Desertmartin Delight For Anderson ATV Suzuki


Saturday the 26th of April saw the Anderson ATV Suzuki Team travel across the Irish Sea
for the second round of the 2008 ACU British MMX Quad Championship, the fantastic
Grand Prix circuit at Desertmartin the venue for some spectacular racing throughout the
day. After a mixed bag of fortunes from the opening round for team mates Carl Bunce
and Mark Watson, both riders were keen to put on a good display around the challenging
Porter’s Pit circuit, and as the team packed up for the homeward journey after a frantic
days racing, the smile on team manager Paul Anderson’s face was plain for all to see,
Mark and Carl bringing the Anderson ATV Suzuki LTR450’s home for 3rd and 4th in the
second moto, Carl taking a superb 5th overall while Mark’s 10th overall was enough to
hold on to 4th in the Championship standings with 3rd position within his grasp.

Race One

The opening race saw both riders with mixed fortunes. Having never ridden a quad in sand before and having never been to Desertmartin, Mark still posted a lap time good enough for a front row start in 14th, while team mate Carl struggled to get in a flying lap and was forced to start from the second row in 22nd. Eager to prove that the opening round result was not just a flash in the pan, Mark got tremendous drive off the line and headed out on the opening lap in 6th place before moving up to 5th on the second circuit. Embroiled in a five way tussle for 2nd place, a slight mistake two laps later dropped him back to 6th but still well in touch with the lead group, but unfortunately for Mark this promising start was negated with the onset of severe arm-pump, Mark forced to ease of the pace as he struggled in the rough conditions and unable to fend of the ensuing riders to finish just outside the points in 21st. Carl, however, was on a mission. Completing the first lap in 21st place,Carl quickly put the
excellent handling of the Walsh / PEP suspension to good use and started to scythe his
way through the field, making up eight places for 13th in the first half of the twenty-five
minute plus one lap moto. With the Maxxis tyres giving tremendous grip in the loose
“Desert” sand, Carl was able to maintain his amazing advance up the leader board as the
race progressed, the 22 year old from Reading taking the chequered flag after fourteen
laps for a fantastic 11th position.

Race Two

With a few minor tweaks to the suspension set up in the interval to the second and final race of the day, both riders got good drive off the line, Mark slotting in to 7th while Carl had rocketed to 14th. Over the next couple of laps the two riders set a blistering pace and quickly moved up the leader board, Mark’s pace taking him up three places to 4th, while Carl had completely blitzed the opposition and had slotted in to 5th, an amazing nine place advance in only three laps! As the race approached the half way point, both Mark and Carl had moved up another spot for 3rd and 4th respectively, and continuing to maintain a steady rhythm for the remainder of the race, Mark took the chequered flag after fourteen gruelling laps of the one mile Porters Pit circuit for a superb 3rd place and maintaining his 4th place in the Championship, while Carl had bounced back to true form with an awe inspiring ride, Carl finishing the race in 4th and taking 5th overall on the day.


Mark Watson
“ I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I’m really disappointed about the result in the first race. I got really bad arm pump after four or five laps and it was all I could do to hold on. I’ve never ridden this track or this type of sandy
surface on a quad before and I’m still learning about bike set up, and Desertmartin is the typeof circuit where set up is critical. We changed
the tyres between races and made a few smallchanges to the settings on the suspension and steering damper and it made an unbelievable difference in the second race. I’m really happy with the second moto result
and it’s good to show that the result from the first round wasn’t just a flash in the pan and that my pace and fitness is good.”

Results
Race One
Winner – Paul Winrow; 2nd – Wayne Tyson; 3rd – Paul Holmes; 4th – Stefan Murphy;
5th – Ricky Tordoff…11th – Carl Bunce…21st – Mark Watson

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…16th – Carl Bunce 28