Success & failure in ample doses for Stephen Sword aboard the Buildbase CCM


Swordy’s return to racing after crashing out at Desert Martin where he dislocated his shoulder and damaged his ankle was always going to be a tough call. Just 4 weeks after sustaining his shoulder and ankle injury Stephen Sword battled to gain enough fitness to pose a serious threat at his ‘home’ circuit. Stephen rode just twice in the week and took the decision he could race to win even though he was not 100% fit. Stephen did not disappoint his fans at the famous GP track and after a cautious qualifying session where he finished 5th, come race 1 Swordy had no intentions of letting himself or his fans down by storming to a convincing win over series leader Brad Anderson. Stephen Sword came down the valley on the first lap in the lead with Anderson in hot pursuit. After a couple of laps Stephen Sword let Anderson through and that’s where they stayed for most of the race with Stephen stalking Anderson, rattling him in to making mistakes lap after lap. With 2 laps to go, Sword pounced and overtook the Maxxis leader with ease and took a well deserved chequered flag much to the delight of his fans and all the Buildbase CCM crew.

Race 2 and all was set for another remarkable comeback ride from the determined Scot. Stephen didn’t disappoint and within the first lap he’d pulled away from the chasing pack with Anderson in hot pursuit. The two pulled away and with Swordy in control at the head of the field all looked good for a remarkable double win until halfway distance when Stephen clouted his damaged ankle on one of the many rutted berms. In excruciating pain Stephen slowed dramatically allowing Anderson to cruise past without a challenge, Sword continued to coast round back to the pits where he had to be helped off the bike, his race was over and so was the weekend as the pain was too much and he decided he couldn’t race in the 3rd leg. His mechanic Ryan Thorpe summed up the weekend that promised so much by saying ‘seems like if we didn’t have bad luck we would have no luck at all!’

Stephen undergoes a scan this week to find out the true extent of the injury he’s been carrying since Desert Martin, his participation at the next Red Bull being in serious jeopardy. However the seasoned GP runner and former British Champion is no stranger to injuries and we all hope to see him fit and well very soon, challenging for more race wins before the end of the season.

Ends.

At the Desertmartin round of the British Maxxis MX1 Championship on 26th June, Steve’s accident in race one resulted in a dislocated shoulder and an awkward ankle injury for the Buildbase CCM rider. Steve worked hard to overcome these injuries before the Foxhills round on 24th July. After careful training and physio, Steve felt that he was fit enough to go for the win at Foxhills. In determined style and still in pain with the ankle injury, Steve won the first race after an epic battle with Brad Anderson. In the second race at Foxhills, whilst in a comfortable lead, Steve twisted the affected ankle once again, catching it in a rut and this time caused more damage resulting in Steve having to pull in to the pits whilst in the lead with severe pain. After careful analysis this week it has been determined very unlikely that Steve will be in a position to ride at the next Maxxis round at Duns in only two weeks on August 14th. The doctors have predicted that it may be 4-6 weeks before Steve can ride again due to the ligament damage and bruising in the ankle joint.
This news has resulted in The Buildbase CCM Racing team and Steve jointly taking the decision to let Steve take the rest of the season off to rest the ankle, in effect Steve will not race the CCM again this year as his contract with the Buildbase CCM team runs out on October 3rd.
Steve commented “ this year has been a difficult year for me. The problem with the tyres at the first round was the first in a string of bad luck this year. I have had the speed and fitness to win and the bike has been more than capable as I have proved. The team and I have decided to rest up now for the rest of the season. I am not sure of any plans for 2012 at this stage but I will be looking to comeback to win at the first Supercross Championship in late October and perhaps the Weston Beach race. I would like to thank the team for all their help and support over these past two seasons. It’s been great to be involved with Buildbase CCM and bring them some success, although we fell short of a championship. A bit of luck this year and who knows we could have done it.”
Buildbase CCM Racing Director Austin Clews added “ Steve is a true professional and it has been a great honour to have him in our team over the last two years. Both Gary Harthern and myself would like to thank Steve, Dave and Ryan Thorpe, Dickie Dye and everyone else in the team who has contributed. We wish Steve a speedy recovery and the best of wishes to Jodie, Steve’s wife who is expecting their second baby mid August.”
Meanwhile Maarten Cremmers will continue as the lone CCM rider as planned.

It was not the best of weekends for the Buildbase CCM Racing MX1 team at round 4, the half way point of the Championship, with both riders nursing injuries and ailments that are currently holding the team back.
Tom Church visited his surgeon, Dr.Klaus on Thursday last week to see what the latest developments were after his operation 4 weeks ago. The doctor advised TC to rest for a further two weeks before another evaluation at that point. This meant Tom missing the action this weekend and the next two GP’s.

Stephen has been suffering from a viral infection that saps his energy. The Lyng circuit is a very demanding circuit and the top riders need to be at their fittest to pull off a win. Although SS’s blood tests now show he is clear of the virus, it is very much still affecting his fitness. CCM’s Sporting Director, Dave Thorpe commented “ This will take a few weeks before Stephen is back to full fitness. We are working closely with him to build up his energy levels in a slow controlled manner so we don’t trigger the viral infection again.”

It was all Stephen could do to focus on a top four placing in each race to minimise the points gap on series leader Bobrychev resulting in 4th place in each of the three races.

Thorpe continued “ We have to be pleased with the points from today, Stephen has kept himself in the hunt for the title and retained 2nd place in the Championship today. We will build on this over the coming weeks and will use the Red Bull event at Silverstone this coming weekend as another stepping stone. The GP’s are out for us for a few weeks and we will re-evaluate the position in three weeks from now. There are still 4 rounds remaining in the Maxxis and a further 300 points up for grabs so the season is far from over. CCM is still very much committed to winning the British MX1 title.”

CCM Racing are currently selling 3 of its MX450 motocross bikes. They are all fully rebuilt to the highest standards required to compete at the highest levels of GP Motorcross.

All 3 machines competed throughout the 2009 GP session, including the bike Tom Church holeshotted the French GP. These hand built machines are 3 examples of a limited edition run of just 22 machines that have been manufactured at the Bolton factory over the last three years.

They are destined to become collector’s items in years to come but for now the privileged new owners can experience the delight of riding a full factory prepared CCM motocross machine.

If you are interested in having this one off chance to purchase one of these machines, please contact Austin Clews (CCM Racing Technical Director) on: 0044 1204 544 930.

The Ryhader Evening MX held on Wednesday night enjoyed a large crowd who witnessed the Buildbase CCM factory duo of Tom Church and Stephen Sword battle for the honours with Honda’s Brad Anderson.
It was the scene of the return of Tom Church after a long mid season layoff, Tom intended to use the event to get some races under his belt and to use it as the first step in a three week programme to regain his race speed before his return to British Championship MX in three weeks time at Foxhills.

Stephen Sword on his factory Buildbase CCM took control of things in race one leaving Tom Church and current British MX1 Champion Brad Anderson to fight it out for 2nd and 3rd. Two laps from home brad made the pass on Steve for the win with Tom in a very respectable 3rd place finish.
Race two and Tom, not happy with his 3rd place in race 1 set the pace and disappeared to take a win making it a Buildbase CCM one two with team mate Stephen Sword in second and Brad in third.

The finish order in race three was Brad taking the win and the overall with TC in 2nd and SS in third.

The important “Dash for Cash” finished 1st Stephen Sword, 2nd Tom Church and 3rd Brad Anderson.

Dave Thorpe commented after the race “ this is great progress for Buildbase CCM Racing as a team, we are moving in the right direction. I am very pleased for Tom with this being his first meeting back after injury. There is a lot to do before Foxhills on the 25th July but everyone is happy with tonight’s results”