Anderson ATV Suzuki Still In Contention At Challenging Dean Moor West Cumbria MXC promoted the 3rd round of the 2008 ACU British MMX Quad Championship on Sunday the 18th of May, Anderson ATV Suzuki team-mates Carl Bunce and Mark Watson making the trip to the picturesque Dean Moor Motocross Circuit near Whitehaven on the Northern boundary of the Lake District. Having shown the true potential of the Anderson ATV Suzuki LTR450 machines three weeks earlier at Desertmartin, both riders were keen to deliver a repeat performance on the fast but demanding Dean Moor circuit, and as the dust settled after a hectic days racing actio both Carl and Mark had put in fantastic performances in spite of some difficulties in both
motos, Carl moving up two places in the series while Mark remains in contention for 3rd place after a fantastic closing moto 4th. Race One
Despite a difficult qualifying session, Carl having to switch to his spare bike in near standard trim due to a fuel problem while Mark struggled slightly with suspension set up and suffered from severe arm pump, Carl still managed to secure a front row start while Mark got first pick from the second row. A fantastic start from both riders saw them round the first corner and out on the opening lap inside the top ten, but unfortunately this superb start was negated before completion of the first circuit, Carl pushed from behind in one of the many tight corners and getting tangled up with John Mitchell, Mark hitting a huge bump while avoiding a downed Wayne Tyson and taking a spill. Despite having dropped to 25th and 29th while they got underway.
Mark and Carl put the excellent handling of the Walsh / PEP suspension to good use, setting a blistering pace over the first half of the twentyfive minute plus two-lap moto and quickly moving through the field, Mark making up eight places to 17th while Carl was
running two spots behind his team mate having left ten riders in his wake. A slight mistake on lap ten saw Mark drop back slightly and slot in behind Carl, but using the awesome power of the Suzuki LTR 450 motors both riders were able to gain more places in the closing stages of the
race, Carl taking the chequered flag after fourteen furious laps having amazingly made up
fourteen places to finish 15th, while Mark had demoted nine riders to take an equally
impressive 16th.
Race Two
An excellent start in the closing moto saw Mark slot in to 4th with Carl two places behind,
but unfortunately for Mark his heroic effort from the 2nd row suffered a set back just two
corners later, Mark stalling his bike and dropping to 14th as he got underway. Having
adapted quickly to the changing track, Carl moved up to 5th just two laps in and was
pressurising for 4th when his progress was impeded, an intermittent mechanical problem preventing him from riding at full speed.
Riding intelligently to defend his lines and pushing as hard as his bike would allow, Carl tried valiantly over the duration of the race to defend his position before crossing the finish
line after fourteen demanding laps in a fantastic 10th position, 12th overall and moving up to 14th in the championship.
Mark, meanwhile, was having an equally exciting race. With his bike handling beautifully on
the challenging circuit, Mark quickly began scything through the field, making up six
positions to 8th on the opening three laps and moving in to 5th at the halfway point. With
the Maxxis tyres giving superb grip around the circuit, Mark had gradually closed the gap
to the tussling trio of Paul Holmes, Paul Winrow and William Waggott as the two lap
board came out, and using the skills and determination that have helped him to National
and International honours on three wheels, the 22 year old Alston native passed Waggott
on the last lap to finish a fantastic 4th and securing 6th overall on the day. Mark Watson
“ It definitely hasn’t been an easy day and is a bit frustrating when you see the result of the second race. I’ve only ever ridden here on a solo and with some new suspension parts that we hadn’t tried before today I struggled with set up in practice and got really bad arm pump. We made a few changes before the first race and the bike was working really well, but I had to move of line to avoid hitting Wayne Tyson and hit a really big bump which chucked me over the bars. It’s not the easiest circuit to pass on so it was still a positive result to finish 16th. In the second race I
stalled in the third corner after a blinding start and dropped back a bit, but Paul and the
guys had the bike dialled in perfectly and I was able to quickly work my way up to 4th.
I’m still adapting to riding a quad and I’ve discovered that set up is really critical, but
now that we’ve ridden tracks that are similar to the circuits we’ve still to visit we will
have a good base setting to start with. It’s disappointing to have dropped to 6th in the
Championship, but I’m only six points behind 3rd with five rounds remaining so I’ll be
aiming to make up ground at Hawkstone Park at the end of June."
Results
Race One
Winner – Paul Winrow; 2nd – William Waggott; 3rd – Leon Beda; 4th – Ricky Tordoff;
5th – David Hammersley…15th – Carl Bunce; 16th – Mark Watson
Race Two
Winner – Leon Beda; 2nd – Paul Holmes; 3rd – Paul Winrow; 4th – Mark Watson;
5th – William Waggott…10th – Carl Bunce
Championship Standings (after 3 of 8 rounds)
1st – Paul Winrow 142; 2nd – Ricky Tordoff 104; 3rd – David Hammersley 80; 4th – Paul
Holmes 76; 5th – Leon Beda 75; 6th – Mark Watson 74…14th – Carl Bunce 45
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