Goldspeed ACU British Quad Championship April 17th 2011
Words and Photography by Alistair Plant
This weekend witnessed the opening round of the 2011 Goldspeed ACU British QX Championship and an outstanding double win for Stornoway based John Mitchell. Organised by Nora-MX and sponsored by Goldspeed and Wilcock Holeformers , riders and spectators alike enjoyed an electrifying atmosphere, blue skies and sunshine at the world famous Silverstone venue.
All riders were determined to get a good starting position, some with the advantage of having previously raced at the venue. One rider new to the track was Mark Watson, who quickly got to grips with it, achieving a superb final qualifying lap of 1:36.838. He was closely followed by John Mitchell with a time of 1:37.125. Riders Giles Davies, Stefan Murphy and David Wray followed and headed up the top five qualifiers ahead of two 25 minute races plus 2 laps.
In Race One, Yamaha’s John Mitchell got the holeshot with Paul Winrow right alongside, closely followed out of the first corner by Johnathan Kelly and James Hellewell. Next, an unexpected and very uncharacteristic crash for Winrow, which not only damaged his quad but left him on the floor and having to pit. Mark Watson, battling from an eighth place starting position, tussled his way up through the pack to secure second place, overtaking rider James Hellewell, who was having an excellent race having just overtaken Johnathan Kelly for third place.
There were some tough battles for position and some excellent examples of riding expertise as riders fought to gain and secure their positions at the fast Silverstone mx track. With a comfortable 25 second lead, Mitchell took the first win of the championship and looked confident throughout the race. Mark Watson took an impressive second, despite problems with his throttle, followed by James Hellewell taking the final podium position. A solid display from Justin Reid ensured fourth and some great riding placed Carl Bunce fifth.
First placed rider John Mitchell said after the race: “I got out of the gate well, got my head down and pulled a gap. I kept my eye out for Watson, then we came across the backmarkers and he fell back. Silverstone is a technical track with a few nasty bumps that try to catch you out. But I’ve come through and taken first so I’m pleased with that.”
Speaking after his battle to secure second place in the first race Mark Watson said: “I got a bad gate, made a few passes and lost a few. I didn’t feel comfortable on the bike so we’ll be making some changes before race two and aiming for a better one.”
After taking third position on the podium James Hellewell commented: “Fourth into the first corner, I felt really good. When Paul came off it played on my mind, you don’t like to see that. This finish has boosted my confidence and I’m hoping for another good race.”
Race two got underway after the starting straight was watered to reduce dust. Going into the first corner, it was John Mitchell who grabbed the holeshot with Justin Reid’s Can-am alongside. They were chased by Hellewell and Wray. As the remaining riders approached, the freshly sprayed water resulted in a mud frenzy! As Mitchell pulled away, there was still plenty of action to be seen - most notably a frustrated Mark Watson having to pull up as Carl Bunce improved on his first race position to take second place, just ahead of David Wray, who also put in a strong performance to take third.
Hellewell was clearly delighted as he marked his intentions for the championship with fourth, while Justin Reid had a consistent round, taking fifth place. Paul Winrow salvaged some points after his nasty crash in race one, taking sixth in the second race. The 11-time champion said afterwards: “I’m disappointed, a bit battered and bruised but I got some points on the board, it’s a long season and we’ll see what happens.”
Overall, it was John Mitchell claiming maximum points, followed by Carl Bunce and James Hellewell who were joint on points so Carl took second thanks to a faster lap time in race two. James Hellewell also took the under 21 class result ahead of Stef Murphy and Cian Rogers.
The next generation of quad racing stars were out in force with some fast and frenzied action. In the 50cc standard class it was Jonty Wright who took maximum points ahead of Ewan Wilams and Alfie Joe Walker while George Oliver got the perfect start ahead of Shelley Smart and Bobby Carmicheal in the 50cc modified. Luke Penrose took first ahead of Harry Ruby in the standard 100cc class with James Rawlins only seven points behind. In the modified 100cc class it was Connor Fitzgerald who was unbeatable followed by Dafydd Davies and Ayrton Knowles. A solid performance by Bailey Edwards earned him the overall win in the 100cc geared class, just in front of Harry Carmichael and Connor Reece-Paxton.
In the 250cc stock, Anna Dawson led ahead of Joe Sharp and Kieran Heath while Scott Wilson took the top spot in front of Leon Patmore and Tommy Pittaway who finished with 38 points each. In the 250cc Open, Alexander Thompson took maximum points from Leon Rogers and Scott Pounder. The 250cc modified saw Jamie Morgan take first ahead of Frazer McFadden with Harry Miller just seven points behind.
In the Adult support there was some fantastic action as the riders jostled for a good start to their season. It was Jody Whitmore who took the overall win with a first and second place finish ahead of Scott Linley and Josh Wearing.
With such a technical track, the masters of the sport (over 35’s), were left to show off their skills in some exciting race action that saw Irishman Paul McConway ahead of Geoff Sharp, closely followed by Darren Bridge just five points behind.
The next round of the championship will be at Duns on the 12th June and will be organised by Quad Racing Scotland. For more details, please visit http://www.acuquadracing.co.uk
RESULTS:
British championship: 1 John Mitchell (Yamaha) 25 + 25 = 50, 2 Carl Bunce
(Suzuki) 16 + 22 = 38, 3 James Hellewell (KTM) 20 + 18 = 38, 4 Justin Reid (Can-
Am) 18 + 16 = 34, 5 David Wray (Honda) 13 + 20 = 33, 6 Giles Davies (Honda) 15 +
14 = 29.
British U21 Championship: 1 James Hellewell (KTM) 25 + 25 = 50, 2 Stefan
Murphy (Honda) 22 + 22 = 44, 3 Cian Rogers (Kawasaki) 18 + 20 = 38, 4 Connor
Smith (KTM) 20 + 16 = 36, 5 Sam Bryan (Honda) 13 + 14 = 27, 6 David Cowan
(Yamaha) 7 + 18 = 25.
Masters (+35): 1 Paul McConway (Honda) 20 + 25 = 45, 2 Geoff Sharp (Honda) 25
+ 20 = 45, 3 Darran Bridge (Yamaha) 18 + 22 = 40, 4 Matthew James (Yamaha) 16 +
18 = 34, 5 Stephen Bean (Suzuki) 15 + 16 = 31, 6 Antony Barrett (Suzuki) 12 + 15 =
27.
Support: 1 Jody Whitmore (KTM) 25 + 22 = 47, 2 Scott Linley (Suzuki) 20 + 25 =
45, 3 Joshua Waring (Yamaha) 22 + 20 = 42, 4 Aaron Pole (Honda) 13 + 18 = 31, 5
Bradley John (Honda) 14 + 15 = 29, 6 Tom Charlesworth (Honda) 15 + 14 = 29.
250cc Open: 1 Alexander Thompson (Honda) 25 + 25 = 50, 2 Leon Rogers
(Kawasaki) 22 + 22 = 44, 3 Scott Pounder (Honda) 20 + 20 = 40, 4 Mark Hill
(Honda) 15 + 18 = 33, 5 James Swinbank (Honda) 18 + 15 = 33, 6 Harry Johnson
(Suzuki) 16 + 16 = 32.
250cc Modified: 1 Jamie Morgan (Yamaha) 22 + 25 = 47, 2 Frazer McFadden 25 +
22 = 47, 3 Harry Miller (Yamaha) 20 + 20 = 40, 4 Elliot Downes (Yamaha) 18 + 18 =
26, 5 Adam James (Yamaha) 16 + 16 = 32, 6 Josh Coombes 14 + 15 = 29.
250cc Standard: 1 Scott Wilson (Yamaha) 25 + 20 = 45, 2 Leon Patmore (Yamaha)
20 + 18 = 38, 3 Tommy Pitttaway (Yamaha) 22 + 16 = 38, 4 Brad Swinbank
(Yamaha) 12 + 25 = 37, 5 Luke Davies (Yamaha) 14 + 22 = 36, 6 Jack Naylor
(Yamaha) 18 + 15 = 33.
250cc Stock: 1 Anna Dawson (Yamaha) 25 + 25 = 50, 2 Joe Sharp (Yamaha) 22 + 22
= 44, 3 Kieran Heath (Yamaha) 20 + 20 = 40. No other finishers.
100cc Modified: 1 Connor Fitzgerald (Apache) 25 + 25 = 50, 2 Dafydd Davies
(Apache) 22 + 22 = 44, 3 Ayrton Knowles (Cobra) 20 + 15 = 35, 4 Thomas Chell
(Pro Shark) 16 + 18 = 34, 5 Abbie Pittaway (Cobra) 18 + 16 = 34, 6 Jack Dear
(Apache) 15 + 14 = 29.
100cc Geared: 1 Bailey Edwards (Honda) 25 + 22 = 47, 2 Harry Carmichael
(Suzuki) 22 + 20 = 42, 3 Connor Reece Paxton (KTM) 18 + 18 = 36, 4 Ryan Spratt-
Wyatt (Cobra) 20 + 16 = 36, 5 Jacob Atkinson (Pitster Pro) 16 + 15 = 31, 6 Laughton
Spooner (Honda) 15 + 14 = 29.
100cc Standard: 1 Luke Penrose (Pro Shark) 22 + 25 = 47, 2 Harry Ruby (Pro
Shark) 25 + 22 = 47, 3 James Rawlins (Pro Shark) 20 + 20 = 40, 4 Bradley Lightfoot
(Pro Shark) 18 + 18 = 36, 5 Josh Birch (Apache) 16 + 16 = 32, 6 Vassna Willcock
(Apache) 13 + 15 = 28.
50cc Modified: 1 George Oliver (Cobra) 25 + 25 = 50, 2 Shelley Smart (Pro-Shark)
20 + 20 = 40, 3 Bobby Carmichael (Cobra) 22 + 16 = 38, 4 Marcus Sprason (Pro
Shark) 18 + 18 = 36, 5 Dylan McKenna (Cobra) 0 + 22 = 22.
50cc Standard: 1 Jonty Wright (??) 25 + 25 = 50, 2 Ewan Wilams (Apache) 18 + 22
= 40, 3 Alfie Joe Walker (Lawn Flight) 20 + 20 = 40, 4 Joshua Talent (Apache) 22 +
15 = 37, 5 Brad Hopps (Lawn Flight) 16 + 18 = 34, 6 Woody Jackson (??) 15 + 16 =
31.