Husky Sport - ACU Supermoto results, round two

Pic: Carly Rathmell
By Carly Rathmell
April 10 2004

Christian Iddon and Dave McKee had another successful weekend, but not as successful as they would have hoped for. Damp drizzly conditions at the tight twisting Sunderland track caught out both Iddon and McKee.

It was the first time that Supermoto had run at the karting track, and they pulled in the biggest crowd they have ever had there.

Qualifying in fifth position for the 450 races, Christian was keen to push himself forward to the front of the pack. A poor start in the first race hindered his chances of a win, as Matt Wynstanley on his KTM powered across the line only two tenths of a second faster than Iddon. The second race started well and Christian got a good start. He was out in the lead when he got caught up with one of the hay bales in the off-road section, which brought him off. He managed to restart but could only master his way through to 20th.

After setting an impressive pole position in the Open Class, Iddon was on a mission to earn himself some good points after having missed out at the first round. Another bad start saw Christian slip back into the middle of the pack, which left him with a lot of work to do to push himself through the field. As he slowly cut his way through the riders, he had his eyes set on Irish star Dave Tougher.

Meanwhile, it was team-mate Dave McKee that got a great start from the second row and was snapping at the heels of fellow Irishman Tougher, in a bid for the lead. With the track being so tight and twisty small mistakes were costly, as McKee was about to find out. Eleven minutes in to the fifteen minute race, McKee hit the off road section awkwardly which spat him off the bike. Stalling his big Husqvarna in the process, he managed to restart but his chances of a podium place were long gone. He still managed to finish in a gallant ninth place.

This left Christian to take charge. He was pushing hard and was catching Tougher. As they approached back markers, Tougher managed to catch them at the right time and sailed his TM safely through. This hindered Iddon as he got caught behind them on the worst part of the course. Unable to make a clean break, Iddon had to settle for second place.

Fired up for race two, both Iddon and McKee were keen to make a point and get themselves on the podium. A better start this time from Iddon and he was away. Leaving his rivals in the distance he made the race his own, taking the overall win by an impressive four seconds. It was McKee that started badly this time round, and got blocked in between riders. He soon made a break and was hunting down Tougher, catching him up. But with time running out, McKee couldn’t find anywhere to make the move and get past. Still, the Husky Sport riders ended the day in first and third, and came away from the track still leading the Manufacturers Championship.

Commenting, reigning British Supermoto Champion Iddon said, “The track was very narrow and it made it very hard to pass. Some of the straw from the hay bale burnt out my back brake in the 450 race. The Open races were good. I didn’t get a very good start in the first one and it left me with a lot of work. The bike is running and handling really well, and I just need to be consistent from now on and make up some championship points.”

Speaking with McKee he said, “It was a great little track, very technical and twisty and you couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. I hit the off-road section badly in the first race and it just threw me all over the place. I was challenging for the lead and it wasn’t out of my reach at all. I’m still very pleased with my second race results and just got to keep pushing them hard in the next races.”

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