Sun City Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix – 50th Edition
Guia Street Circuit
Macau, China
November 17, 2016
Qualifying Session One Results (as provided by the Macau Grand Prix Committee):
1. Michael Rutter, UK (BMW S1000RR), 2:24.8
2. Martin Jessopp, UK (BMW S1000RR), 2:25.8
3. Ian Hutchinson, UK (BMW S1000RR), 2:27.3
4. John McGuinness, UK (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:27.3
5. Gary Johnson, UK (BMW S1000RR), 2:27.5
6. Horst Saiger, Austria (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:27.7
7. Glenn Irwin, UK (Duc Panigale R), 2:27.8
8. Conor Cummins, UK (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:28.1
9. Peter Hickman, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:28.3
10. Stuart Easton, UK (BMW S1000RR), 2:29.1
11. Didier Grams, Germany (BMW S1000RR), 2:29.4
12. Derek Sheils, Ireland (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:29.4
13. Dan Cooper, UK (BMW S1000RR), 2:30.1
14. Steve Mercer, UK (BMW S1000RR), 2:30.2
15. Dan Kneen, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 2:30.5
16. Steve Heneghan, Ireland (Yam YZF-R1), 2:32.7
17. Ivan Lintin, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:33.0
18. Brian McCormack, Ireland (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:33.5
19. Danny Webb, UK (BMW S1000RR), 2:34.7
20. Allan-Jon Venter, South Africa (Yam YZF-R1), 2:35.2
21. Michael Sweeney, Ireland (BMW S1000RR), 2:35.5
22. Daniel Hegarty, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:35.8
23. Mark Miller, USA (EBR 1190RS), 2:36.3
24. Marek Cerveny, Czech Republic (BMW S1000RR), 2:36.3
25. Sam West, UK (BMW S1000RR), 2:36.3
26. Ben Wylie, UK (Bim BB3), 2:37.2
27. Andre Pires, Portugal (Bim BB3), 2:37.5
28. Davy Morgan, UK (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:40.1
More, from a press release issued by Macau Grand Prix Committee:
RUTTER RULES FIRST QUALIFYING
In perfect conditions Macau maestro Michael Rutter (Bathams/SMT Racing BMW) seized control of the first qualifying session and grabbed provisional pole by 0.99 seconds from the persistent and consistently fast Martin Jessopp (Riders Motorcycles BMW).
The two had battled for supremacy in morning practice with successively faster times and this afternoon picked up exactly where they left off, and then took it in turns to up the ante for lap after enthralling lap.
As he has done before, Rutter picked his moment in the closing minutes of the session and with the chequered flag already waving and his rivals in the pits, he was the first and so far only rider to dip into the 2.24 bracket, tantalizingly close to Stuart Easton’s 2010 lap record, stopping the clock at 2.24.793.
But with one more session to go tomorrow morning, this is only provisional pole and Jessopp, at 2.25.783, has another chance as does the clutch of riders a second or so behind – including 2013 winner Ian Hutchinson (Tyco BMW), previous winner and road racing legend John McGuinness (Honda Racing), a strongly-performing Gary Johnson (Penz13.com BMW by MGM & Special Olympics Macau), the impressively swift Horst Saiger (Saiger Racing Kawasaki) plus – maybe unsurprisingly – the sensational Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati). A newcomer to Macau but no stranger to rewriting the history books, Irwin is now in seventh place with a 2.27.787 and literally surrounded by previous winners and podium finishers.
The scene is set for a superlative clash of road racing greats in Friday morning’s second qualifying session, while Saturday’s 15-lap Grand Prix is looking to be a one to remember, even against the backdrop of the past 50 years.