Bielstein, Germany
(6/19/2008) -
Sunday the 15th of June saw Filtec GYTR Team
Yamaha make a welcome return to full strength
at the 4th round of the 2008 UEM GOLDSPEED European
Quad Championship, MSC Bielstein hosting the
event at their picturesque Bielsteiner Waldkurs
circuit on the outskirts of Bielstein, thirty
miles east of Cologne, Germany. With Ricky Tordoff
having to sit out rounds two and three with
a back injury, and Joe Maessen and James Hellewell
making their European Championship debut in
only their 2nd race meeting after long lay-offs
while recovering from operations on broken bones,
all three riders were pumped at returning to
racing at the top level and keen to deliver
a good result. As the sun set on Sunday evening
after a hectic weekends action, all three riders
had put in performances that had team mentor
Richard Cole in buoyant mood, Joe taking a fantastic
podium finish with 2nd overall while Ricky and
James had battled hard all day to finish 7th
and 16th overall respectively.
Race One
 |
Filtec GYTR ATV
Team Yamaha
|
The tight and twisty circuit dried out quickly
as practice and qualifying got underway on Saturday,
Joe qualifying 2nd fastest, Ricky posting 8th
and James a respectable 19th. Glorious sunshine
greeted the riders as they took to the line for
the first of two thirty minute plus two lap motos
on Sunday afternoon, the opening moto proving
to be a frustrating affair for all three. As the
gates dropped Joe got fantastic drive off the
line and reached the sweeping uphill first corner
in 3rd but was forced to back off to avoid hitting
an out of shape Matthieu Ternynck and dropping
back to 4th. With the fast but narrow circuit
providing few overtaking opportunities , Joe used
the excellent handling of the Lonestar / Ohlins
suspension to move past Romain Couprie and Ternynck
by half distance for a comfortable 2nd place ,
but the onset of severe arm-pump at the twenty
minute mark saw Joe drop back to 5th after stalling
his bike. With three laps remaining the arm-pump
eased allowing Joe to increase his pace and close
the gap to Paul Winrow, passing Winrow as the
last lap board came out and going on to take the
chequered flag for a fantastic 4th. After rounding
the first corner in 2nd, Ricky was forced wide
in the same incident with Ternynck as his team-mate,
the resultant loss of momentum dropping him back
to 8th. Settling in to a blistering pace as the
race progressed, Ricky gradually closed the gap
to Jans Vlaeymans in 7th when a crash
involving Vlaeymans and Couprie forced Ricky of
the circuit and dropped him back to 10th. Quickly
regaining his composure, Ricky set off in pursuit
of Maximillian Freund and Stefan Schreiber, and
using the excellent grip of the Goldspeed MX-R
and MX-F tyres he was able to try different lines
to pass, taking 9th from Freund at two thirds
distance before passing Schreiber with three laps
to go, Ricky crossing the finish line after eighteen
laps for a hard fought 8th.
Starting from the second row, James got fantastic
drive off the line and rounded the first corner
in 12th before having his progress halted by
a spinning Schreiber. Completing the first lap
in 18th, James nevertheless was undeterred and
quickly set off to make up places. With the
Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha YFZ450 working well
around the circuit, James had moved past Couprie
and Vlaeymans for 16th at half distance and
was involved in a three-way battle with Vedzan
Gurischek and Martin Toovis. With the excellent
power of the SCT tuned YFZ motor and using skills
and maturity beyond his years, James continued
pressurising the more experienced riders in
front, and as the chequered flag came out James
had demoted both Gurischek and Toovis to cross
the line for a fantastic 14th.
Race Two
Refuelled by Monster Energy
during the short interval, the three riders
lined up for the start of the second moto replenished
and ready for battle. As the gates dropped Joe
once again got a flyer of a start and rounded
the dusty uphill sweeper in 2nd, with Ricky
slotting in to 7th and James improving on his
19th
 |
Filtec GYTR ATV
Team Yamaha Racer
|
pick of gate to head out on the opening lap
in 17th. Quickly adjusting to the polished and
dusty circuit, the riders quickly found their
rhythms and increased their pace, Joe closing
the gap to Jeremie Warnia while extending the
gap to Vlaeymans in 3rd, while Ricky was fending
off the challenges of Schreiber and Ingo ten
Vregelaar and James had closed the gap to Toovis.
As the race approached half distance all three
riders were putting the excellent handling of
their Yamaha YFZ450’s to good use, Joe
eaking out a ten second gap to 3rd, Ricky embroiled
in a three way tussle for 4th, and James having
passed Toovis for 16th, but unfortunately a
nasty crash involving Schreiber and Ten Vregelaar
brought out the red flag and a disappointing
premature end to the days racing action, Joe
awarded 2nd and taking a fantastic 2nd overall,
Ricky finishing 7th for 7th overall, and James
adding a 16th for a fantastic 16th overall finish
on his debut appearance.
Overall this has been a fantastic result for
Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha, especially given the
circumstance that all three riders are returning
from injury with Joe and James having only done
one previous race meeting prior to this one
since the start of the year. With a six week
break to the next round in Denmark, Joe, Ricky
and James have domestic championship races which
they can concentrate on to help further improve
their speed and fitness in preparation for the
next round on the 3rd of August.
Joe Maessen
 |
Joe Maessen
on the Podium
|
“ I’m really happy with my result
today, especially when it is only my second
race since returning from the operation on my
collar bone. I’d like to have held on
to 2nd in the opening moto but lack of bike
fitness left me getting arm-pump after twenty
minutes and I just couldn’t hold on, but
once it went I was able to push hard again and
secure 4th. The Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha YFZ450
worked really well around the circuit and I
can’t wait for the next round where I
will be fully fit.”
Ricky Tordoff
“ Today has been a bit frustrating for
me as I know I should have finished higher.
I won here last year and like the circuit, but
it is really difficult to pass on. Being forced
off the track twice in the opening race after
getting to the first corner in 2nd left me with
a lot of work to do, and in the second race
I was just finding my groove when it was stopped.
The bike was working really well and the new
Goldspeed MX-R and MX-F tyres were unbelievable,
and I’m really happy that my back hasn’t
given any trouble the entire weekend.”
James Hellewell
“ This has been a great result for the
team and I’m really pleased with my result
given that this is only my second race since
I broke my wrist earlier in the year. I know
I still have a long way to go to get up to full
race speed, but Richard and Ian have given me
a bike that is fantastic to ride and the Lonestar
/ Ohlins suspension allowed me to make up places
on a circuit which isn’t the easiest to
pass on. Starting from the second row makes
it more difficult, so I’ll be focusing
my attention on improving my qualifying techniques
before the next round in August.”
ATV
Race Results |
| Race
One |
Race
Two |
| 1. Jeremie
Warnia
2. Paul Holmes
3. Mathieu Ternynck
4. Joe Maessen
5. Davy Brems
8. Ricky Tordoff
14. James Hellewell
|
1. Jeremie Warnia
2. Joe Maessen
3. Jan Vlaeymans
4. Paul Winrow
5. Paul Holmes
7. Ricky Tordoff
16. James Hellewell
|
|
| Championship
Standings |
1. Jeremie
Warnia
2. Joe Maessen
3. Paul Holmes
7. Ricky Tordoff
16. James Hellewell |
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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