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Jason Macbeth and the dedicated Proppa.com Four Tech ATV Racing crew travelled
to
the challenging Dutch Circuit De Vennebulten at the weekend, the VAMAC club
promoting round two of the 2009 GOLDSPEED EMX European Quad Championship at
their deep sand circuit near Varsseveld. With constantly improving results
in the British
Championship taking him to 3rd in the series and a genuine challenger for honours,
Jason
made the eight hundred mile round trip keen to get his European campaign off
to a good
start, and at the end of a tough days racing in the deep loose sand Jason had
put together
an outstanding 6-4-3 scorecard to take 4th overall, Jason’s final moto
effort to grab a
podium finish on the last lap a certain contender for most outstanding ride
of the day.
Situated just twenty-five miles to the East of Arnhem in the Gelderland region
of the
Netherlands, the spectacular circuit provided a challenging layout incorporating
a heavily
wooded area for much of its 1,2 mile length. Using the two free and the all
important
qualification session on Saturday to get a feel for the circuit and it’s
ever changing
surface, Jason quickly got up to speed and was never placed below 4th in any
of the three
sessions, the Lonestar / PEP suspension working beautifully in the rough conditions
with
Jason heading his group in the second free practice session and posting 2nd
fastest
qualifying time in his group.
As race day dawned the overnight rain had had
little effect and the circuit was in prime
condition for the first of three twenty minute plus two-lap motos. A poor start
by his
standards in the opening moto saw Jason gate just inside the top ten as the
field charged
out on the first of twelve laps. Gradually increasing his pace as he adapted
to the circuit
in the opening laps, Jason moved up through the field and by the end of lap
two had
moved up to 6th, Jason battling hard to the chequered flag and comfortably
maintaining
his position.
Rounding the first corner inside the top ten for the start of
the second moto, Jason once
again moved quickly through the pack in the early stages, breaking the timing
beam for
the first time in 6th. With the days racing having already taken it’s
toll and some deeply
rutted areas in the wooded sections, Jason’s progress suffered with a
bad run on back
markers as the race approached the halfway point, Jason dropping back to 8th
with six
laps to go. Increasing his tempo and with the track coming to him, Jason began
to push
his way back through the field, and quickly caught the trio battling for position
in front,
Jason moving up to 6th on lap seven and gaining another two positions over
the remainder
of the moto to finish a rewarding 4th.
As the gates dropped for the final moto
of the day, Jason got fantastic drive off the line
and rounded the first corner in 3rd as they charged towards the woods for the
first of ten
laps, only to see his blistering start negated on the 3rd corner with the two
riders in front
getting stuck in the deep ruts and Jason unable to avoid them. Working furiously
as he
fought to untangle his bike, Jason quickly got underway but had dropped back
to 19th as a
result, but setting off at a blistering pace despite the circuit at it’s
roughest began to
scythe through the field, making up two places on the opening lap before taking
another
seven positions on the following lap to have moved from 19th to 10th in less
than two laps!
Continuing to set a relentless pace and with his bike handling perfectly in
the demanding
conditions, Jason continued his ascension through the ranks and by half distance
had
moved up to 6th, Jason’s amazing performance keeping in excess of five-thousand
spectators on their toes as he moved up to 3rd halfway around the final lap,
charging to the
chequered flag for a fantastic final moto podium having made up sixteen places
in ten
laps!
It’s been a good day overall and I’m pleased with the way
I was able to work my way
through the field and take a podium in the final race. I think I had the perfect
bike set-up
for the conditions, I love riding sand circuits but we don’t have any
tracks at home that
get as deeply rutted as this, so to be on the pace from the start was really
good. I didn’t
get the best of starts in the first two motos, and with tram lines in many
places it was
difficult to pass, but I still managed to get back through for a decent finish.
The last race
I got a brilliant start but got caught up in
the opening lap and had a lot of work to
do. Once I settled down my bike just
glided through the rougher areas and
allowed me to really attack the circuit. It
was a lot of fun to ride and great to finish
on the podium, but I can’t help feeling a
little annoyed as I know my pace was good
enough for the top step. I only missed out
on 3rd overall by three points and have tied
on points for 7th in the series despite
missing the first round, so I’m looking
forward to the next meeting in Denmark at
the end of July, where I’ll be aiming to get
more silverware for Proppa.com Four Tech
ATV Racing.
Overall Results
Winner – Paul Holmes 69; 2nd – Paul Winrow 60; 3rd – Joe
Maessen 56; 4th –Jason Macbeth 53; 5th – Stefan Schreiber 50
Championship
Standings (after 2 of 6 rounds)
1st – Paul Holmes 144, 2nd – Stefan
Schreiber 110, 3rd – Joe
Maessen 96, 4th – Ingo Ten Vregelaar 78, 5th – Matthieu Ternynck
7… 8th – Jason Macbeth
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