Schwalbe British 4X Series Round 7 Race Report, Scott Beaumont Takes 1st at Redhill
Going into this race I was really relaxed as I had wrapped the series title up at the last round at South West Extreme a few weeks ago. However I didnt want to drop my guard and I wanted to finish the season in the same way that I started it with a win.
The track at Redhill is awesome. Really flowing and plenty of fun in practice. Without a doubt though, there was going to be some action in the first 2 turns. It was tight in there and most riders were predicting some battles being won and lost in the first couple of corners. What we all forgot about was the weather! Just before the motos started it rained. Then it rained harder. Then there was a downpour before it finally eased off. The track at Redhill is made with a clay soil and the track turned into glass!!
The first 2 motos were pretty crazy. Riders were skating around all the way down the track. There were unforced crashes in every race, and it became survival of the fittest. Luckily the rain then stopped and the track began to dry out instantly.
I was riding really well and won 3 of my 4 motos. In the final moto I finished 2nd, but came back from 3rd in the first turn so was happy with that.
Onto the quarter final. I made a great start and led the race into the first corner. On the exit Pat Campbell Jenner made a fantastic, clean pass by hugging the inside of the turn. Heading down the third straight I got a good drive and went past him into the fourth turn. I then led the rest of the race and took the win.
Into the semi final. I again made a great start and led the race down the first straight. This time in the first turn, Nathan Parssons carried speed all the way around the top of the first turn and passed me on the exit! I again chased hard down the third straight but couldnt quite get ahead of Nathan. 2nd was good enough and I moved onto the final.
With my 3 wins and a 2nd in my motos, I had the first gate pick and I went for gate 1. Lewis Lacey in 2, Nathan Parssons in 3 and Tom Dowie in 4. All World Cup regulars so a tough final was on the cards. I again made a good start and powered down the first straight. This time I changed my tactics for the first turn and moved out to the outside on the entrance and just railed it as fast as I could. It worked, I flew out of the first turn with a clear track and just put my head down and went for it all the way. I pulled a pretty good lead and took the win.
It has been an awesome year for me, winning 5 of the 7 rounds and becoming the 2011 Schwalbe British 4X Series Elite overall winner. A huge thank you to all my sponsors without whom it simply would not be possible. Schwalbe for sponsoring the series and Trixter for providing me with a new training bike for winning the overall series.
So we have just 1 race remaining, the final of the 2011 Schwalbe Euro 4X Series in Czech Republic this Saturday 24th September. We are already packing the bikes and kit as we will be setting off on Wednesday. I am currently sat in 3rd overall in the Series behind Joost Wichman and Tomas Slavik. I will be trying my hardest to hold onto that podium position and maybe even move up a step or 2.
