Tordoff Despair Is Maessen`s Gain At Rudersberg

Tordoff Despair Is Maessen’s Gain At Rudersberg
Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha travelled to Germany at the
weekend for round nine of the 2008 GOLDSPEED EMX
European Quad Championship, MSC Wieslauftal promoting
the penultimate round of the series, in conjunction with the
final round of the 2008 World Sidecar-cross Championship, at
the fantastic Rudersberg circuit twenty miles North-East of
Stuttgart. Travelling from their bases in Holland and England,
team-mates Joe Maessen and Ricky Tordoff made the journey
to the Baden-Wuttenberg state hoping to deliver a good result
for team mentor Richard Cole, and as the team packed up after
a hectic weekends race action both riders had put in a fantastic
performance, Ricky cruelly robbed of overall victory and a
team one-two while comfortably leading the final moto with
ten minutes remaining, Joe’s superb 2nd in moto two giving
him the overall win and helping to ease Ricky’s obvious
disappointment.
“Joe Maessen (centre) took the overall win at Rudersberg”
Race One
A wet and sticky Rudersberg circuit greeted the riders for Saturdays two free practice and one
timed qualification session, Ricky putting his prior knowledge of the circuit to good use to post 3rd
fastest time, Joe struggling slightly on his maiden outing at the venue but still able to qualify 9th
and secure an all important front row start. Sunshine and clear blue skies were the order of the day
as the riders lined up for the first of two thirty-minute plus two lap motos. As the gates dropped
and the field blasted up the start straight and around the first corner, Ricky got fantastic drive off
the line and took the holeshot to lead the field out on the opening lap, Joe getting caught on the line
and rounding the first corner in 10th. With the Goldspeed MX-F and MX-R tyres giving superb
traction around the constantly drying surface, Ricky and Joe used the excellent handling of the
Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha YFZ450’s to settle in to a furious pace in the opening half of the race,
Joe moving up to 7th and bringing up the rear in a four-way freight train battle for 4th while Ricky
was highly visible out front in his striking pink Fox gear as he fended of the challenges of Romain
Couprie. With less than ten minutes remaining both riders were maintaining their relentless pace,
Joe moving past Ingo Ten Vregelaar for 6th while Ricky was beginning to pull a gap to Couprie,
but tiny mistakes by both riders in the closing stages saw them drop a position, Ricky taking the
chequered flag after thirty-five furious minutes for a tremendous 2nd, Joe crossing the finish line in
a superb 7th with less than a one second gap to 4th.
“ Ricky Tordoff’s striking FOX gear was easily spotted as he lead both motos”
Race Two
The spectacular low-end power delivery from the all new Leo Vince exhaust saw Joe and Ricky
bolt out of the gate at the start of race two, Joe now adorned in the lucky pink FOX gear and
leading his team-mate and the chasing pack in to the first corner before Ricky swept around the
outside to leave the pair formation flying at the head of the field on the opening lap. With the
drying circuit now extremely rutted after the previous sidecar races, both riders used the excellent
handling of their Yamaha YFZ to tame the demanding circuit in the opening stages, Ricky
gradually easing away at the front while Joe struggled initially to find his rhythm and dropped
back to 6th. Increasing their tempo as the circuit came to them, Ricky had opened up a fifteen
second lead at the half-way point while Joe had moved past Romain Couprie and Davy Brems for
4th and was now involved in a three way battle for 2nd with Jan Vlaeymans and Stefan Schreiber.
Moving past Vlaeymans for 3rd with ten minutes to go, and with Ricky having a comfortable
twenty second cushion at the front, the Filtec team-mates were well placed to take their first
European overall win of the year and the top two steps on the podium when lady luck dealt a
deadly blow, one of the many sharp edged rocks exposed in the deep ruts puncturing Ricky’s tyre.
With the Douglas bead-lock holding the deflating tyre in place, Ricky tried valiantly for the
remainder of the race to fend of the challenges of the ensuing pack, but in another cruel twist of
fate Ricky’s chain was dislodged by yet another rock and jammed solid at the front chain guard,
Ricky unable to take any further part in the race but having completed enough laps to be awarded
15th place and a respectable 9th overall. Now circulating in 2nd, Joe applied tremendous pressure on
Schreiber for position in the closing laps, but with the circuit one-lined in many places
making passing difficult, Joe was forced to settle for 2nd place by less than a second at the
chequered flag, Joe taking a fantastic overall win and the top step on the podium.
Overall this has been a good result for the team, team mentor Richard Cole’s obvious
disappointment that Ricky did not get the result that he truly deserved after fantastic performances
in both motos eased somewhat by Joe taking the teams first overall win in the series. The team
have proved that their overall package is extremely competitive at this level of racing, the potency
of the Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha YFZ450 also shown by the result of satellite rider Tobias Lenz.
Working out of the Filtec awning and riding one of the Pro-Prep prepared bikes from Pont De
Vaux, Tobias has quickly adapted to the Yamaha YFZ450 and put in a superb performance to post
two 8th place finishes and 10th overall on the day, Tobias comfortably retaining 4th place in the
series with one round to go. After the race the young German commented, “ after the Estonian
round I was left in the unfortunate situation that I no longer had a bike to ride for the last three
rounds of the European Championship. Richard was aware of the situation and at Pont De Vaux
kindly offered me the loan of one of the Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha bikes that he and Ian from
Pro-Prep had built for Pont De Vaux. I’m working out of their awning at the races but I still have
to supply all my own kit and do all the work to the bike between meetings. It’s taking me a little
while getting used to the bike and getting it set up the way I want it, but it’s a fantastic bike and I
get more used to it each time I ride. I’m really happy with my result today and am looking forward
to the last round in France on the 28th of September where I’ll be focused on maintaining my 4th
place in the series. “
Joe Maessen
“ I’m really happy with taking the overall win today, but I really feel for Ricky as he deserved to
win after the way he rode in both races and it would have been nice to come away with the team on
the top two steps. I’ve never raced here before and I struggled a bit to get in to the track during
practice and in the first moto, but once I settled down I was able to push hard and had good battles
in both races. It can be difficult to pass here, especially when the track gets really cut up, but the
bike worked really well and I was able to move through the field for a better finish. I’m really
looking forward to the final round in France at the end of the month, I’ve never raced there before
but have heard about the circuit and feel confident that the Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha YFZ450
can once again deliver a winning result.”
Ricky Tordoff
“ I’m obviously a little disappointed at the way things panned out in the last race but I’m still really
happy with the way I’ve ridden and it’s been a positive weekend overall. I really enjoyed the
circuit, it’s got lots of jumps and is quite technical so it suits my style of riding. We’ve got a new
Leo Vince exhaust which gives bucket loads of low-end power so I got really good drive off the
line and took the holeshot in the first race. I comfortably led until about twenty minutes when I
made a small mistake and let Romain through. I was able to close the gap again but just ran out of
time to make a pass. In the last race Joe got a better jump than me, but I was able to move around
the outside and once I got out in front I just set a steady pace and pulled away. With a twenty
second lead with ten minutes to go I thought I had it in the bag, but that’s racing for you. We
haven’t had a puncture all year, but the ruts that the sidecars made exposed some really sharp rocks
and I must have clipped one. I was able to ride with the flat thanks to the Douglas beadlocks, but
the chain came off and jammed near the front guard and I couldn’t get it released. I’m really
happy with my speed and the way the bike is working, and will now concentrate on the last round
of the British Championship this weekend in Oxford where I’ll be aiming to move up to 2nd place.”
Results
Race One
Winner – Romain Couprie; 2 – Ricky Tordoff; 3rd – Davy Brems; 4th – Paul Holmes; 5th – Jan
Vlaeymans…7th – Joe Maessen
nd
Race Two
Winner – Stefan Schreiber; 2 – Joe Maessen; 3rd – Jan Vlaeymans; 4th – Paul Holmes; 5th –
Maximillian Freund …15th – Ricky Tordoff
nd
Overall
1 – Joe Maessen, 2 – Jan Vlaeymans, 3rd – Paul Holmes…9th – Ricky Tordoff
st
nd