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GYTR ATV Team Yamaha - ACU British MMX Quad Championship
Tordoff Takes 4th At Demanding Desertmartin ATV Race

Yamaha GYTR ATV Richard Tordoff

Richard Tordoff

Cypress, CA (4/28/2008) - The Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha team travelled across the Irish Sea at the weekend, the spectacular Desertmartin Grand Prix Motocross Circuit the venue for round two of the 2008 ACU British MMX Quad Championship on Saturday the 26th of April. After a fantastic start to the season with a 2nd overall at the opening round, Richard Tordoff made the trip from Elland hoping for similar results, and as the team packed up after a fantastic days racing, the Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha rider had bravely battled through a back injury sustained early in the final moto to narrowly miss out on another overall podium finish, Ricky tying for 3rd on points but losing out on the second race finish rule while safely maintaining his 2nd position in the British Championship standings.

Race One
With the overnight and early morning rain showers making way for glorious sunshine as practice commenced, the sandy Desertmartin circuit was in ideal condition for racing. Securing a front row start after posting 11th fastest time in timed practice around the challenging Porters Pit circuit, Ricky got good drive off the line and powered the Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha YFZ450 around the sweeping first corner and out on to the opening lap in 9th position. A small mistake on the second circulation of the one mile sand based track saw Ricky drop back to 10th, but quickly settling in to a rhythm and using the excellent handling of the Lonestar / Ohlins TTX suspension, Ricky started to make his way back up the leaderboard, regaining 9th after passing Ricky Toye on lap four.

With the Goldspeed SC tyres working well in the loose surface, Mark Watson on the Anderson ATV Suzuki, Johnny Kelly on the Eglinton Timber Products Honda and Leon Beda on the 131 Racing Yamaha were all demoted in successive laps as the race approached half distance. Now running in 6th and with a clear track in front, Ricky pushed hard over the next three laps to close the gap to the Lamos Yamaha of Simon Hammersley, catching and passing Hammersley for 5th on lap ten. Continuing to scythe his way through the back markers in pursuit of the rider in fourth, Ricky gradually closed the gap over the remaining four laps, but unfortunately time was not on his side, Ricky taking the chequered flag after fourteen laps for a well deserved 5th position.

Race Two
Yamaha GYTR ATV Richard Tordoff

Richard Tordoff

The Goldspeed SC tyres dug deep on the start as the gates dropped for moto two, the SCT tuned YFZ motor pulling strongly off the line and propelling Ricky around the first corner in a fantastic 3rd. Setting a blistering pace over the opening three laps, Ricky quickly closed the gap to Paul Winrow on the Winrow Honda UK Racing TRX and was well poised to challenge for 2nd when a hard landing in the whoops section of the circuit jarred his back and forced Ricky to ease off. Unable to stand on his footpegs as a result of the pain, Ricky tried in vain to fend of the challenge of the ensuing riders, dropping back to 7th as the race entered the second half. With the initial pain starting to subside and the Lonestar / Ohlins TTX combination smoothing out the bumps, Ricky was able to gradually increase his pace over the remaining seven laps of the race, passing Chris North on the ATV UK Racing Honda on lap eight for 6th place, Ricky riding through the pain barrier and easily holding this position to the chequered flag to tie on points for 3rd overall, only missing out on the final step of the podium as a result of a lower second race finish.

Ricky Tordoff
“ It’s been a frustrating day really even though the end result has been good. Richard and Ian did a great job with the bike again and it was working a treat, but I struggled a bit to get in to a good rhythm in practice and didn’t put in the best qualifying lap. It’s an awesome circuit and there are loads of areas where you can make up time but the slightest mistake and you can lose a lot of time as well. I changed on to the Goldspeed SC tyres after practice and they suited me better in the ruts that the sidecar guys had made. It took me a few laps to get settled down in the first moto but I was able to make up quite a few places and was happy with 5th. The second race I felt really strong and was catching Paul until I got a bad kick of the top of the whoops and jarred my back on landing. I wasn’t able to stand on the footpegs for a couple of laps so I couldn’t push as hard, but after a while the pain subsided enough for me to get back up to pace and salvage 6th. It would have been nice to have finished on the podium but the main thing is that I have maintained my 2nd position in the Championship and can still challenge Paul.

The next round is in Dean Moor and it’s a track which I really like and have done well on in the past so I’m looking forward to it.”

ATV Race Results

Race One Race Two
  1. Paul Winrow
  2. Wayne Tyson
  3. Paul Holmes
  4. Stefan Murphy
  5. Ricky Tordoff
  1. John Mitchell
  2. Paul Winrow
  3. Mark Watson
  4. Carl Bunce
  5. Paul Holmes
  6. Ricky Tordoff

Championship Standings (after 2 of 8 rounds)
  1. Paul Winrow 97
  2. Ricky Tordoff 73
  3. Paul Holmes 54
  4. Mark Watson 51
  5. David Hammersley 50

About Yamaha:
Yamaha ATVs and SxS vehicles are designed, engineered and built tough! Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A. headquarters are located in Cypress, California. For more information on Yamaha, visit yamaha-motor.com.

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