Sunday the 29th of April saw Woodbridge and District MCC host the second round of the 2007 CCM British MMX Championships at Blaxhall Pit near Woodbridge in Suffolk.  As the dust settled at the end of a gruelling days racing around the challenging circuit, the Mercuria GYTR Yamaha Team Racing pairing of Joe Maessen and Leon Beda came away with mixed fortunes, Joe recording a solid 3rd overall to maintain his lead in the championship standings, while Leon finished a credible 16th overall despite suffering mechanical problems in both races and only finishing in the points in one race.

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.

Leon Beda

I’m a bit disappointed at the way things went today.  Richard and the rest of the Mercuria GYTR Yamaha Team Racing squad delivered the goods again and the bike felt fantastic in practice and I was lapping quickly.  The breather pipe blocking in the first race was a real shock, we use a standard pipe and it doesn’t usually block unless it is extremely wet and mucky.  By the time I got around to the work area and got it sorted I had lost a lot of places.  The bent disc was another one of those things that you can’t allow for, but that’s racing I suppose.  I’m really happy with my bike and my speed, and it was good to salvage some points and still be sitting 11th overall in the standings.  I’m looking forward to the next round at Asham Woods on the 28th of May, and will be pushing hard for a top five finish.

Results

Race 1

Winner – John Mitchell; 2nd – Jason Macbeth; 3rd – Paul Winrow; 4th – Joe Maessen;
5th- William Waggott; 6th – Richard Toye;…29th – Leon Beda

Race 2
Winner – John Mitchell; 2nd – Jason Macbeth; 3rd – Joe Maessen; 4th – William Waggott;
5th – Justin Reid; 6th – Carl Bunce…11th – Leon Beda

Championship Points

1st Joe Maessen 85; 2nd Jason Macbeth 82; 3rd William Waggott 68;
4th John Mitchell 61; 5th Justin Reid 60; 6th Lindsay Duke 52; 7th Paul Winrow 52; 8th Ricky Tordoff 49; 9th Ricky Toye 48; 10th Chris North 36; 11th Leon Beda 35