Race one

Despite the circuit being run in the opposite direction from previous years, Joe and
Leon quickly adapted to the changes during timed practice and put in some blistering laps
to finish 4th and 7th fastest respectively. As the gates dropped and the riders blasted
off the concrete start and around the sweeping right hand bend towards the tight left hander,
neither rider got the best of starts, Joe heading out on the first lap in 8th place while Leon
had dropped back to 18th. As they made their way around to start the second lap, however,
both riders were putting the excellent handling of the Lonestar / Ohlins suspension combination
on the Mercuria GYTR Yamaha YFZ450 machines to good use, and had started to make their way
through the pack, Joe making up four places to come across the line in 4th, while Leon had moved
up two places and was running in 16th. As half distance approached both riders had settled in
to a fast pace and had maintained their positions, Joe pulling away from former British and Ulster
Champion Ricky Toye and starting to close the gap to multi British Champion Paul Winrow, while Leon
was hot on the heels of Carl Bunce. As they crossed the line for the start of lap seven, however,
lady luck dealt a nasty blow and Leon's bike started to loose power and cut out. After struggling
around three quarters of the track to get back to the work area, a blocked fuel breather pipe was quickly
rectified and Leon rejoined the pack in 32nd position with six laps to go. As the chequered flag came out
at the end of lap fourteen, Joe had comfortably maintained his position to finish 4th, almost ten seconds
ahead of Willy Waggott on the KIK Honda, while Leon had pushed hard and had made up three places
to finish 29th.

Race two

The second race saw the Mercuria GYTR Yamaha team mates get off to a better start than in the first
moto, Joe rounding the first corner in 3rd position and Leon heading out on his first lap in 6th. With
the circuit now cutting up extremely rough and proving difficult to pass on, both riders settled in to
their own pace and set about closing in on the riders ahead, but lady luck was again to desert the young
Scot. Leon was pressing hard to make up for lost points in the first moto, and had moved up to 5th on
lap three at the hands of Ricky Tordoff on the Anderson ATV Suzuki, when a bent rear brake disc started
to slow his machine. With over three quarters of the race still to run, and no way to fix the problem,
Leon dug deep and was on a mission to salvage as many points as possible. Showing gutsy determination
and experience above his years, Leon set about the task at hand, holding off the challenges as best he
could on his slowing machine, and even passing Michael McAneney on the JB Homes Yamaha on lap eight to
move up a place. As the chequered flag came out to greet the riders at the end of another fourteen
gruelling laps, Joe had ridden a steady race to pull out a twenty second gap ahead of Waggott to finish in
3rd, securing 3rd overall and maintaining his lead in the championship, while Leon had done a fantastic job
of damage limitation, crossing the line in 11th place to take 16th overall and sitting in 11th
in the championship.

Overall this has been a good result for the Mercuria GYTR Yamaha Team Racing squad despite
the gremlins that struck Leon during the day. Joe continues to lead the 2007 CCM British MMX Championship
after putting in another fantastic performance despite the difficult track conditions causing immense
pain in his healing wrist. Despite Leon's problems in both races, he showed good speed and is currently
only one point behind 10th in the championship, with only 25 points to 5th and a further 25 points to
his team-mate at the top. With four weeks to the next round in Frome on the 28th of May, both riders
can look forward in the knowledge that they have the speed and machinery to bring success at this
level of racing.

Joe Maessen

Overall I am happy with the result I came away with today. Richard and the team once again did
a fantastic job of preparing the bikes, and the Lonestar / Ohlins suspension worked really well
around the circuit. The track was more demanding than in the previous years I have raced here,
and with my wrist not fully healed yet I found it really difficult to settle in to a good rhythm
and push as hard as I know I can. The most important thing is that I am still leading the
championship, and with a month to the next round I know my wrist will have healed more and I will
be able to push harder.

Met dank aan: www.coleatv.co.uk