April 29, 2008
Cookstown and District Motor Cycle Clubs fantastic Grand Prix circuit at Porters Pit near Desertmartin provided the venue for the second round of the 2008 ACU British MMX Championships on Saturday the 26th of April, the Winrow Honda UK Racing team of Paul Winrow and Stefan Murphy travelling across the Irish Sea to battle with their fellow competitors on one of the most technical circuits of the series. After a successful opening round the team-mates had high expectations for good results at the spectacular venue, and as they washed away the Desert sand and packed their bikes away after a gruelling days racing, their expectations had almost been fulfilled, Paul taking the overall with a 1-2 scorecard and extending his lead in the Championship, while Stefan had the joy at a fantastic 4th place opening race finish slightly diluted when mechanical gremlins forced him to retire near the end of the closing moto.
Overnight rain and early morning showers quickly dissipated and glorious sunshine greeted the riders as they set out for timed practice, Paul using his extensive knowledge of the circuit to post fastest time by nearly one and a half seconds, while Stefan secured a good pick of gate with an equally impressive 9th fastest. As the gates dropped for the start of the opening moto, Paul got a fantastic start and the SCT tuned motor in the Winrow Honda UK Racing TRX450R powered Paul around the first corner almost two bike lengths with the KIK Honda of Wayne Tyson in tow. With the Lonestar / PEP suspension working overtime to soak up the bumps on the demanding Desertmartin circuit, Paul quickly settled in to a blistering race pace during the opening laps of the moto, setting lap times almost four seconds faster than his nearest rivals while opening up a healthy ten second advantage. As the race progressed Paul settled in to a comfortable pace that would maintain his advantage over the rest of the field, and as the flag came out at the end of the twenty-five minute plus two lap moto, Paul had pegged the gap to eight seconds over Tyson and crossed the line for yet another dominating gate to flag victory.
Not to be outdone by his more experienced teammate, Stefan was involved in an epic battle of his own. After heading out on the opening lap in 11th, Stefan made a small mistake on the next lap allowing the J B Homes Yamaha of Michael McAneney to slip through temporarily before Stefan regained the position on the next lap. Over the next four laps Stefan picked off Ricky Toye on the Yamaha YFZ, Mark Watson on the Anderson ATV Suzuki and Johnny Kelly on the Eglinton Timber Products Honda to move up to 8th and began to close the gap to the battling duo ahead, Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha rider Ricky Tordoff and Leon Beda on the 131 Racing Yamaha. With the Goldspeed tyres giving fantastic grip in the loose surface, Stefan passed Beda as the race entered the second half and was involved in a four-way battle with Tordoff and the hard charging Hammersley brothers on their Lamos Yamahas. Simon was the first of the two brothers to see the rear of the number 72 Winrow Honda UK Racing TRX450R on lap 10, with David and Tordoff relegated just one lap later. Now running in 4th and with just three laps to go, Stefan set off at pace to chase down the 3rd place rider, but time was not on his side and Stefan took the chequered flag after fourteen blistering laps of the one mile circuit for a fantastic 4th place and his highest finish in a British Championship race to date.
Another holeshot for Paul in race two saw him lead the field around the first corner and out on the opening lap with John Mitchell in tow before Mitchell shot past with a somewhat reckless manoeuvre that could have resulted in the two riders colliding on the entry to the arena section of the circuit. With the Honda TRX450 working extremely well in the tough conditions, Paul settled down to a blistering pace and continued to pressure Mitchell over the first third of the moto, but a severely bent rear disc sustained in the opening laps caused Paul to lose the rear brake completely. Showing the experience that has helped him to multi British and International honours and with the overall win and championship lead at stake, Paul settled down to a comfortable pace for the remainder of the moto, crossing the finish line for a fantastic 2nd place finish, taking the overall win on the day and extending his championship lead.
After the joy of the first moto result, Stefan’s second race was to be a frustrating affair. After gating 10th, a couple of slight mistakes on the opening laps while adapting to the changing track dropped Stefan back to 14th. With five laps gone, Stefan had found his rhythm and with the Lonestar / PEP suspension smoothing out the rough surface, Stefan began his ascension up the ranks. Experimenting with new lines and quickly moving up the leaderboard, Stefan had broken in to the top ten and was looking good for a top five finish overall, but unfortunately this was not to be, mechanical gremlins forcing Stefan to retire with just three laps to go, Stefan nevertheless finishing a respectable 11th overall.
“ It’s been another good day at the office and overall I’m really pleased with how it went. I’d like to have won the second race but I couldn’t push as hard as I wanted once I lost my rear brake, so I just concentrated on the overall and extending my lead in the series. This is a very technical and demanding circuit, but the Winrow Honda UK Racing TRX450R worked really well and handled the bumps with ease. I’m looking forward to the next round at Dean Moor on the 18th of May, it’s another challenging circuit that I have done well at in the past.”
“ I’m really happy with my overall performance today, even if the second moto didn’t go according to plan. This is only my second time riding at Desertmartin and it’s a tough track to master, so to finish 4th in the first race was awesome. The bike was fantastic and I was able to set consistent lap times and work my way through the field in both races. The second moto was a bit frustrating as it took me a few laps to get dialled in, but I’m really happy with my pace and fitness and will be focusing on the next round at Dean Moor on the 18th of May.”
Race One
Winner – Paul Winrow;
2nd – Wayne Tyson
3rd – Paul Holmes
4th – Stefan Murphy
5th – Ricky Tordoff
Race Two
Winner – John Mitchell
2nd – Paul Winrow
3rd – Mark Watson
4th – Carl Bunce
5th – Paul Holmes
Championship Standings (after 2 of 8 rounds)
1st – Paul Winrow 97
2nd – Ricky Tordoff 73
3rd – Paul Holmes 54
4th – Mark Watson 51
5th – David Hammersley 50
