Gareth McClean - Irish Quadcross MX Champion 2009
Irish Quadcross Championship Round 8. Doone, Athlone.
Going into the final with a 43 point lead, Adrenalin ATV Rider 17 year old Gareth McClean kept a cool head
to win his and Can-Am's DS450 XMX First Quadcross Championship in the British Isles.
Qualifying.
On the long hard pack track of Doone, qualifying was difficult, with riders taking breaks
in between their laps, but on the last lap i qualifyed 2nd which was important, so i
would have a good gate pick.
Race 1
I had selected turf tamer tyres for the hard pack track, but the start gate was long
fresh grass which meant i had a lot of wheel spin at the gate and rounding the first
corner in 6th place. Once i settled into a good rythem and with the quad handling so
well on the Suspension i started to pick up places by late braking into corners.
By lap 2 i had moved into 4th place, and on lap 4 i had moved into 2nd place, were
i felt very confident on the bike and did'nt need to push for the win. So i backed of
the pace for the last two laps taken 2nd place and the fasted lap time with it.
Race 2
Again the very same set up as race one, only this time i got a better start as the grass
was well flattened and managed to round the first corner in 3rd place. I could easily
sit with the pace of 1st and 2nd place and did'nt need to push it, as this was going
to be the winning points race. On the third lap i gained 2nd place and the quad was
just perfect for me. I finished the race in 2nd position and with that i claimed the Championship.
Overall,
It has been a hard year, and a hard Championship. Adrenalin ATV have given me a
Championship Bike in its first year, and I feel there is more to come from both the
Quad and myself. I am very pleased with the Can-am DS450 XMX a really good
out of the box ready to race quad.
This was Gareths first year on board a 450 after moving up from the 250 class. To pull off an overall Championship win on his debut year is unbeleivable. Its not been without problems but together we have worked hard to make sure the bike has kept reliable and powerful in the highly competitive Irish 450 MX.
Congratualtions again to Gareth and his Father Nigel McClean. We look forward to dominating 2010!
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