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KTM UK's
James Hellewell took first place in
the Under 21 Class aboard his KIM 450
SX ATV
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Tinkerhill, Northern Ireland (6/22/2011)
- Team
KTM UK rider James Hellewell continued his winning
ways this past weekend, the nineteen year old
Huddersfield native taking the top step on the
podium in the Under 21 class, and 5th overall
in the Open class, at round three of the 2011
GOLDSPEED ACU British Quad Championship on Saturday
the 2nd of July.
Travelling across the Irish Sea to Northern
Ireland and making his debut appearance at the
superb Tinkerhill Motocross Circuit near Newry,
Hellewell once again put in a performance far
exceeding his years to post a 9-4 scorecard
in the main division and remain 4th in the overall
series having increased his advantage to five
points, while his dominance in the Under 21
class has seen him take five wins from six heats
to open up a seventeen point lead as he aims
to retain his 2010 title.
After a hectic five weekends consecutive racing,
taking in six different European countries and
amassing 4000 road miles with six ferry crossings
for good measure, Hellewell quickly got to grips
with the 0.9 mile hardpack layout and posted
10th fastest time in qualifying despite being
hampered by a rock breaking the banjo fitting
on the front brake and leaving him with only
the rear brake for the crucial part of the session.
Struggling slightly of the line for the run
to the tight first corner in the first of the
two planned races, Hellewell gated just inside
the top twenty as the field charged out on the
opening lap, but with twenty-five minutes plus
two-laps remaining he quickly set about improving
his position, breaking the timing beam for the
first time having moved up to 15th. Maintaining
his tempo as the race progressed, Hellewell
broke in to the top ten with half of the eighteen
laps run and moved up to 9th a lap later, but
once again the victim of the stony conditions
a rock pushed the brake hose against the stub
axle and pierced the hose slowing his progress,
Hellewell catching up to 8th but unable to attack
at full pace with no front brakes and settling
for 9th at the flag.
With repairs made and a few changes to the
set-up following necessary watering in the interval,
Hellewell got a superb start and rounded the
first corner 8th, making up a position on the
opening lap before moving up to 6th with two
laps gone. With the track coming to him and
increasing his pace, Hellewell continued his
ascension up the leaderboard, taking two positions
in as many laps at the ten-minute mark, Hellewell
coasting to the chequered flag after thirty
action packed minutes in an outstanding 4th.
“It’s been a fantastic weekend,”
said a delighted Hellewell later “I’ve
never been here before but I really enjoyed
the circuit and it was a great event and result.
The first turn here is really tight and I got
a poor start in race one but had a lot of fun
working my way through the field before the
brake hose got burst by a large rock, leaving
me with no front brake for the second time today
after the banjo fitting got snapped off in practice,
so I had to ease of and was happy to come away
in 9th. In the second race I got a great start
and with the Team KTM UK 505 SX working so well
I was able to work my way up to 4th. It’s
been a long five weeks racing and I’d
like to thank everyone for all their help in
putting together such a great package to give
us a Production based bike that is competitive
against the Hybrid machines out there. I’m
looking forward to a little break now before
I head to America for Round 9 of the 2011 AMA
ATV MX National Motocross Championship at Unadilla
on the 16th and 17th of July, where I’ll
be aiming for the podium in the Pro Am, Pro
AM Open and College 16-24 classes”.
Next race: Sunday 24th July 2011, GOLDSPEED
ACU British Quad Championship Rd 4, Dean Moor
Motocross Circuit, Whitehaven, Cumbria
Team KTM UK would like to thank all their sponsors,
friends and family for their valued and greatly
appreciated help and support
|
Goldspeed ACU British Quad Championship
- Round 3 - Tinkerhill
|
| Race 1 |
|
| Position |
Rider |
| 1 |
John Mitchel |
| 2 |
MARK WATSON Team KTM UK |
| 3 |
Paul Holmes |
| 4 |
Paul Winrow |
| 5 |
David Wray |
| 6 |
Justin Reid |
| 9.. |
JAMES HELLEWELL Team KTM UK |
| Race 2 |
|
| Position |
Rider |
| 1 |
Paul Holmes |
| 2 |
John Mitchell |
| 3 |
MARK WATSON Team KTM UK |
| 4 |
JAMES HELLEWELL Team KTM UK |
| 5 |
David Wray |
| 6 |
Carl Bunce |
|
Goldspeed
ACU British Quad Championship
- ATV Pro Points |
| Position |
Rider |
Points |
| 1 |
John Mitchell |
144 |
| 2 |
MARK WATSON Team KTM UK |
99 |
| 3 |
David Wray |
98 |
| 4 |
JAMES HELLEWELL Team KTM UK |
89 |
| 5 |
Carl Bunce |
84 |
