 |
Richard
Tordoff
|
Cypress, CA (9/18/2008)
- Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha travelled to Germany
at the weekend for round nine of the 2008 GOLDSPEED
EMX European Quad Championship, MSC Wieslauftal
promoting the penultimate round of the series,
in conjunction with the final round of the 2008
World Sidecar-cross Championship, at the fantastic
Rudersberg circuit twenty miles North-East of
Stuttgart. Travelling from their bases in Holland
and England, team-mates Joe Maessen and Ricky
Tordoff made the journey to the Baden-Wuttenberg
state hoping to deliver a good result for team
mentor Richard Cole, and as the team packed up
after a hectic weekends race action both riders
had put in a fantastic performance, Ricky cruelly
robbed of overall victory and a team one-two while
comfortably leading the final moto with ten minutes
remaining, Joe’s superb 2nd in moto two
giving him the overall win and helping to ease
Ricky’s obvious disappointment.
Race One
A wet and sticky Rudersberg circuit
greeted the riders for Saturdays two free practice
and one timed qualification session, Ricky putting
his prior knowledge of the circuit to good use
to post 3rd fastest time, Joe struggling slightly
on his maiden outing at the venue but still
able to qualify 9th and secure an all important
front row start. Sunshine and clear blue skies
were the order of the day as the riders lined
up for the first of two thirty-minute plus two
lap motos. As the gates dropped and the field
blasted up the start straight and around the
first corner, Ricky got fantastic drive off
the line and took the holeshot to lead the field
out on the opening lap, Joe getting caught on
the line and rounding the first corner in 10th.
With the Goldspeed MX-F and MX-R tyres giving
superb traction around the constantly drying
surface, Ricky and Joe used the excellent handling
of the
Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha YFZ450’s to settle
in to a furious pace in the opening half of
the race, Joe moving up to 7th and bringing
up the rear in a four-way freight train battle
for 4th while Ricky
was highly visible out front in his striking
pink Fox gear as he fended of the challenges
of Romain Couprie. With less than ten minutes
remaining both riders were maintaining their
relentless pace, Joe moving past Ingo Ten Vregelaar
for 6th while Ricky was beginning to pull a
gap to Couprie, but tiny mistakes by both riders
in the closing stages saw them drop a position,
Ricky taking the chequered flag after thirty-five
furious minutes for a tremendous 2nd, Joe crossing
the finish line in a superb 7th with less than
a one second gap to 4th.
 |
“
Ricky Tordoff’s striking FOX gear
was easily spotted as he lead both motos”
|
Race Two
The spectacular low-end power delivery
from the all new Leo Vince exhaust saw Joe and
Ricky bolt out of the gate at the start of race
two, Joe now adorned in the lucky pink FOX gear
and leading his team-mate and the chasing pack
in to the first corner before Ricky swept around
the outside to leave the pair formation flying
at the head of the field on the opening lap. With
the drying circuit now extremely rutted after
the previous sidecar races, both riders used the
excellent handling of their Yamaha YFZ to tame
the demanding circuit in the opening stages, Ricky
gradually easing away at the front while Joe struggled
initially to find his rhythm and dropped back
to 6th. Increasing their tempo as the circuit
came to them, Ricky had opened up a fifteen second
lead at the half-way point while Joe had moved
past Romain Couprie and Davy Brems for 4th and
was now involved in a three way battle for 2nd
with Jan Vlaeymans and Stefan Schreiber. Moving
past Vlaeymans for 3rd with ten minutes to go,
and with Ricky having a comfortable twenty second
cushion at the front, the Filtec team-mates were
well placed to take their first European overall
win of the year and the top two steps on the podium
when lady luck dealt a deadly blow, one of the
many sharp edged rocks exposed in the deep ruts
puncturing Ricky’s tyre. With the Douglas
bead-lock holding the deflating tyre in place,
Ricky tried valiantly for the remainder of the
race to fend of the challenges of the ensuing
pack, but in another cruel twist of fate Ricky’s
chain was dislodged by yet another rock and jammed
solid at the front chain guard, Ricky unable to
take any further part in the race but having completed
enough laps to be awarded 15th place and a respectable
9th overall. Now circulating in 2nd, Joe applied
tremendous pressure on Schreiber for position
in the closing laps, but with the circuit one-lined
in many places
making passing difficult, Joe was forced to
settle for 2nd place by less than a second at
the chequered flag, Joe taking a fantastic overall
win and the top step on the podium.
Overall this has been a good result for the
team, team mentor Richard Cole’s obvious
disappointment that Ricky did not get the result
that he truly deserved after fantastic performances
in both motos eased somewhat by Joe taking the
teams first overall win in the series. The team
have proved that their overall package is extremely
competitive at this level of racing, the potency
of the Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha YFZ450 also shown
by the result of satellite rider Tobias Lenz.
Working out of the Filtec awning and riding
one of the Pro-Prep prepared bikes from Pont
De Vaux, Tobias has quickly adapted to the Yamaha
YFZ450 and put in a superb performance to post
two 8th place finishes and 10th overall on the
day, Tobias comfortably retaining 4th place
in the series with one round to go. After the
race the young German commented, “ after
the Estonian round I was left in the unfortunate
situation that I no longer had a bike to ride
for the last three rounds of the European Championship.
Richard was aware of the situation and at Pont
De Vaux kindly offered me the loan of one of
the Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha bikes that he and
Ian from Pro-Prep had built for Pont De Vaux.
I’m working out of their awning at the
races but I still have to supply all my own
kit and do all the work to the bike between
meetings. It’s taking me a little while
getting used to the bike and getting it set
up the way I want it, but it’s a fantastic
bike and I get more used to it each time I ride.
I’m really happy with my result today
and am looking forward to the last round in
France on the 28th of September where I’ll
be focused on maintaining my 4th place in the
series. “
Joe Maessen
“ I’m really happy with taking the
overall win today, but I really feel for Ricky
as he deserved to win after the way he rode
in both races and it would have been nice to
come away with the team on the top two steps.
I’ve never raced here before and I struggled
a bit to get in to the track during practice
and in the first moto, but once I settled down
I was able to push hard and had good battles
in both races. It can be difficult to pass here,
especially when the track gets really cut up,
but the bike worked really well and I was able
to move through the field for a better finish.
I’m really looking forward to the final
round in France at the end of the month, I’ve
never raced there before
but have heard about the circuit and feel confident
that the Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha YFZ450 can
once again deliver a winning result.”
Ricky Tordoff
 |
Yamaha
ATV Racer, #82, Richard Tordoff
|
“ I’m obviously a little disappointed
at the way things panned out in the last race
but I’m still really happy with the way
I’ve ridden and it’s been a positive
weekend overall. I really enjoyed the circuit,
it’s got lots of jumps and is quite technical
so it suits my style of riding. We’ve got
a new Leo Vince exhaust which gives bucket loads
of low-end power so I got really good drive off
the line and took the holeshot in the first race.
I comfortably led until about twenty minutes when
I made a small mistake and let Romain through.
I was able to close the gap again but just ran
out of time to make a pass. In the last race Joe
got a better jump than me, but I was able to move
around the outside and once I got out in front
I just set a steady pace and pulled away. With
a twenty second lead with ten minutes to go I
thought I had it in the bag, but that’s
racing for you. We haven’t had a puncture
all year, but the ruts that the sidecars made
exposed some really sharp rocks and I must have
clipped one. I was able to ride with the flat
thanks to the Douglas beadlocks, but the chain
came off and jammed near the front guard and I
couldn’t get it released. I’m really
happy with my speed and the way the bike is working,
and will now concentrate on the last round of
the British Championship this weekend in Oxford
where I’ll be aiming to move up to 2nd place.”
2008
GOLDSPEED EMX European Quad Championship |
| Race
One |
Race
Two |
| 1. Romain Couprie
2. Ricky Tordoff
3.Davy Brems
4.Paul Holmes
5. Jan Vlaeymans
7. Joe Maessen
|
1. Stefan Schreiber
2. Joe Maessen
3. Jan Vlaeymans
4. Paul Holmes
5. Maximillian Freund
15. Ricky Tordoff
|
|
| Championship
Standings (After Round 9) |
1st - Joe Maessen
2nd - Jan Vlaeymans
3rd - Paul Holmes
9th - Ricky Tordoff
|
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.
www.yamaha-motor.com
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