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Flying Hanson brings CCM World Glory
CCM ADDED another chapter to their rich racing history, when Greg Hanson became the first ever rider to record a Grand Prix race win for the famous Bolton based company.
Hanson, pictured riding the new CCM MX450, roared to a first race win at the opening round of the 2008 FIM Veteran Motocross World Cup held at the spectacular Bellpuig circuit in Northern Spain.
The overall victory literally slipped from Greg's grasp as continuous and torrential rain brought a premature and muddy end to the day.
With conditions worsening by the minute the second race was stopped after just two laps, when Hanson was down in 15th position following a first lap incident with reigning Veteran's champion Dave Thorpe.
The weekend was a story of two contrasting days, with Saturday's practice and qualifying sessions taking place in near perfect weather, before constant and heavy rain wrecked Sunday's schedule.
CCM's return to the World championship was a mixed affair, with the team experiencing both the highs and lows of racing at this level.
Oliver Sandiford-Smith's debut among the world's best MX riders was short lived, with the teenager suffering a freak accident that resulted in him dislocating his shoulder during the first free practice session.
Up until the point of the off' Oliver had looked strong and confident around the technical circuit, putting in several consistent laps that should have given him a chance of qualifying.
However his hopes of world glory were soon lost when he found a false neutral on the approach to the start / finish jump.
The resulting injury, which was rectified at the circuit (ouch), will see Oliver out of action for a minimum of four weeks.
Hanson used his vast experience during his qualifying session to record the fourth fastest time without ever needing to push himself, or take any unnecessary risks ahead of Sunday's two main races.
Greg took the initial lead in race one before being passed by Peter Iven on lap two.
This proved to be only a temporary setback, as Hanson took the lead back the very next lap before establishing a 19-second gap at the flag.
Race two proved to be both a non-event and nonsense - but this only slightly dented Hanson's hopes of becoming the first ever rider to win a World title for CCM.
Greg trails the current championship leader by a mere five points ahead of the second round of the series that will be staged as part of the British MXGP to be held at Mallory Park on June 1.
Results:
2008 FIM Veteran Motocross World Cup - Round 1 Spain
Moto One: 1, Hanson; 2, Iven; 3, Eastwood; 4, Blancquaert; 5, Dijkstra.
Moto Two: 1, Van Dijk; 2, Thorpe; 3, Duci; 4, Godfroid; 5, Jacobs .15, Hanson.
Overall: 1, Van Dijk (36); 2, Eastwood (35); 3, Godfroid (33); 4, Iven (32); 5, Hanson (31).
3:14pm Tuesday 29th April 2008
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