Clean Sweep For Winrow At British Championship Opener

04.09.2008

(This release posted as submitted by Kieran Quinn of Quinn Photography & Paul Winrow of Honda UK Racing Team)

Race One
Timed qualification was a mixed bag for both riders, Paul posting fastest time and securing first pick of gate while Stefan was badly shaken up after a huge off but still able to post a good enough time to start on the front row. As the gates dropped Paul lead the field around the first corner with Stefan slotting in to 7th and over the opening ten minutes both riders were setting increasingly faster lap times with Stefan challenging for 6th when the race was red flagged. The restart was a repeat performance for Paul, the multi British Champion powering the SCT tuned Honda TRX450R around the left hander closely followed by the GYTR Team Yamaha’s Ricky Tordoff and Leon Beda on the 131 Racing Yamaha YFZ, while Stefan was running 11th at the end of the opening lap. With the excellent handling of the PEP / Lonestar suspension and the tremendous grip of the Goldspeed MX tyres, both riders quickly settled down to a steady race pace, Stefan moving up to 10th on lap two and harassing David Wray on the JMK Honda while Paul was fending off the attention of Tordoff and Beda. Over the next nine laps this would remain the status quo before a slight mistake by Stefan on lap twelve allowed David Cowan through and dropped Stefan back to 11th, but undeterred Stefan bounced back four laps later to pass Cowan and Wray on the same lap for 9th . At the front of the field Beda had now passed Tordoff and was applying all sorts of pressure to Paul, but using his vast years of experience Paul gradually eaked out a comfortable gap to the young Scot, Paul taking the chequered flag after seventeen gruelling laps for a gate to flag victory while his seventeen year old team-mate crossed the line for an equally inspiring 9th.

Race Two
Another fantastic start saw Paul take his second holeshot of the day and once again head out on the opening lap with Ricky Tordoff in tow, while Stefan had gotten a slightly better start than last time and had settled in to 10th as they completed lap one of the twenty five minute plus two lap race. With Paul battling out front with Tordoff and the pair gradually leaving the rest of the field behind, the combination of extreme dust and a rough surface provided minimal passing opportunities for Stefan, but with his machine working well to smooth out the bumps the Hampton Poyle teenager set about improving on his position. Just two laps in Stefan had moved to 9th after passing Carl Bunce on the Anderson ATV Suzuki, Stefan then temporarily demoted to 10th by Leon Beda before regaining the position on lap six after passing current British Champion John Mitchell on the ATV World Yamaha. The following lap saw Stefan drop to 10th but showing amazing tenacity he re-passed Beda for 9th as the race reached half distance. With a heavy hail shower making the already polished surface extremely slippery, both riders were never the less able to use the fantastic grip of the Goldspeed MX tyres to comfortably fend of any further challenges for the remainder of the race, Paul taking the chequered flag for a second race win and the lead in the series, while Stefan recorded another 9th place finish to sit 7th in the standings.

This has been a fantastic start to the 2008 ACU British MMX Quad Championship campaign for both riders in Winrow Honda UK Racing, Paul dominating the opposition and showing the skills that have helped him to numerous British titles over the years, while Stefan showed that despite his young years he has settled quickly in to the team and is extremely capable at this high level of competition.

Paul Winrow
“ This has been a brilliant start to my 2008 British Championship campaign and I’m really happy to come away from this round with maximum points. This is a tight circuit and I knew from last year that a good start was important, and Steve Clitheroe at SCT has given us a strong motor that has bucket loads of usable power. The Goldspeed MX tyres and Lonestar / PEP suspension set up gave amazing traction even when the surface got really slick in the last moto. I wouldn’t say it’s been my easiest win as it was close racing, but I just settled down and rode intelligently to make sure I made no silly mistakes and it was enough in the end. I’m also really pleased at Stefan’s result, he had a nasty off in practice that shook him up a bit but he just got down to business and did an awesome job. ”

Stefan Murphy
“ Apart from my little excursion during practice it’s been a really good day and a great start to the season for the team. Paul and everyone at Winrow Honda UK Racing have done a great job getting the bikes ready and the bike handled perfectly all day with just some minor adjustments to the set-up to suit the track conditions. I knew that it would be difficult to pass on the circuit so I concentrated on getting the best possible start and just pressurized anyone in front into making mistakes and made the most of any opportunities that arose. The hailstones in the last race made for interesting racing but the Goldspeed MX tyres were up to the job and I was able to maintain my pace to the end. I’m currently only ten points adrift of 3rd place in the series so I’m looking forward to closing that deficit at the next round in Desertmartin on the 26th of April. ”

Results

Race One
Winner – Paul Winrow; 2nd – Leon Beda; 3rd – Ricky Tordoff; 4th – William Waggott; 5th – Simon Hammersley…9th – Stefan Murphy

Race Two
Winner – Paul Winrow; 2nd – Ricky Tordoff; 3rd – Chris North; 4th – John Mitchell; 5th – Mark Watson…9th – Stefan Murphy

Championship Standings (after 1 of 8 rounds)
1st – Paul Winrow 50; 2nd – Ricky Tordoff 42; 3rd – Chris North 34;
4th – Mark Watson 31; 5th – Simon Hammersley 29…7th – Stefan Murphy 24

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