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PHOTO'S THEY'D RATHER FORGET
If you have any pictures that qualify as "Photo's They'd Rather Forget", PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send them to me HERE for inclusion in this feature. MORE FROM THE NORTHWEST 200
MICHAEL RUTTER: It has been an ideal race day for Rutter and the NW200 team over at the Kennedy International North West 200 race. The 36-year-old rider took a stunning victory in the opening Superbike race at the amazing Irish road circuit. Rutter who had qualified in second place on the grid behind John McGuinness, timed his move on the leaders to perfection and made a solid move on Guy Martin and John McGuinness on the last lap and took his twelfth North West victory. Rutter slid off in the Superstock race and was uninjured and secured a solid third place in the big North West Superbike race. A good start in the first race saw Rutter 'The Blade' settling into second position behind Honda mounted Guy Martin. He knew that he would need to plan his time well to ensure of the win and he had to conserve his tyres wisely. Reaching speeds of 198 mph down the straights enables the riders the prime opportunity to make use of slip steam passes, which Rutter used to his advantage on the final lap drawing in the pair in front of him. At one point Rutter had slipped back to fifth position behind Guy Martin, John McGuinness, Steve Plater and Cameron Donald. Planning his moves with precision he passed Plater on lap four of the five and moved to fourth, Donald ran on at the Metropole and allowed Rutter to move his way back through to third behind Martin and McGuinness. The torque of the Ducati and the double slip-stream effect gave Blade the perfect chance to take the lead on the final lap, holding off the hounding pair he took a stunning victory for the NW200 team, his first win at the North West since 2005. A delighted Rutter commented after the opening race "This is the ideal start to the day for me. My team have worked so hard this week to find me the best set up. It's a new experience for us all to work together as a team over here and they have all worked very hard and this is the best way of repaying them. It's been a long time coming and with our teams association with the event it could have come at a better time and I'm delighted with the race result." Rutter did not gain the best start in the Superstock race and fell back to sixth place by the first corner. Sadly he lost the front end of the Ducati into York corner on lap two of the 8.9-mile circuit. No sooner had he got back to the pits but he was out again on the Ducati F08 for the main race of the day. In an exciting and nail-biting six lap race with positions being exchanged on numerous occasions, it looked like Rutter would once again take the victory but a blocked move by Steve Plater on the last lap spoiled Rutter's hopes and he dropped from the first place he had just taken from Cameron Donald to third position over the line with Plater taking the victory. Michael Rutter: "It's been a very good day for the team and I can't complain about the two Superbike results. I had a bit of a nightmare in the Superstock race and had a small crash, luckily it was nothing serious and I was able to get back to the start for the second Superbike race. I planned a clean move on Cameron late into the last lap and Steve (Plater) managed to come up the inside of the pair of us. I had to shut off out of the corner and lost my drive and ended up finishing third. I can't complain too much and I'm glad to be back on the podium at one of the events of the year that I look forward to the most. I would like to thank Mervyn and Alistair once again for putting on an amazing event, they do a fantastic job as do all the volunteers involved and 2008 has been no exception to what has been another incredible North West 200. I hope everyone has had a good weekend and enjoyed themselves." A FITTING TRIBUTE...
NEWS JUST IN: ROBERT DUNLOP - THE SAD LOSS OF ANOTHER LEGENDARY MOTORCYCLE RACER
FROM THE BELFAST TELEGRAPH:
STEVE PLATER TAKES POLE AT TRAGEDY-HIT NOTHWEST 200 Steve Plater has claimed pole position for the start of the two Supersport races at the Kennedy International North West 200 races on Saturday. He had been running pole for most of the session until Alastair Seeley posted a quick lap towards the end of Thursday’s final qualifying to take over at the top of the timing sheet.. But Plater was quick to respond with a time of 4m 33.749 seconds on his very last lap beating Seeley by 0.503s to start Saturday’s two Supersport races from pole position. Last year Plater finished second and a very close fourth in the two six-lap events and will be hungry for the win this time around. A previous three times winner in the Superbike class and the current lap record holder, Plater will start the Superbike race and the feature race of the day, The Kennedy International North West 200, from a second row grid position after encountering a few niggling problems with the suspension on the AIM Yamaha R1...but the K-tech people have been working hard throughout the week and the bikes will all be in tiptop condition for the start of the four races on Saturday.
“Its been a bit busy for me over the last few weeks as I have done a lot of testing plus two World Endurance races and some BSB races in the run up to the roads season. It has actually helped me because although I train hard all the time you can’t beat miles on the machine to keep bike fit. For example for the Le Mans 24-hour race you do more miles in testing and on race day than you do at a full BSB season but on saying that its slightly different coming over here and racing on public roads and I still need to get a good few laps under my belt in practice to get settled back into road mode. We seem to have found a good race set up now and I will be trying my best on Saturday to pull off four good results.” The tragedy that has struck the event is that rider Robert Dunlop has died at the age of 47 after suffering severe chest injuries in a crash in Thursday's practice session at the North West 200. Another Northern Ireland rider, Darren Burns, suffered a suspected broken leg and concussion in the accident, but was said to be stable in hospital. The accident happened in the 250cc qualifying session in County Antrim. THE GERMANS ABSOLUTELY LOVE PHASE ONE... Yup, I do not make this up...forget RMT21, the Austria Yamaha team, any BMW or KTM or otherwise Teutonically-influenced team. Check out the German Phase One Fanseite...der Homepage der Deutschen Fans GWEN GIABBANI NO LONGER WITH KRT...
News just in is that major teams will be scrambling to pick up French racing superstar and policeman Gwen Giabbani now that he is no longer with the factory Kawasaki Racing Team, KRT. No news yet from Christian Bourgeois' team why he's not longer riding with them - but here at Race Corporation, we don't believe that it will be long before he is snapped up by another of the major teams...more news as soon as it comes in. The Kawasaki Racing France website doesn't work anymore, so it's no longer in the teams list. GMT94 GET YET ANOTHER SPONSOR Christophe Guyot has long been known as a staunch Rock 'n Roller - and Gibson Guitars have now formally recognized this, as they will be making a GMT94 Custom in time for the 2008 Bol d'Or. First word is that this limited edition WILL be available for sale...so you can get something to match your GMT94 Yamaha Replica!
Guitars that burn...
DAMIAN CUDLIN SCORES BIG IN GERMANY Australian Damian Cudlin has burst onto the German IDM Supersport scene with double podium finishes at the series opener at Lausitzring in Germany on the weekend. Starting from the 6th on the grid, Cudlin made a terrible start in the first race of the 2008 IDM Championship, languishing in 12th place on the opening lap before beginning his charge through the field. In a clinical display, Cudlin sliced through the pack one by one aboard his Dunlop shod Yamaha R6 to eventually reach the final step on the podium in 3rd place.
"When I'm not racing, I'm
teaching race schools and I show people how to get off the line all the time,
but all I showed today was how NOT to start a race.“ Damo
said. "I made things a lot harder for myself
with that slow first lap but I made up for it later on. I just felt really
strong on the bike, particularly when the others were fading and I was so
determined to get onto that podium. It was a nice reward for all the hard work
I've been putting in.“
"That really was a lot of
fun! I tried to get to the front as quickly as I could in the hope of chasing
down Tode but he was just too quick today. By the time I got into 2nd he was
already away with it, so I focussed on staying in front of the rest until the
finish. I
With his 3rd and 2nd place
finishes, Cudlin now sits 2nd in the title chase as the series moves to
Oschersleben, a circuit Cudlin knows well from his 24 hour World Endurance
Championship experience. PERSONAL RECOMMENDATIONS ...YOU REALLY WANT A KAWASAKI, DON'T YOU? I'd still pass the bike over to Hans Peter Bolliger for his Bolliger Team replica paint, though :) *** HOTEL LA RENAISSANCE - MAGNY COURS HOTEL LA RENAISSANCE *** The next time you're in the French town of Nevers for any of the race meetings at Magny Cours, both myself and co-commentator Roger Bennett cannot recommend highly enough the Pizzeria Italia Chez Michel at 19, Rue Vert-Pre 58000 NEVERS. Everytime we go to Magny Cours, you'll find us having dinner there. The food is outstanding, the atmosphere great and the waitresses are efficient - and highly decorative. No website but the telephone number is 03 86 59 23 03 (France, of course). *** I've been a little remiss in putting in an extra-very-special mention for one of the best suspension guys in any racing paddock...ONE OF THE BLACK MAGICIANS OF RACING SUSPENSION Email: Zweitze Rooske *** *** If you are searching for 2-Stroke performance, all you need to do is release the TYGA!*** Finally...want to
try racing yourself?..EASY! Firstly, get the training done RIGHT FIRST
TIME...contact Ron Haslam. This page was last updated on Saturday, May 17, 2008.
Copyright © 2008 Race Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
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