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Stobart Motorsport rider John McGuinness claimed another battling second place on Saturday's 39th Hotel Fortuna Macau Grand Prix to make it four runner up placings in the past four years behind Michael Rutter.
31 year old racer McGuinness from Morecambe had to give second best once again to his Macau nemesis Michael Rutter who claimed a record equalling sixth victory around the Far Eastern circuit - matching that of Ron Haslam set in 1987.
McGuinness riding the Honda Fireblade CBR1000RR motorcycle trailed Rutter in the early stages before settling for a safe second place as the race progressed and at the end of the 15 laps, the eight times ISle of Man TT winner was happy enough with his performance.
Making his Macau debut, team mate Dennis Hobbs, who had qualified in 19th position was riding brilliantly when he stalled the machine at the ultra-slow Melco Hairpin which relegated him from his top ten placing whilst Manxman Paul Hunt put in a sterling performance to claim 13th at the chequered flag.
Rutter signed for the Stobart Motorsport team to race in British Superbike 2006 prior to jetting out to the Far East
Michael Rutter: “It’s great to round off a frustrating season with a win and that’s just the tonic that I need to go into the winter testing schedule with my new team. I’m going to make sure Birdy buys the drinks all night tonight!”
John McGuinness: “I should be getting used to finishing second behind Michael now but as soon as he upped the pace, I had no answer. I had a huge moment on some oil and that affected me and from then on, I wasn’t prepared to push it. It’s not the win I had hoped for but second place under the circumstances is good enough” said the 2001 winner.
Paul Bird: Stobart Team boss “John must be getting fed up of following Michael home but there’s no doubting Rutter is the king around here and it’s good to know he’ll be here on our bikes next year and in a way, we’ve won all round. As for Dennis and Paul, they both did us proud and we’ve enjoyed having them with us. Dennis has had a permanent smile on his face since we arrived and Big H keeps thanking me!”
Six of the European competitors in the 37-strong field pulled out of the race at the end of the opening lap as a sign of respect for 45-year-old Frenchman Bruno Bonhuil who suffered fatal injuries in an accident during the warm up session earlier in the day.
