Mixed results for ARW Yamaha at BYMX Nationals and World Grand Prix
April 24, 2007
Round two of the BYMX Championship visited Culham in Oxfordshire this past weekend. The ARW Yamaha youth squad was at full strength this weekend, while Glen Phillips was scheduled for the third round of the MX3 World Grand Prix at Spain's Talavera de la Reina track. Hot and dusty conditions made way to slightly cooler weather on Sunday, while weather in Spain was ideal, only marred by thick fog early on Sunday, forcing the cancellation of the morning practice sessions.
The youngest of the youth riders, Josh Chapman, qualified mid-pack in twenty-third in the Junior class, while Peter Wainwright and Aaron Smith both qualified in fifteenth in the 125 Intermediate and 125 Premier classes respectively. Glen Phillips qualified in thirteenth in Spain.
Josh's first race was marred by a crash in the second-last lap. After starting in twenty-third, Josh worked his way to fifteenth and raced a solid race before going down hard and having to start again. Nonetheless, he returned to a twenty-fifth by the last lap. His second race of the day started in the back of the pack after a get-together on the start straight left him on the ground. He worked his way back to thirty-fifth, but crashed again and ended last.
Sunday looked to be an improvement for Josh. But starting in twenty-third turned into a last after a hard crash in the second lap. Josh got back on and pushed hard to return to thirty-first by the checkered flag. His final race of the round was a disaster. After yet another crash on the start straight left him struggling to restart his bike, he was half a lap down when he got going again. He still gritted his teeth and worked tirelessly to keep pace and not lose too much time. Unfortunately he ended two laps down in second last place, but ended tied for thirty-fourth with Mark Carvill and Scott Hall for the round and is twenty-eighth in the championship.
Peter's weekend started off with a crash. A mid-pack start saw him battle in the low teens, and after making a move on Steven Smyth, he went sideways over an uphill jump, high-sided and needed medical attention. After a diagnosis of a light concussion was made, Peter lay down and did not race his second race of the day. The rest did him good and on Sunday morning he was ready to go again. A mid-pack start there turned into a fourteenth early on and a twelfth by mid-race. Only David Games was able to remove him in the closing stages of the race to relegate him to thirteenth.
Peter's last race of the day turned into a very steady and solid performance. A start in the low teens had Peter on the attack, gaining three positions in three laps. Callam Walsh and Gary Percival got past him and pushed him back to sixteenth, but DNFs up ahead returned Peter to fifteenth and then fourteenth again. Peter's DNF and missed race on Saturday meant a low score in twenty-ninth for the round, and he has lost a few places in the championship to end in twenty-second.
Aaron had a bad start to the weekend too. Seventeenth around the first corner, he attacked the opponents ahead of him and soon found himself in tenth. However a crash in the second lap left him in the rear of the pack, and after a second crash made it impossible for him to continue, he had to pull in just after the halfway point. His delayed second race, which was held on Sunday morning, was an improvement on the situation. Sixth around the first corner, he moved to fourth soon after, battling with and winning over Josh Waterman. A stall cost him several positions, but a battle with Mel Pocock and hard work returned Aaron to eighth.
His second race of the day also started off with a start around the top ten, but Aaron once again made good progress in the second lap, reeling in three opponents in a single lap. He set his sights on the riders in front and lap by lap made steady progress to end in fourth with the top three just out of reach by the checkered flag. For his final race Aaron came out of the first corner just outside the top ten. He again worked hard and steady to reel in competitors one by one and ended in sixth, fifth less than five seconds ahead of him. Aaron ended the weekend in twelfth and remains in the top five for the championship.
Glen meanwhile had the work cut out for him in Spain. After four laps into his first race, he had to pull out after a crash. His second race looked to be a good race after going around the first corner head to head with Yves Demaria. However, Demaria's crash sent both to the ground, and Glen had to start afresh from the back of the pack to work his way forward again. Nonetheless, Glen ended in fourteenth in the end, having worked tirelessly for more and more positions. Glen's second race results rescued his weekend, ending in eighteenth overall for the Grand Prix.
Rob Wainwright, team owner, did not look too happy at the end of the weekend. Although Glen's performance was his highlight of the day, the multiple crashes and DNFs in the youth team led him to declare that this was an area that definitely needed working on, and that this would be corrected as soon as possible.
The next race for the team will be the CCM British MMX Championship at Blaxhall Pits in Suffolk this coming weekend, while the next round of the BYMX National championship will be held at Brampton in Cumbria on 19/20 May.
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