Garland on podium at Dean Moor

Sunday, 20 June 2010 00:00

Round 4 of the 2010 BYMX Championship rolled up at the picturesque Dean Moor track in Cumbria and Liam was determined to get his championship challenge back on track, following a bike troubled outing at Mepal in round 3.

Qualification went well as Liam posted the 4th quickest time on a track that he’d never previously ridden.

Race 1

Race 1 set the pattern for the weekend, as he rounded the first corner way down in around 30th position. A great first lap saw him pass over 20 riders and move into 10th position. By the end of lap 2 he had progressed through to 7th before pushing onto 5th by the flag, where he finished on the heels of Ben Howell.

Race 2

Race 2 saw an improved start in around 15th position and again a strong first lap saw him move up to 7th. As the race progressed Liam fought his way through to 3rd at the flag, holding off the attention of both James Harrison and Ben Watson in the process and finishing just 8 seconds behind race winner Adam Sterry.

Race 3

Race 3 and another poor start as he struggled to get to grips with the cambered concrete start. Exiting the first corner in around 30th position, he again made quick progress up to 15th by the end of lap 1, but misjudging the corner speed of a slower rider in front caused him to stall his machine and as he tried to restart it Ben Watson ran straight into the back of him. After re-starting their bikes they both got away together and charged back through the field but the best Liam could do was a disappointing 12th at the finish.

Race 4

Race 4 saw Liam’s best start of the weekend in 10th position, but still left him with too much work to do to be able to challenge for the win. A great ride to the flag rewarded with another 3rd place finish and again a great battle with Watson which saw them split by just 0.6 of a second at the flag.

Race 5

Race 5 began with Liam knowing that as long as he followed Watson home he would be rewarded with the final place on the podium and this is just what he did. Gating around 15th, he made quick progress on lap 1 to move into 7th place just behind Connor Clarke. Making a pass on lap 2, he went about chasing down the group in front which included Adam Sterry, Ben Watson and early race leader Jack Gardner. By lap 6 he had them in his sight and made the initial pass on Gardner to move into 5th. As the race came to a close Liam got to within 2 seconds of Sterry (who himself had done enough to take the overall for the weekend as well as the championship lead) and 1 second off Watson, ensuring a well deserved 3rd overall.

He has now moved up to 7th in the Championship just 36 points behind current leader Adam Sterry with 3 rounds remaining.

This coming weekend sees Liam heading off to Whitby for round 4 of the Red Bull Pro Nationals and his first event riding out of the Proppa.com Race Truck, where he plans to repeat his winning performance from round three.