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JUNE 2008
THE DEARTH OF NEWS...
Well, as you can see...it's been a LOOOONG time
between updates - as nobody has anything to say before the next big race at
Suzuka...
Only one item in weeks...Honda France will be back
- at the Bol.
STEVE PLATER JUST CONTINUES
WINNING...
The temporary switch from British
Superbike to British Supersport action certainly paid off for Woodhall Spa race
ace Steve Plater who rode a faultless race at Snetterton to claim his first
victory in the series since 1999. The decision to switch classes for Snetterton
was taken by AIM Yamaha because the team had insufficient time to get the
Superbike up and running after returning from the Isle of Man TT races and
instead of pulling out of the meeting all together it was decided to let Plater
join his teammate Ian Hutchinson in the highly competitive Supersport class.
Although Plater is familiar with
the bike on which he won two races at the North West 200 meeting in Ireland and
went on to take his first victory in the Junior TT recently, he has not ridden
in the British series for some years now and will need time to ease himself back
into the class. He also has to contend with a change of tyre manufacturer as the
series now runs under a one-make tyre ruling with Pirelli and not his familiar
Dunlop tyres.
“I have no idea how I will
fare,” said the
36-year-old Lincolnshire rider.
“It’s a completely different ball
game riding on a short circuit to racing on the roads.”
But he needn’t have concerned
himself with the change as he was immediately on the pace, recording the fourth
fastest time in free practice ahead of qualifying. First practice in the dry saw
Plater gain in confidence and secure the second fastest time and with rain
falling in the second session he retained his position for a front row start to
Sunday’s 18-lap encounter. As the race got underway Steve maintained his second
place behind series leader Glen Richards after relinquishing it briefly to
Hudson Kennaugh and by the midway stage of the race the top four riders had
pulled away from the pack as they jostled for supremacy. Plater hit the front on
lap eight but Richards was not going to give up without a fight and the pair
exchanged positions over the next few laps. But Plater found that extra bit of
speed and forged ahead once more on lap 12, this time making the move stick. The
race was brought to a premature end two laps later when a fallen rider caused
the red flag to come out and a result was declared at positions on lap 13 giving
Plater the win he so deserved.
STEVE PLATER LEADS Glen Richards
(45) Hudson Kennaugh and James Westmoreland (Turn One Photography)
“I got away to a good start,”
said Plater. “I wasn’t
quite sure how that would go because I only did one practice start prior to the
race and have never started a short circuit race on the bike before but it all
went very well for me. I got off the line to a cracking start just behind Glen
Richards. Kennaugh came past me briefly but I passed him straight back and set
off after Glen to eventually take the lead. We had a bit of a tussle passing
each other a couple of times but it was all nice and clean and no big deal. Then
I managed to get back in front and put in a few decent laps. We were both keen
to lead over the start line each lap because we were concerned about the big,
black clouds looming in the distance and thought the race may be stopped early
for rain. But before the rain came the race was stopped for an incident at
Russells chicane - I was ahead and was declared the winner. I adapted well to
the Pirelli tyres, I was panicking a bit in case it was a wet race as I had
never ridden on Pirelli wets but the treaded tyres we were on worked well and I
was quite happy out there.”
It was a popular win for the
ever-smiling rider who was delighted to be back on the top step of the podium.
DAMIAN CUDLIN GOES PROTOTYPE
TESTING...AND WINS THE RACE!
Damian Cudlin has given the German
built KALEX AV1 it’s dream road race debut with pole position and the race win
at the first round of the German Pro Thunder Championships at Schliez on the
weekend. After recently taking on a development role with the team, Cudlin soon
went about putting the machine through it’s paces and shocked the paddock with
it’s rapid increase of speed. After a timid start, the KALEX crew transformed
the bike over the remaining practice sessions as Cudlin soon got comfortable
with
the unique machine.
“This bike is really unlike
anything else I’ve ever ridden. It’s incredibly light weight and it’s braking
power is mind blowing. It’s also
one of the most agile bikes I’ve ever ridden. It’s a buzz to ride.”
Using an Aprillia Mile engine, the
KALEX engineering company designed the rest of the machine from the ground up. A
computer designed frame, swingarm, and Carbon Fibre body are all used in the
AV1’s armoury, sparking much interest from industry insiders. Using the final
qualifying session as a chance to 'see what this thing could do' Cudlin stormed
to the pole position lap time.
“Getting pole was a real
surprise as we were really treating it all as a testing session, but I once I
got comfy on it, I really wanted to see what the bike was capable of. It sure
surprised a few people.”
Damian said. Starting from pole, he blasted into the lead and was never headed
in the 12 lap race, winning by 5 seconds, leaving a hoard of Ducati 1098’s in
it’s wake.
 DAMIAN CUDLIN TESTS THE KALEX AV1 ON THE SIDE OF A HILL...
“I’m really happy to have
steered the AV1 to it’s first race win and am so pleased for the KALEX crew.
They’ve really done a
great job with this machine and I’m really excited to be playing a part in something with so much potential. I’m sure this won’t be their last race win.”
Damian will do more development
work with the KALEX group as plans for production of more AV1’s grows. To see
more of this unique machine visit www.kalex-moto.de
JASON PRIDMORE JOINS ALTO EVOLUTION
HONDA..AND WORLD SUPERBIKES!
Former AMA Superbike rider Jason Pridmore had taken
on double duty this year - he's not only racing in World Endurance with the Maco
Moto squad but has now replaced Luca Morelli for the rest of the season in the
Alto Evolution Honda team.
In his first World Superbike outing at the Miller
Motorsports Park in Utah, U.S.A. he took 21st and 18th. More news - about why he
was so far down the results...as soon as I get it.
...first indications are that he wasn't at all
familiar with the Pirelli tyres...
JASON'S MILLER-TIME...direct quote from Da Man...
"Overall it was a good weekend.
I was 1.3 off provisional pole and .191 out of Superpole. Haga was 16th!!!! I
had never ridden a Honda, Pirellis or Showa suspension, a lot to get used to.
Plus to get thrown to the wolves like that with no testing was interesting. I
had a track advantage for like 20 minutes, doesn't take them long to sort a
place out. I found the Honda to be very sensitive to change. First race was
horrific, very bad chatter which finally got me and I ran off while in 19th.
Second race was much better but I got hit in turn 1 right off the start and was dead last. I ran off the track on my own 5 laps later trying to pass someone. I kept fighting and from about 7 seconds back I caught Rolfo and Gimbert on the last lap but a small mistake cost me and I couldn't get past. In reality I was quick enough to score points no problem, only 6 seconds out of 15th. My bike was top 3 slowest on the speed charts also all weekend but Marco says I will have the step 2 motor at Nurburgring, can hardly wait. Alto Evolution is an amazing team. Great people and the setup is awesome. Our bikes are very good, team has had some bad luck but we are going to change that. I am still committed to Maco and can hardly wait for Suzuka also, gonna be a busy year!"
PLATER TAKES 5th IN SENIOR TT
Steve Plater rode well in his final
outing of the Isle of Man TT races to round off his week with a fine fifth place
in the Dainese Senior TT on Friday. The 36-year-old Woodhall Spa ace has gone
well throughout his time on the Island and after riding to 10th place in the
opening race of the week, the Dainese Superbike TT, he went on to score eighth
in the Superstock TT on Monday before taking his debut win in the Junior TT
later that day.
Wednesday was his only non-finish of the week when he was unfortunate to retire with a mechanical problem with the AIM Yamaha R6. But he made up for that by riding a blinder of a race in the Senior to secure fifth place at the chequered flag. Throughout the Senior, Plater was running in a comfortable sixth place, his times improving with every lap of the 37.73-mile course. He recorded his fastest lap of the week on lap two of Friday’s race at 127.065mph and was clocked as third fastest rider through the speed trap at Sulby on lap five at 190.1mph. On the last lap Plater began to reel in fellow county rider Gary Johnson on time and as they swept over the Mountain and down to the finish line had done enough to take the fifth place. Plater started 10th but Johnson was 16th, some way behind so the timekeepers had to wait for him to cross the finish line before slotting Plater into fifth position. “It’s a lot better result for me today than last Saturday when I was laid down here in Parc Ferme trying to get my breath back after being so tired at the end of the Superbike race. Although the bike was still not running right it’s quite a lot better and I am happy with fifth today. All in all the races have gone well for me, especially on Monday when I won the Junior TT. That was a dream result for me.” 
Photo by
Baylon McCaughey
Steve returns home on Sunday with
another four silver TT replicas and will be in the studio with BBC Radio
Lincolnshire from 8.30am – 9.30am on Monday to talk about his achievements at
this year’s TT races.
PLATER IN THE WEDNESDAY
SUPERSPORT TT
Steve was going well in the top ten but the bike
broke down and he had tom stop at the Bungalow. As it takes a while to get the
bike back from there, he was still unsure of what was wrong on the race evening
- but, as the bike just stopped, Steve was ok and just faced a long walk home!
OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE:
After a mechanical failure put paid
to his chances of a result in Wednesday’s Junior TT race Steve Plater now
focuses his attention on the feature race of the week, The Dainese Senior TT
which he completed in seventh place on his debut in 2007. After taking his debut
win in Monday’s first Supersport Junior TT, Plater was looking forward to
further success in Wednesday’s event but was denied a finish when he was seen to
coast to a halt at the Bungalow on the Mountain section of the course on the
first of four laps.
“I don’t know what went
wrong,” said Steve.
“We haven’t had time to check the bike over as the
pit crew are now busy preparing the Superbike for the Senior TT on Friday. It’s
a shame, but these things happen in racing, especially at the TT which is a very
demanding course. At least my teammate Ian Hutchinson made it onto the podium to
claim second place for AIM Yamaha. He didn’t finish the Superbike race on
Saturday or the first Supersport event on Monday so he will be relieved to get
this one under his belt.”
STEVE PLATER DEEP IN THOUGHT...Okells
or Bushy's...
Plater is now preparing for the
final race of the week when he and Hutchinson will be contesting the Senior TT
for AIM Yamaha on Friday. The high profile race is to be run over six laps of
the 37.73-mile course starting at noon.
Unconfirmed results:
1 5 Bruce Anstey 2008 Suzuki
GSXR K7 600cc 4 169.900 01:02.60 18:20.66 123.406
2 8 Ian Hutchinson 2008 Yamaha R6 600cc 4 160.900 01:02.06 +00:34:04 18:33.30 122.005 3 7 Ryan Farquhar 2007 Kawasaki ZX6 600cc 4 167.800 01:01.53 +00:47:43 18:22.81 123.165 4 9 Ian Lougher 2008 Yamaha R6 600cc 4 166.500 01:00.54 +01:04:92 18:18.58 123.639 5 18 Gary Johnson 2007 Honda CBR 600cc 4 165.700 01:00.85 +01:09:34 18:28.31 122.554 6 1 Guy Martin 2008 Honda 600cc 4 164.100 01:02.42 +01:16:02 18:36.45 121.661 7 2 Conor Cummins 2008 Yamaha R6 600cc 4 165.300 01:02.49 +01:34:77 18:33.50 121.983 8 23 Michael Dunlop 2007 Yamaha R6 600cc 4 159.000 01:01.40 +01:57:99 18:32.48 122.095 9 13 Adrian Archibald 2007 Yamaha R6 600cc 4 162.100 01:02.91 +02:23:07 18:46.88 120.535 10 15 Daniel Stewart 2007 Yamaha R6 600cc 4 157.900 01:02.98 +02:25:40 18:41.40 121.124
TT WIN FOR STEVE PLATER
After completing the Superstock TT
race in eighth place on his own Nitro-sponsored Yamaha R1 on Monday morning,
Steve Plater hopped aboard the AIM Yamaha R6 Supersport machine and rode a
further four-lap race to secure a fine second place in the first of two
Supersport races at the Isle of Man TT races. But after a post race
scrutineering examination the winner, New Zealand’s Bruce Anstey was
disqualified after officials ruled that the Relentless Tas Suzuki machine did
not comply with the Camshaft lift regulations. Therefore Lincolnshire’s Steve
Plater was declared the winner of the Junior TT in just his second year of
competing at the Isle of Man TT races.
In the Superstock race, which got
underway at 10.45am, Plater set off in 10th place but dropped down to 14th on
the first 37.73mph-mile lap of the mountain course. But he soon got into his
stride and was up to 11th as they came in to refuel at the end of lap two. After
a good pit stop Plater was quick to get back on track and completed the third
lap in ninth position going on to finish the race in eighth position.
“That will do me,”
said Steve. “I was
15th last year on my debut here so to move into the top 10 is a good result.”
The riders hardly had time to catch
their breath before they returned to the collecting area for the start of the
Relentless Supersport Junior TT again run over four laps of the gruelling
mountain course. In glorious sunshine and perfect conditions the race got
underway at 1.15pm. Plater was quick to get away and was clocked through Glen
Helen in seventh place to complete the first lap in the same position. The AIM
Yamaha pit crew did a slick job at the refuelling stop after the second lap and
got Plater back out on the course in a very quick time, so much so that he
immediately made up a further two places to slot into fifth place. Lap three saw
Plater make up ground to pass Ryan Farquhar on time to take up fourth place on
lap three and then chase after Keith Amor who was holding the final podium
position of third. By the time the pair reached Glen Helen on the final lap,
Plater was ahead and in third place. With half a lap remaining he was catching
John McGuinness on time and a fast run from Ramsey to the Bungalow checkpoint
saw him overhaul the multi TT winner to claim second place, which he held to the
chequered flag.
Speaking at the post-race
press conference Plater said: “I can’t believe
that. We had one or two issues in practice and I gave my teammate Ian Hutchinson
the best engine as he stood a good chance of actually winning the race. But I
got my head down at the start and tried to be as smooth as possible. I had no
idea I had finished second. I didn’t have any boards around the circuit but one
of the Phase One guys waved their board at me to say I was P5 a couple of times
and I thought that would be a good result. But then when I went through on my
last lap it said P3 and I thought, flipping heck that’s good, and thought I had
better try to be as smooth as possible to hang onto third. But then coming out
of Ramsey and up May Hill I made a mistake on the approach to the hairpin so I
was a bit cross with myself. All I wanted to do was keep it smooth over the
mountain and bring it home in third so I couldn’t believe it when they ushered
me into the second place spot. Its just awesome, my head is in a big snowball
right now and I can’t believe what I have just done.”
But after the post race
scrutineering test Anstey was disqualified and Steve pronounced the winner and
is now even more amazed. “It was a surprise to
find out I was second but now I have to take in the fact that I have actually
won the race. It’s all too much for me to take on board right now. Today has
been such an emotional rollercoaster I just need a bit of peace and quiet to
realise exactly what has happened here today.”
But the peace and quiet wont happen
yet a while as Plater now has to attend the awards ceremony tonight to receive
his trophy and to face the gathered media for another round of interviews. The
second of the Supersport Junior TT races is set for Wednesday at 10.45am and the
final race of the week for Plater will be the Dainese Senior TT event run over
six laps starting at noon on Friday.
STEVE PLATER AT THE TT - PRACTICE
WEEK
TT practice hasn’t gone smoothly
for Steve Plater who had problems with set up on the AIM Yamaha Superbike during
Monday evening’s session. While adjustments were made he went out on the AIM
Yamaha R6 Supersport machine to post sixth place and then took his own
Superstock Yamaha out to record the 18th fastest time in that class. The weather
was against Plater on Tuesday evening and with mist on the mountain and damp
patches around the 37.73-mile mountain he decided there was nothing to be gained
by risking the difficult conditions and along with the majority of the solo
riders gave the session a miss. Unfortunately the weather was even worse
on Wednesday leaving race officials no option but to cancel the evening’s
practice. This left Plater with just two sessions to get all three bikes fully
prepared for racing and he took advantage of the sunny conditions to post some
quick times.
He completed one lap on the
Superbike in Thursday’s session before returning to the pits to give the
feedback to the team that the settings were still wrong.
“We had gone the wrong way with the settings so they need
further adjustment,” said Plater who then took
the Supersport machine for a two-lap ride around the course. He was well on the
pace and recorded the third fastest time of the evening at 121.847mph.
Friday’s final session saw Plater
out on the Superbike but he returned to the paddock after a lap to make further
adjustments to the front suspension. He returned to the course but only got as
far as Glen Helen before being told by the marshals that the bike was omitting
smoke. He stopped to make adjustments and carried on but was stopped again at
Kirk Michael and made his way back to the paddock via the back roads. He made it
back with 15 minutes of the session remaining and jumped on board the Nitro
Helmets sponsored Yamaha R1 Superstock machine to make a final circuit of the
course recording a speed of 120.787mph.
Plater on the Nitro Helmets
sponsored Yamaha R1 Superstock machine in Friday practice
“I am very happy with the
Supersport and Superstock bikes,” said Plater.
“They are both going well. But the Superbike has
been giving us a lot of problems all week. I am going to use Saturday’s race as
a test and as long as the bike is friendly and rideable over the six laps then
it’s not an issue. As I said earlier, I am not here to win the race but to try
and better my times from last year. This is only my second year of competing on
the Island and you don’t win races with so little experience.”
SUPERBIKE RESULTS: Steve Plater came home in 10th place, with Phase One riders Michael Dunlop and Mark Buckley coming home in 14th and 17th places respectively.
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