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Team Virgin Mobile Aiwa Press Release - Sunday, August 11
THRUXTON THRILLER:
Team Virgin Mobile Aiwa powered by Yamaha put on a dazzling display during Thruxton’s brace of big bike wins today.
Top of the honours in a thrilling meeting was new signing Sean Emmett, riding under the Appleyard Racing/Team Virgin Mobile Aiwa banner Sean was out to prove himself on the all-new Yamaha R1 Superbike.
And he did just that in the first race, romping through the field to lead going into the final laps, the last-chance gasp of the final chicane seeing another rider using Sean to draft up the flat-out 170mph run up the hill to take the win.
With the bike sliding and scorching round the circuit Sean was in scintillating form, winning the record crowd’s applause for his daring moves. Not quite quick enough for the win, but Emmett had done enough, silencing the questions about whether he had enough time to adapt his style to the Yamaha after signing to the team last week.
After just one test session and two qualifying outings yesterday Sean came within a second of winning on the Virgin Mobile Aiwa machine.
The feat was almost repeated in the second race, Sean able to chase down the leaders to secure another fine third place and a second trip to the podium. ‘What a great way to start my time with this team! I am over the moon for Virgin Mobile Aiwa, Yamaha and Colin Appleyard racing. ‘I felt really at home on the Yamaha and it was performing superbly out there. I figured I would be able to win but another rider was just able to get alongside me into the final chicane and it ruined my line into it. ‘The second race was pretty good. I couldn’t quite get the start I needed but managed to chase the leaders down and we were right there by the end of the race. I’ll take two podiums here – it’s a good way to start the account with everybody who helped me race today!’
Steve Plater was also on form, suffering from a lack of grip in the first race when dodgy weather conditions forced the first race to be stopped after five laps because of rain, only for the remainder to be run 20 minutes later in the dry, Steve managed to fight his way back to the chasing pack. With a handful of riders bashing fairings every corner it was always going to be a lottery who made it through the final chicane best, Steve eventually came home in seventh place, the final result not reflecting the superb ride.
Come the second race and Steve was able to make a break from the chasing squabble behind, crossing the line in fourth place for another hatful of series points. ‘I was closing in on Sean and thought I might be able to make a clean pass at the end but a backmarker drifted out across me in the final stages and I had to roll off to avoid him. ‘It was nobody’s fault. The slower rider was trying to get out of the way and did the best he could but it cost me time.’
Kiwi,Simon Crafar had arguably the best ride of the season in the first race, storming through the pack time and time again during a heated scrap to cross the line in fifth place. The fight was spectacular with Simon running into corners hotter than ever before: ‘I was having some grip problems because I made the wrong choice for the restart of the first race. After three laps I knew I’d gone the wrong way with the rubber but there was nothing I could do. ‘I am a bit fed-up with myself because I really thought I could win here. I know that if I can get the rubber right then I can get on the top step of the podium.’
Come the second race and Simon was unfortunate to be caught in the squabbling pack, robbing him of positions at the end of the race when slower traffic held him up at the final chicane.
‘There was a lot of traffic and it was hard to make any sort of break on them, driving out of the corners was great until a slower rider got in the way. But that’s racing, this weekend there has been a load of positives. The pace was good and my bike was handling really well which is building my confidence even more.’
Race one result:
Winner: Michael Rutter, Ducati
2 Steve Hislop, Ducati, 3 Sean Emmett, Yamaha, 4 John Reynolds, Suzuki, 5 Simon Crafar, Yamaha, 6 Shane Byrne, Ducati, 7 Steve Plater, Yamaha, 8 Glen Richards, Kawasaki, 9 Dean Thomas, Ducati, 10 John Crawford, Suzuki
Race two result:
Winner: Shane Byrne, Ducati
2, Steve Hislop, Ducati, 3 Sean Emmett, Yamaha, 4 Steve Plater, Yamaha, 5 Glen Richards, Kawasaki, 6 Karl Harris, Suzuki, 7 Simon Crafar, Yamaha, 8 Dean Thomas, Ducati, 9 John Crawford, Suzuki, 10 Mark Burr, Kawasaki
Championship points after nine rounds:
1, Hislop 320, 2, Emmett 301, 3, Rutter 253.5, 4, Byrne 201.5, 5, Reynolds 190.5, 6, Plater 180, 7, Brown 159.5, 8, Crafar 131,9, Richards 121.5, 10, Thomas 98
Talking about Road Racing, did you know that Max Biaggi is moving to Ducati next year and that the Marlboro sponsorship might go with him?
