Europe (5/15/2008)
- The 2008 UEM EMX European Quad Championship
got under way on the weekend of the 10th and
11th of May, the spectacular Brou race circuit
ninety miles south west of Paris the venue for
the first of the ten round series. Having won
the opening round of the European Quad Cup the
previous year, and having had a promising start
to the year in the British Championship, Ricky
Tordoff and the Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha crew
travelled to the Loire region in buoyant mood
and focused on a good start to their 2008 European
campaign. The long, fast and very technical
hard packed circuit had all the qualities that
suited Ricky’s riding style and conditions
looked promising for a good result, but the
meeting was to prove frustrating for the 22
year old from Elland, an opening moto spill
and getting hit by an errant rider at the start
of the second race aggravating a back injury
sustained at a previous British round, Ricky
riding in severe pain but still managing to
score valuable championship points in both motos.
Race One
 |
Richard
Tordoff
|
After using the two practice sessions on Saturday
to learn the circuit and set up the bike, Ricky
posted a respectable 10th quickest in timed
qualification to ensure a front row start on
Sunday. With glorious sunshine, temperatures
close to 30°C and refreshments courtesy
of latest team sponsor Monster Energy, Ricky
set about quenching his thirst for success in
front of the huge crowd of spectators as he
lined up for the start of race one. As the gates
dropped the Goldspeed tyres gave tremendous
traction and Ricky powered around the first
corner in 7th place as the field headed out
on their opening lap. Quickly settling in to
his rhythm, Ricky used the excellent handling
of the Lonestar / Ohlins TTX suspension to gradually
close the gap to Paul Holmes in front over the
opening five laps. Putting Holmes under tremendous
pressure, Ricky moved off line to try to pass
Holmes over one of the many technical jumps
that were scattered around the fantastic circuit,
but a bad kick on the take off launched the
bike sideways and threw Ricky off on landing.
Losing valuable time and dropping positions
as he got his bike going again, Ricky set off
at a blinding pace and within a lap had caught
and passed Sean Goss before passing early race
leader Jermie Warnia on the following lap. Continuing
to push as hard as he could despite bent handlebars
and re-aggravating the back injury sustained
at Desertmartin, Ricky moved past Nicky Vaes
for 17th with twenty minutes gone in the thirty
minute plus two lap moto, but the spill had
taken it’s toll and with severe pain now
setting in Ricky was unable to make up any further
places, taking the chequered flag after 14 gruelling
laps of the 1.25 mile circuit for a valiant
17th place.
Race Two
Another fantastic start for moto two
saw Ricky round the first corner in 6th only
to have his hard work negated on just seconds
later, a wayward rider carrying too much speed
over the steep drop off in to the next corner
and landing on Ricky’s left leg and nerf
bar before pushing Ricky and another rider to
the edge of the circuit. Dropping to dead last
as he got underway, Ricky once again settled
in to a fast race pace and had caught and passed
several riders and was running just outside
the top ten, but unfortunately the injury sustained
from the previous race began to affect Ricky,
the extreme pain slowing his pace as the race
wore on, Ricky taking the chequered flag after
another gruelling fourteen laps for 17th place
before collapsing in agony in the paddock as
a result of his determination to finish. Sorely
disappointed at this result after all the hard
work that the team had put in to give him a
competitive and reliable race bike, Ricky can
take heart in the knowledge that his pace and
fitness are good and his Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha
YFZ450 is competitive. Team manager Richard
Cole commented afterwards “it’s
been a frustrating weekend for Ricky and the
team. With Joe Maessen and James Hellewell still
out with injury, Ricky has the added pressure
of being the only rider at British and European
level. He won the opening European Cup round
last year showing that he is as capable as any
rider out there at this level, but it’s
never plain sailing in this sport and you have
to take the rough with the smooth. Although
disappointed at the result, Ricky’s speed
and fitness are good and the bike is working
really well, so I’m positive that we will
get better results as the year progresses.”
Ricky Tordoff
 |
Richard
Tordoff
|
“ It’s been a bit frustrating today
to say the least. When I walked the track on
Friday I saw that it was very technical with
lots of jumps which is exactly what I like.
The bike was working really well in practice
and we only needed to make a few small changes
to the setup for race day and I was really looking
forward to some good results. I re-injured my
back halfway through the first race and as the
day went on it just progressively got worse
and I couldn’t ride at the speed I know
I’m capable of. It’s really annoying
to come away with these results given the effort
put in by everyone at Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha
in preparation for this year, but I’m
happy with my fitness and will now focus my
attention on the next round of the British Quad
Championship at Dean Moor on Sunday the 18th
of May”
ATV
Race Results |
| Race
One |
Race
Two |
| 1. Romain
Couprie
2. John Mitchell
3. Paul Winrow
4. Stefan Schreiber
5. Vincent Broyer
17. Ricky Tordoff
|
1. Romain Couprie
2. Paul Winrow
3. Jeremie Warnia
4. John Mitchell
5. Stefan Schreiber
17. Ricky Tordoff
|
|
| Championship
Standings (after 1 of 10 rounds) |
1. Romain
Couprie 50
2. Paul Winrow 42
3. John Mitchell 40
4. Stefan Schreiber 34
5. Vincent Broyer 30
18. Ricky Tordoff 4 |
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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