Motourage

HM Plant Honda’s John McGuinness, Keith Amor and Michael Rutter took to the Isle of Man TT course again today for the second practice session, although lap times were affected by overnight rain which lingered for most of the morning and left some damp patches around the 37.73-mile mountain course. The mountain mist took a long time to clear, but eventually practice got underway at 6:20pm in clear and sunny conditions.

Michael was one of the first riders to tackle the course, taking the HM Plant Honda CBR1000 Superstock bike through to post the third fastest time on his opening lap. Having checked out the course for damp patches, Michael was more confident on his second lap and headed the leaderboard. But as the track dried out, the times began to tumble, and he ended his evening in third place with a lap time of 18:2.91 – 125.429mph, which is his fastest -ever lap around the Mountain course in all the years he has been competing on the Island.

Keith Amor improved his position from Monday evening, powering his HM Plant Honda Superbike through to fifth overall on the night with a time of 17m 57.63 – 126.043mph.

Teammate and multi-TT winner John McGuinness erred on the side of caution in the tricky conditions to end his evening in seventh place, a tad slower than Monday’s session, with a time of 18:01.9 – 125.546mph.

Keith said, “I really didn’t think we would be out tonight. But it turned into a beautiful evening and although a bit damp in places, it was fine. Last night was my first time on the bike, and the first night of practice here at the TT is more about me enjoying myself and not frightening myself. I didn’t frighten myself and just rode around to get used to the bike – which is awesome – and get myself settled into it. But tonight I got my head down and went for a quicker time. But of course it’s how fast you go on Saturday in the race that matters, not how fast you go on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.”

John commented, “Last night the times were just unbelievable. Everything felt pretty good and under control. My first lap was 125mph and the second 127mph, which is incredible on the first night of practice. The course is in pretty good shape, there was a bit of dust about but it wasn’t as bad as we expected. We were worrying about the bad winter over here and there would perhaps be more bumps but it’s exactly the same and the resurfacing they have done through the Black Dub and through Kirk Michael is really good. Tonight it was wet in places and I was not comfortable to go for a really fast lap in those conditions. The weather forecast is good for tomorrow and the rest of the week so we can work towards improving our lap times then.”

Michael said, “I am really enjoying myself, love the HM Plant Honda Fireblade and it’s going really well for me. I have posted quicker lap times than ever before here, which is great news and now we are promised some good weather so I am really looking forward to Wednesday evening’s practice session.”

Havier Beltran, HM Plant Honda Team Manager concluded, “The conditions here have not been ideal for us so far. The track was dirty on the first night and last night it was quite wet at Glen Helen and also towards the end of the course. The HM Plant Honda riders quite sensibly are not prepared to push it in those conditions, but with the weather set to improve from Wednesday onwards we can get on with tire choice and set-up in preparation for racing on Saturday.”

HM Plant Honda’s Steve Plater and John McGuinness have experienced some highs and lows during this week’s practices for Saturday’s North West 200 races, with both riders securing leading positions in the practice timesheets but also with Steve Plater sustaining a broken arm leaving him unable to compete on Saturday.

Steve and teammate John entered today’s Superbike practice session in first and second positions respectively following Tuesday evening’s practice. However on the second lap of his outing, Steve crashed at the last corner, Quarry Hill [See Course Map], when he lost the front end of the bike and slid heavily into the safety fencing.

HM Plant Honda's Steve Plater suffered a broken left arm in a serious crash at Quarry Hill

Steve was immediately attended to by marshals and medics on the course and taken to Coleraine hospital where he underwent a full examination. It was quickly evident that his head, main body and legs were fine and that the main injury was to his left arm.

X-rays have confirmed that Steve has a broken left arm at the mid forearm point – with clean breaks to both the ulna and radius bones – and he will need an operation to have both bones plated. Steve’s arm has been plastered and he will remain in hospital overnight as a precautionary measure, ahead of his operation tomorrow.

Steve is fortunate to have come away from his high speed crash with relatively minor injuries and this is testament to the FIM approved safety bales which absorbed the majority of the impact, the quality of Steve’s leathers and helmet and also his quick thinking, as when he knew he was sliding towards the curb he picked his legs up to minimize any further injury.

Steve remembers the whole accident and, although in pain, was talking to paramedics and HM Plant Honda’s team manager, Harvey Beltran, before being taken to hospital by ambulance – in fact the first thing he said was to ask Harvey to call his wife, Vicky.

John McGuinness will line up on the front row of the starting grid for Saturday's North West 200

Although being incredibly disappointed to be missing Saturday’s North West 200 races, Steve would like to thank everyone for the numerous good wishes already received. And, in his true determined spirit, Steve plans to watch Saturday’s races from the pits and is already focusing on what he needs to do get back on the seat of his HM Plant Honda CBR1000 as quickly as possible in order to retain his current lead in the British Superstock Championship.

In the meantime, John McGuinness will line up on the grid for an action packed day of North West 200 racing, with two Superbike races, two Supersport races on the CBR600RR and one Superstock race.

Honda (UK) and the HM Plant Honda team have announced their continued commitment to the British Superbike Championship, Isle of Man TT and North West 200 road races for 2010.

The duo of Ryuichi Kiyonari and Josh Brookes will compete on the CBR1000RR in the British Superbike class, with the 2009 British Supersport Champion, Steve Plater, moving to the British Superstock Championship.

Plater, the 2009 Senior TT Winner, will also line up on the TT and NW200 grids alongside 15-times TT legend John McGuinness, for a second season.

Building on their long-term relationship since 2004, Honda (UK) Racing and HM Plant will be looking to continue their successful partnership and performance for the seventh consecutive year, in what is considered the strongest domestic motorcycle racing championship in the world.

Steve Martindale, General Manager of Honda (UK) Motorcycles:
“I’m pleased to confirm Honda’s commitment to the British Superbike Championship for 2010 and also the team’s continued relationship with HM Plant. The British Superbike Championship is very strong and the high standard of rider talent and racing can be seen at every round.”

John Jones, HM Plant Chairman:
“We have been delighted with our relationship with Honda and the exposure achieved from the HM Plant Honda team partnership over the last six years and look forward to that continuing with some great and exciting racing in 2010.”

Honda (UK) Racing will also continue its long-standing relationship and support of Clive Padgett’s Honda squad in 2010. Former HM Plant Honda BSB racer Glen Richards will compete in both the Superstock and Supersport classes, with John McGuinness alongside Glen in the Superstock Championship and Ian Hutchinson also in the Supersport series on the CBR600RR.

Honda (UK) Racing has a long and successful history in both British and world motorcycle racing championships, taking the World Superbike Championship title in 1997, 2000 and 2002 before wrapping up the British Superbike title in 2006 and 2007 as HM Plant Honda with Ryuichi Kiyonari. The team has also won many other events, including British Supersport titles with Karl Harris and many North West 200 and Isle of Man races, most notably with TT legend John McGuinness.

The British Superbike Championship is the most hard-fought domestic motorcycle racing championship in the world, attracting sponsors and riders from across the globe. The championship’s profile has risen over the last few seasons as television ratings and attendance at the tracks have increased.

Stuart Easton has won the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix for the second consecutive year riding the Hydrex IGT Honda Fireblade 1000cc superbike.

Staring in pole position he lead the field into the first corner and by the end of the first lap had a lead of 1.516s over Connor Cummins on the PBM Kawasaki WSBK. By the end of lap 6 the young Scot had increased his lead to 6.172s and Stuart and Cummins had pulled away from the following pack.  However, by lap 10 Cummins had began to fight back and had reduced Stuart’s lead to 3.078s.  Cummins was now on a charge and the final five laps produced some dramatic racing. At the start of lap 14, the penultimate lap, Cummins was just 0.421s behind Stuart and during the lap passed Stuart at Fisherman’s Bend.  On the last lap Stuart dug deep and out braked Cummins on the approach to Lisboa, held his line and retook the lead. Pushing hard he kept Cummins at bay to cross the finish line just 0.381s ahead.

It was not such a good race for Hydrex IGT Honda’s other rider, John McGuinness, who had to retire on lap 7.

Stuart Easton: “The first half of the race went really well but as the laps past I realised I had been working my tyres really hard and I started to really feel the grip going off. Connor was pushing hard and with two laps to go I really felt I was in trouble. Connor passed me on the penultimate lap but I was absolutely determined to win again so on the last lap I pushed really hard and with what grip I had left I was able to out brake Connor into Lisboa. To win again and to set a new lap record has made this the perfect weekend. I must say a big thank you to Shaun Muir who gave me the opportunity to have my best season ever, all  the team who have been fantastic and, of course, our sponsors.”

John McGuinness: “It was a disappointing race for me. I never found my confidence on the bike and I was moving back through the field. The crew had done a great job and the bike was performing well. However, I simply couldn’t find any rhythm or pace and by the time I reached lap 7 I took the decision to retire.”

Shaun Muir, Team Owner: “This is a fantastic result and I’m delighted for Stuart and the team. He has performed well all year and I have seen a real determination in him since he first rode for SMR at last year’s Macau GP. This is the perfect ending to a great season for Stuart and I’m delighted to have signed him for the 2010 BSB season. A big thank you, of course, to all the team who have work so hard and all our sponsors for their enduring support.“

Race Top 6:
1: EASTON, GBR, Hydrex IGT Honda
2: CUMMINS, IOM, PBM Kawasaki WSBK Team +0.381
3: HUTCHINSON, GBR, PBM Kawasaki WSBK Team +9.792
4: JOHNSON, GBR, A.I.M. Racing +15.598
5: PENZKOFER, GER, BMW Macau Racing Team +24.609
6: RUTTER,  GBR, Team of Paris – AXA Racing +31.851