United Kingdom
(5/12/2010) - D3
DWT Motoworks KTM rider, Mark Watson, made it
two from three Podium appearances at his “home”
round of the 2010 GOLDSPEED EMX Quad European
Championship recently, the Cumbrian native making
the seven-hundred mile round trip South to Hampshire
and the spectacular Langrish circuit for the second
instalment of the seven round series.
Promoted by Langrish Motorcycle
Racing Club at their Manor Farm venue near
Petersfield, the fast and furious track layout
provided some superb entertainment for the thousands
in attendance as the best riders in Europe battled
around the demanding hillside circuit at breakneck
speed.
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#85 Mark Watson
placed 3rd in moto two & 2nd in
moto three securing a 3rd overall on
the day for himself
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After struggling initially with bike set up during
Saturdays free and qualifying practice sessions,
but still posting 5th fastest time in his group
for 9th pick of gate, a few changes overnight
had the D3 DWT Motoworks KTM handling perfectly
for the Sunday morning warm up, Watson taking
fastest time of the thirty qualifiers by 1.6 seconds
and showing his intentions. A midpack start for
the first of the three twenty-five minute plus
two lap motos left Watson with quite a lot of
work to do on the heavily watered surface, but
gradually increasing his pace he began to work
his way through the pack and by half distance
had moved up to 4th and was quickly reeling in
the leading trio when a broken foot peg ended
his race prematurely.
Undeterred and eager to make up
for the disappointing opener, a slightly better
start saw Watson running just inside the top
ten around the first corner in moto two, but
quickly finding his rhythm he began working
his way towards the front of
the field and by half distance had moved in
to 3rd place despite suffering from a slipping
clutch in the latter stages, Watson comfortably
holding position to the chequered flag to take
his first rostrum of 2010.
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#85 Mark Watson
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Getting fantastic drive off the
line for the last race of the day, Watson rounded
the
sweeping left hander and almost nailed the holeshot,
drifting slightly wide on the exit and heading
out on the opening lap in 3rd. Setting a blistering
pace from the outset and taking fastest lap
of the race, Watson moved in to 2nd by the end
of the first full circuit and challenged for
the lead in the next few laps but was unable
to make a pass stick, maintaining touch with
the leader but settling for 2nd place and back
to back visits to the podium.
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Mark Watson secured
his first podium of the 2010 season
in 3rd place and will be looking for
another at the next round
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Commenting after the race, Watson said “
I’m really happy with the weekend, even
though the first race didn’t go according
to plan. It was a shame really as I was catching
up to the leaders at the time and feel that I
could have won the race. In the second heat I
made good ground until my clutch slipping made
clearing the uphill doubles a little sketchy so
I eased off and settled for 3rd, and in the last
one I was able to challenge Romain (Couprie) for
the lead and keep pace with him until my suspension
began to fade, so I just rode my own race and
2nd is a great result. The D3 DWT Motoworks KTM
is working really well and I’m really happy
with my speed and fitness, so I’m really
looking forward to trying to take my first European
race win in Italy in May, but in the meantime
I’ll be concentrating on getting ready for
the opening British rounds at Desertmartin on
May the 8th and 9th where I’ll be aiming
for the podium”.
Thanks to D3 KTM, Bandtmotorsalvage, MWCLtd,
DWT, Motoworks, Berkshire Cycles, PGTuning,
DID, Rock Oil, Muc-off, Quadtech, Goldspeed,
Troylee, Alpinestars, Shoei, Walsh, SFS, Silentsport,
PEP Suspension, SSI Decals, CP Pistons, AXP,
Hinson, Goldfren, Fwcarbon, G-force Suspension,
Rath Racing
| 2010
Goldspeed EMX Quad European Championship
ATV Results |
