Davies And TM On Top At Landrake  (Mar 11, 2010)

Landrake Moto Park played host to the fourth round of the British 2 Stroke Championship this weekend and despite some horrendous weather through Saturday night and Sunday morning, we were still treated to an awesome day of 2 stroke action once more.
TM rider Jim Davies flew the flag once more for the small Italian marque today and took the overall victory after a days hard fought racing.

As the qualifying sessions began the rained continued to fall, the circuit which looked perfect on Saturday evening, and was obviously prepared well, stood up to the torrents of rain and although tricky to navigate was not exceptionally heavy. Jim took to the track in group two as per normal and after a few laps to find his lines he set about putting in some decent times, with a thumbs up from his pit crew Jim knew he had done enough. He pulled into the work area to find out that he was three seconds clear of the next best time in his group, job done.

The rain continued to fall and after all the qualifying groups had now taken place the sodden track was looking a bit worse for wear for the start of race one.
Jim's start was not good, the little TM span off the gate in protest and left Jim with work to do, rounding the first set of bends and coming over the finish line tabletop Jim had already moved himself comfortably into the top ten, only to realise his goggles had been totally filled in!.
Removing his goggles Jim continued on, lap by lap working his way to the sharp end, now in second place with the leader comfortably in the distance Jim ,who was not only being held up by backmarkers not being blue flagged to move over but also being blinded by their 'roost', was pipped to the post on the penultimate turn as the TM lost traction momentarily in the mud and let current series leader Willet into second place.

Race two again started in rain, only slight compared to the heavy showers earlier in the day, but now to everyone's pleasure the wind had increased and was gradually drying the track. A better start saw Jim in with the leaders from the get go, now with goggles on and after receiving medical attention from the First Aid unit who had to 'syringe' the mud from his eyes after race one, Jim could push on. Running top six he made his way through his opponents one by one, picking his lines carefully and with the TM sounding unbelievable as it pulled so strongly up those long hills, within a few laps he was in second position and charging on. However it was not to be and as the clocked counted down on race two second place was to be his final position.

With the rain seemingly gone, the sun shining and the track forming some dryer lines the last 125 expert race of the day got underway. As the gate dropped Jim got the start he had wanted and the 'on song' TM launched Jim into turn one, coming back into view over the table-top Jim was right at the sharp end of the pack. After only a handful of laps, with Jim and his TM 125 machine setting some blistering times, he was in the lead and trying to build a gap to give himself some breathing space. With Daniel Arnold on a charge also, and with Jim once again suffering with a lack of blue flags to warn backmarkers of his presence, the gap closed. With only a lap and a half remaining Arnold made a move and took the lead, Jim stayed with the leader hoping to regain the lead once more but, after being reminded by his crew as he passed the pitbox, Jim decided the overall and the championship points were worth more than a race win. Jim eased off on the last lap and, with the comfortable margin he had already made, cruised the TM to the flag to take second place in the final race of the day.

Jim commented: " my eyes are killing me!, still it turned out to be a very good day, the bike was incredible, i got the overall and now i am leading the championship, I'm well pleased."

With his consistent score card Jim took the overall honours on the day and, with the series leader Willet forced out of action later in the day through injury, he is also now the Championship's current leader with a healthy 41 point lead over his nearest rival.

With thanks to our sponsors: Kleenrite, Electraction Ltd, Elf Fuels And Lubricants, Atol, Pirelli, Pro-Clean, Renthal, Airoh, UFO, Smith Optics, Carbone Lorraine and Regina.

A big well done to Jim, who rode superbly and cleverly whilst suffering terribly with his eyes after race one.
Well done to Bobby too, who on Sunday absorbed most of the rain that fell from the sky and most of the mud from the track too, whilst having previously absorbed a rather large amount of Carling and barbecue food (which he also cooked) on Saturday evening!!, also thanks to Lauren, Lisa, Steve, Abi, and anyone else who assisted throughout the day, and of course to all the other TM riders who competed, well done.

See you all at Whitby.

Pic:courtesy of www.125mx.com

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