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2010 ACU British
Quad Racing
Round 1 - Desertmartin MX
Desertmartin, United Kingdom
May 8, 2010 - By:
Kieran Quinn
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John Mitchell Perfect
at British Quad Championship Season Opener
::Continued::
In race two it was Winrow who took the holeshot
with Mitchell, Holmes and Watson in tow, Bunce
slotting in to 5th with local rider Sean Goss
filling out the top six. Lapping at breakneck
speed on the opening laps the action was fast
and furious with Mitchell moving past Winrow on
the second lap and Watson getting the better of
Holmes, with Macbeth, Murphy, Leon Beda and Wray
also tussling for position.
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1 Paul Winrow blistered off the line &
pulled the Moto Two holeshto, but he was
soon passed by John Mitchell taking the
lead |
With half distance gone Mitchell and Winrow pulled
away from the rest and looked to be joined by
elastic as the gap ebbed to and fro with no more
than two seconds the deficit, while Macbeth had
moved past Holmes for 4th and Beda had charged
through to 6th.
Out front the leaders continued to thrill the
crowds with a closely fought race, but at the
chequered flag it was Mitchell who took the honours
by just two seconds from Winrow, Watson crossing
the line in 3rd with Holmes and Macbeth rounding
out the top five.
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#111 John
Mitchell & #1 Paul Winrow battled
for the lead all three motos, but Mitchell
managed to sweep the moto wins for a perfect
Round 1 Overall win
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The final outing of the day again provided some
spectacular action, and as the field charged around
the first corner it was Mitchell who took the early
lead from Winrow, Watson and Holmes. A hectic opening
series of laps saw the lead change hands between
Mitchell and Winrow twice with Watson also challenging
for the lead, and with a third of the race run it
was Mitchell who had gained the advantage from Watson
and Winrow, with Bunce moving up to 4th ahead of
Holmes, but unfortunately for Watson it was race
over shortly afterwards, Mark taking a spill and
his quad getting stuck in one of the deep drainage
ditches.
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#5 Carl Bunce's
5th place finish in Moto 3 was enough
for him to claim the final spot on the
Podium
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With half the race run Mitchell and Winrow had pulled
away and again were running nose to tail, while
Bunce and Holmes had been joined by Macbeth and
Beda who had fought through from 9th and 10th. As
the clock counted down Winrow continued to challenge
for the lead, but it was a delighted Mitchell who
took the chequered flag for a hat-trick of wins
followed by Winrow, Holmes taking the 3rd step on
the podium from Macbeth, with Bunce taking another
5th and 3rd overall on the day.
Commenting after the race, a clearly delighted
Mitchell said “It’s been a fantastic
day and I could not have asked for a better start
to the year. The ATV World Yamaha YFZR 450 is
a fantastic bike and did everything that I could
ask of it. I always love coming to Ireland and
have always loved this circuit, and the last two
races with Paul (Winrow) were intense but a lot
of fun. It’s been a great start and I’ll
be looking to extend my lead at tomorrow’s
race.”
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| ACU
British Championship Quad Racing Pro Podium
(left to right)
Paul Winrow (3rd), John Mitchell (1st),
Carl Bunce (3rd) |
In the Under 21 class, which runs concurrently
with the main British Championship class but is
scored independently, it was Stefan Murphy who
took the early lead in the series, Murphy taking
a 2-1-1 scorecard and a thirteen point lead from
James Hellewell with a 5—2 result, local
rider David Cowan taking 3rd overall after finishing
3-4-4, with Ben Harman and race one winner David
Wray tied on points for 5th.
The meeting also saw the opening round of the
2010 British Quad Masters Championship for the
more experienced Over 40 riders, and after three
energy sapping eighteen minute plus one-lap heats
it was local racer and former Irish Sidecar Champion
Geoffrey Ingram Snr who took the top step on the
podium with two wins and a 2nd, Geoff Sharp taking
the second step with a superb final moto victory,
Anthony Barrett pipping local rider Michael Boyle
by just one point for the final step with Darren
Bridge rounding out the top five.
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