a superb start from his
disadvantaged pick of gate, heading out on
the opening lap mid-pack and quickly settling
in to fast pace as he set about moving through
the pack.
With the field setting a blistering pace
from the outset in the testing conditions,
Behan made the most of the excellent handling
of the OEC Behan Racing Honda TRX450R and
maintaining his composure began to reel in
and demote the riders in front, moving to
10th with one lap to go before grabbing 9th
with a spectacular overtake on the uphill
double on the last lap, Behan taking his first
ever European top-ten finish to the delight
of the Team.
Commenting after a hot and hectic weekends
racing, a delighted Behan said “ I’m
very happy with my results today, especially
as I’ve been laid up in bed with tonsillitis
in the run up to the meeting. The circuit
itself is fantastic and is definitely very
exciting to ride, and despite still not feeling
well on Saturday or Sunday I was really happy
with the set-up on my bike and had a lot of
fun. I had to pull up in the first race to
avoid a first corner crash and left myself
with a lot of work to do from last place,
but I was really happy with my speed and the
way I came through the field, and to break
in to the top ten in the final moto was brilliant.
My fitness and strength are constantly improving
as I get more time on the bike, so I’ll
be working hard in the coming weeks to keep
the momentum going”.
Goldspeed
European Championships - Round 2 - Castlenau
de Levis
Race 1
1st – Stefan Schreiber, 2nd –
Nicola Montalbini, 3rd – Jan Vlaeymans,
4th – Davy De Cuyper, 5th – Johann
Ciclet…14th – JAMES BEHAN
OEC Behan
Racing
Race 2
1st – Stefan Schreiber, 2nd
– Romain Couprie, 3rd – Jan Vlaeymans,
4th – Paul Holmes, 5th – Davy
De Cuyper…9th – JAMES
BEHAN
Goldspeed
European Championships - ATV Pro Points
Standings
1st – Jan Vlaeymans 87, 2nd –
Romain Couprie 73, 3rd – Davy De Cuyper
62, 4th – Paul Holmes 62, 5th –
Stefan Schreiber 61…11th – JAMES
BEHAN 28
Thanks to all my sponsors for their much valued
and greatly appreciated products, help and
support throughout the years.
