CCM storm to second place
 CCM’s
assault on the 2006 Silkolene Short Track UK championship
began with a real bang as their rookie rider Lee Complin stormed
to a shock second place during the opening round. Making his
debut at Short Track racing, Complin over shadowed the more
established stars on route to his runners up position at Norfolk
Arena, King’s Lynn, and could have grabbed a maiden
victory but for one small mistake.
Using a factory prepared CCM FT35R, which is based on the
new road going FT35S flat track model, Complin put his speedway
background to good use as he excelled despite this being only
his third outing on the bike. Under strict team orders to
bring the works bike home safely during its first serious
outing, Lee adopted a mature approach with a series of calculated
second places during the qualifying races to progress through
to the all important final.
Complin made a good start in the re-run final and looked
to have conquered the now compact shale surface, however a
small error on lap eight allowed eventual winner Pearson through.
With little time to rectify his mistake Lee had to settle
for second place well ahead of reigning champion Marco Belli.
Commenting on his success Complin said: “For a first
attempt, it wasn’t a bad effort, although I am kicking
myself a bit because if I hadn’t run wide I could have
hung on for the win in the final. My speedway experience certainly
helped, but there are some big differences, both in terms
of the bike and the racing. I am only used to having three
other riders out on the track with me so to have ten other
guys was hectic to say the least.”
“We only tested twice prior to the race, so I think
that tells you just how good the bike is. I feel very comfortable
on it, so comfortable in fact that we will not be making any
changes to the bike before the next outing.”
“Going into this meeting, I didn’t have a clue
what to expect, but with this now under my belt, hopefully
I will be better equipped for when we go to Stoke in two weeks
time.”
RESULTS
Silkolene Short Track UK 2006 series
Round One Norfolk Arena, King’s Lynn 22 April 2006
1st.: 14 - Darren Pearson (Huddersfield, Yorks) [Husaberg]
2nd. 41 - Lee Complin (Colne, Lancs) [CCM]
3rd. 54 - Peter Boast (Market Rasen, Lincs) [Honda]
4th. 1 – Marco Belli, (Varese, Italy) [Harley Davidson]
5th. 10 - Tim Greig, (Market Rasen, Lincs) [Honda]
6th. 7 - Paul Baldwin (Swanbourne, Bucks) [Honda]
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