2011 BCCC Round 4: Radnor

 

2011 BCCC Round 3: Forrest Lodge

Round 3 of the British Cross Country Championship was held at Forrest Estate in the heart of Dumfries and Galloway. Greg Macleod had a new co-driver for the event, Tom Neathway. Tom is a soldier who was severely injured in Afghanistan, his aim alongside other injured troops is to take part in the Dakar Rally as part of the "Race2Recovery" (www.race2recovery.co.uk) project.  

The weather was good and the track dried out well but despite that the gravel tracks were very slippy and the off-road sections were full of sharp rocks. Macleod had a good start but got a puncture on run five early on in the lap and came in on just the brake disk after the tyre disappeared and the wheel wore down. It cost less than a minute on the lap but the damage was so much that one of the rear brakes would not work. It was decided to keep on racing and the remainder of the weekend had few dramas with just one additional puncture, Macleod finishing first in class and fifth overall.

Macleod said: “Missing a brake made it quite exciting on the loose surfaces, as it was a very fast event. But I think we posted some good times, thanks to Tom for sitting in, I hope his Dakar project continues growing and will help where I can. And thank you to the Maxtraction team, who I kept busy!”

2011 BCCC Round 2: Brynffynon

Brynffynon in South Wales hosted Round 2 of the BCCC and the event saw the BBC's Top Gear reporting on Race2Recovery, a bunch of wounded troops hoping to take part in the 2013 Dakar who are using the BCCC to get experience of competing.

Unfortunately a series of mechanical faults prevented Macleod from finishing the event. Macleod said “It is a great shame but that is racing! I would like to congratulate Ian Rochelle on his well-deserved win and I'd like to wish Project Mobility the very best of luck”.

2011 BCCC Round 1: Pikes Peak

Round 1 of the British Cross Country Championship was held at Pikes Peak in Wales. Macleod, in the Maxtraction Milner, was one of only a handful of competitors who managed not to collect a puncture on the first lap. He continued throughout the two days improving on his times and his final placing was 4th overall. He commented after the race "The first race of the season is always hard but I tried to keep it clean so got no breakages or punctures and in the end it worked, I am very pleased with the result. It was a great venue and I am very much looking forward to the rest of the season.  Thanks to Maxtraction for their hard work."