Racing race report - Schuurman B.V.

Tordoff Despair Is Maessen’s Gain At RudersbergFiltec GYTR Team Yamaha travelled to Germany at theweekend for round nine of the 2008 GOLDSPEED EMXEuropean Quad Championship, MSC Wieslauftal promotingthe penultimate round of the series, in conjunction with thefinal round of the 2008 World Sidecar-cross Championship, atthe fantastic Rudersberg circuit twenty miles North-East ofStuttgart. Travelling from their bases in Holland and England,team-mates Joe Maessen and Ricky Tordoff made the journeyto the Baden-Wuttenberg state hoping to deliver a good resultfor team mentor Richard Cole, and as the team packed up aftera hectic weekends race action both riders had put in a fantasticperformance, Ricky cruelly robbed of overall victory and ateam one-two while comfortably leading the final moto withten minutes remaining, Joe’s superb 2 nd in moto two givinghim the overall win and helping to ease Ricky’s obviousdisappointment.“Joe Maessen (centre) took the overall win at Rudersberg”Race OneA wet and sticky Rudersberg circuit greeted the riders for Saturdays two free practice and onetimed qualification session, Ricky putting his prior knowledge of the circuit to good use to post 3 rdfastest time, Joe struggling slightly on his maiden outing at the venue but still able to qualify 9 thand secure an all important front row start. Sunshine and clear blue skies were the order of the dayas the riders lined up for the first of two thirty-minute plus two lap motos. As the gates droppedand the field blasted up the start straight and around the first corner, Ricky got fantastic drive offthe line and took the holeshot to lead the field out on the opening lap, Joe getting caught on the lineand rounding the first corner in 10 th . With the Goldspeed MX-F and MX-R tyres giving superbtraction around the constantly drying surface, Ricky and Joe used the excellent handling of theFiltec GYTR Team Yamaha YFZ450’s to settle in to a furious pace in the opening half of the race,Joe moving up to 7 th and bringing up the rear in a four-way freight train battle for 4 th while Ricky

was highly visible out front in his striking pink Fox gear as he fended of the challenges of RomainCouprie. With less than ten minutes remaining both riders were maintaining their relentless pace,Joe moving past Ingo Ten Vregelaar for 6 th 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 thechequered flag after thirty-five furious minutes for a tremendous 2 nd , Joe crossing the finish line ina superb 7 th with less than a one second gap to 4 th .“ Ricky Tordoff’s striking FOX gear was easily spotted as he lead both motos”Race TwoThe spectacular low-end power delivery from the all new Leo Vince exhaust saw Joe and Rickybolt out of the gate at the start of race two, Joe now adorned in the lucky pink FOX gear andleading his team-mate and the chasing pack in to the first corner before Ricky swept around theoutside to leave the pair formation flying at the head of the field on the opening lap. With thedrying circuit now extremely rutted after the previous sidecar races, both riders used the excellenthandling of their Yamaha YFZ to tame the demanding circuit in the opening stages, Rickygradually easing away at the front while Joe struggled initially to find his rhythm and droppedback to 6 th . Increasing their tempo as the circuit came to them, Ricky had opened up a fifteensecond lead at the half-way point while Joe had moved past Romain Couprie and Davy Brems for4 th and was now involved in a three way battle for 2 nd with Jan Vlaeymans and Stefan Schreiber.Moving past Vlaeymans for 3 rd with ten minutes to go, and with Ricky having a comfortabletwenty second cushion at the front, the Filtec team-mates were well placed to take their firstEuropean overall win of the year and the top two steps on the podium when lady luck dealt adeadly 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 theremainder of the race to fend of the challenges of the ensuing pack, but in another cruel twist offate 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 awarded15 th place and a respectable 9 th overall. Now circulating in 2 nd , Joe applied tremendous pressure onSchreiber for position in the closing laps, but with the circuit one-lined in many placesmaking passing difficult, Joe was forced to settle for 2 nd place by less than a second at thechequered 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 obviousdisappointment that Ricky did not get the result that he truly deserved after fantastic performancesin both motos eased somewhat by Joe taking the teams first overall win in the series. The teamhave proved that their overall package is extremely competitive at this level of racing, the potencyof 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 DeVaux, Tobias has quickly adapted to the Yamaha YFZ450 and put in a superb performance to posttwo 8 th place finishes and 10 th overall on the day, Tobias comfortably retaining 4 th place in theseries with one round to go. After the race the young German commented, “ after the Estonianround I was left in the unfortunate situation that I no longer had a bike to ride for the last threerounds of the European Championship. Richard was aware of the situation and at Pont De Vauxkindly offered me the loan of one of the Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha bikes that he and Ian fromPro-Prep had built for Pont De Vaux. I’m working out of their awning at the races but I still haveto supply all my own kit and do all the work to the bike between meetings. It’s taking me a littlewhile getting used to the bike and getting it set up the way I want it, but it’s a fantastic bike and Iget more used to it each time I ride. I’m really happy with my result today and am looking forwardto the last round in France on the 28 th of September where I’ll be focused on maintaining my 4 thplace in the series. “Joe Maessen“ I’m really happy with taking the overall win today, but I really feel for Ricky as he deserved towin after the way he rode in both races and it would have been nice to come away with the team onthe top two steps. I’ve never raced here before and I struggled a bit to get in to the track duringpractice and in the first moto, but once I settled down I was able to push hard and had good battlesin both races. It can be difficult to pass here, especially when the track gets really cut up, but thebike worked really well and I was able to move through the field for a better finish. I’m reallylooking forward to the final round in France at the end of the month, I’ve never raced there beforebut have heard about the circuit and feel confident that the Filtec GYTR Team Yamaha YFZ450can 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 reallyhappy with the way I’ve ridden and it’s been a positive weekend overall. I really enjoyed thecircuit, it’s got lots of jumps and is quite technical so it suits my style of riding. We’ve got a newLeo Vince exhaust which gives bucket loads of low-end power so I got really good drive off theline and took the holeshot in the first race. I comfortably led until about twenty minutes when Imade a small mistake and let Romain through. I was able to close the gap again but just ran out oftime to make a pass. In the last race Joe got a better jump than me, but I was able to move aroundthe outside and once I got out in front I just set a steady pace and pulled away. With a twentysecond lead with ten minutes to go I thought I had it in the bag, but that’s racing for you. Wehaven’t had a puncture all year, but the ruts that the sidecars made exposed some really sharp rocksand I must have clipped one. I was able to ride with the flat thanks to the Douglas beadlocks, butthe chain came off and jammed near the front guard and I couldn’t get it released. I’m reallyhappy with my speed and the way the bike is working, and will now concentrate on the last roundof the British Championship this weekend in Oxford where I’ll be aiming to move up to 2 nd place.”ResultsRace OneWinner – Romain Couprie; 2 nd – Ricky Tordoff; 3 rd – Davy Brems; 4 th – Paul Holmes; 5 th – JanVlaeymans…7 th – Joe MaessenRace TwoWinner – Stefan Schreiber; 2 nd – Joe Maessen; 3 rd – Jan Vlaeymans; 4 th – Paul Holmes; 5 th –Maximillian Freund …15 th – Ricky TordoffOverall1 st – Joe Maessen, 2 nd – Jan Vlaeymans, 3 rd – Paul Holmes…9 th – Ricky Tordoff