BQR Suzuki’s David de Gea won the 2007 Formula Extreme class of CEV “Campeonato de Espana de Velocidad” at Sunday’s sixth round of seven in Valencia as Suzuki GSX-R1000s swept the first three places – and dominated the entire series. The Murcian rider, defending his two titles in a row and his fourth in five years, won the race while the main competitor Carmelo Morales (Yamaha) finished seventh. Suzuki team mate Javier Sarda finished second and Sergio Fuertes from the Motorrad Suzuki Team completed a Suzuki podium. De Gea and the BQR Suzuki GSX-R1000 have won three of the six CEV Formula Extreme races this year and finished second and third in the remaining rounds. David de Gea: “That was a perfect weekend. I was the faster in practice, warm-up and in the race I recorded the fastest lap. I’m very happy because I leave the CEV as a champion. This is my fourth title in five years and I am grateful to my family, the team, Dunlop and all who have supported me during these years. This year was a challenge as the team changed brand to Suzuki, but I believe we have worked well, we developed the machine quickly and we have been fast. When we arrived at the circuits, all were new, but thanks to the effort of everybody; we were at the top in all the races and won our third championship in a row. Next year I will race the Supersport World Championship; a new challenge for me but think I can do it well”. Valencia CEV Formula Extreme Top 10 Finishers: 1 Jose D.de GEA, (BLUSENS BQR S. SUZUKI) 29:04.573 – 18 Laps 2 Josep SARDA (BLUSENS BQR S. SUZUKI) +00:04.9 3 Sergio FUERTES (SUZUKI MOTORRAD SUZUKI) +00:06.9 4 Julian MAZUECOS (AT.MADRID-PL R. KAWASAKI) +00:12.4 5 Diego LOZANO (H.JOE DARCEY HONDA) +00:15.0 6 Bernat MARTINEZ (T.BERNAT YAMAHA) +00:21.4 7 Carmelo MORALES (L’OREAL MEN EXPERT LGS YAMAHA) +00:23.3 8 Kenny NOYES (SUZUKI MOTORRAD SUZUKI) +00:23.4 9 Javier del AMOR (L’OREAL MEN EXPERT LGS YAMAHA) +00:32.8 10 Enrique ROCAMORA (BLUSENS BQR A. SUZUKI) +00:35.2 More, from a press release issued by AIM Yamaha: AIM YAMAHA SECURE THE DOUBLE AT MACAU AIM Yamaha rewrote the history books today when both Steve Plater and Steve Allan rode to victory at the Macau GP. Steve Plater was acclaimed King of Macau after winning the Macau Grand Prix on Saturday. His AIM teammate Steve Allan won the Supersport 600 class, making it a double celebration for the team who has gone into the record books as the first team to win both the Superbike and Supersport races at the same time. Plater, from Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire had completed first qualifying on provisional pole but was forced out of the final session on Friday with a misfire to the AIM Yamaha R1. Although he was unable to post a competitive time in the final session, his previous time was sufficient to claim fourth place on the grid for Saturday’s 15-lap race. As the lights heralded the start it was John McGuinness who got the hole shot but Plater was quick to anticipate the lights and moved straight into third place before passing Michael Rutter at the fast Mandarin corner and then attacking McGuinness for the race lead. Lap two saw McGuinness regain the lead and the pair began to pull away from the pursuing pack. But Plater used every inch of the track in an effort to stick with the multi-TT winner and forged back ahead at the hairpin on lap three. Steve held onto his slender lead for the remainder of the race, the gap between himself and McGuinness remaining under a second. But on the final lap the pair encountered some backmarkers as they approached the hairpin. Plater timed it to perfection, attacking the backmarkers at just the right place and shot past and onto the finish where he took the chequered flag for his second win in as many years with a four second advantage over McGuinness. STEVE PLATER I knew we’d come across back markers at the end so prepared to attack in the right places leaving me a gap at the end and it worked to perfection. I suffered with arm pump throughout the race due to my injuries from Qatar last week, which made it very hard to feel the throttle and front brake lever. But I managed to relax wherever possible so I remained strong till the end. This is a mega end to season for me and also for AIM and Yamaha who have won both the Superbike and Supersport classes, which I think is the first time a team has won both! Meanwhile Steve Allan was dominating the Supersport class qualifying over three seconds ahead of his nearest rival. As the race got underway he took command in his class and never looked back. He moved through from 14th to 13th on lap eight and by two thirds distance had settled into 12th place overall to cruise to a comfortable victory in the 600 class with a 13 second advantage over Rico Penzkofer in second and fellow Scot Callum Ramsey who was third. This is the third win in a row for the 33-year-old Scottish rider and his first for AIM Yamaha. ALISTAIR FLANAGAN I am delighted with the effort both riders have put in at Macau. Steve Plater was a bit battered and bruised after his fall at Qatar last week but he has shrugged off his injuries and proved he can run with the best at Macau. Steve Allan has dominated the 600 class from the start and won the Supersport race for AIM Yamaha so I can’t ask for more. The team have really got behind the riders this week solving the misfire problems that beset Steve Plater and providing excellent back up for both the R1 and R6 Yamaha bikes allowing both riders to be competitive and they have been rewarded with a win from each of them. I am extremely happy with our results this weekend.” More, from a press release issued by John McGuinness’ publicist: McGuinness so close in Macau Morecambe’s John McGuinness came oh so close to scoring his second Macau GP victory on Saturday when he finished in a hard fought second place at the end of the 15 laps. Riding for Paul Bird’s team, The Stobart Honda rider looked like he would deny fellow Brit Steve Plater as he led on the final lap but he got baulked by backmarkers at the Melco Hairpin and that was enough for Plater to edge away and snatch the win. John did, however, have the consolation of setting a new lap record giving him the unique distinction of holding outright lap records at the Isle of Man TT, the Ulster GP and Macau. Having finished in a disappointing sixth place in 2006, John went into this year’s event determined to get back on the podium and he made his intentions clear during qualifying. In final qualifying an excellent lap of 2m27.498s saw him snatch pole position but in the dying moments Michael Rutter and Thomas Hinterreiter both lapped quicker bumping him back down to third. Nevertheless, this still placed him comfortably on the front row and in a very strong position going in to the race. With conditions perfect, John made a great start to slot in to second place behind Plater but on the second lap he moved into the lead for the first time. There was nothing between the two riders with Rutter and Jeremy Toye also close behind in third and fourth and positions changed again on the fourth lap, with Plater regaining the lead. John was having none of it though and closed right back in on Plater and as the race went in to the final third it was still anyone’s race. On the penultimate lap, John comprehensively smashed the lap record with a time of 2m26.096s but just as it looked like he would take the win, backmarkers came into play and Plater was able to find his way through first. With no time to regain the lead, John was powerless to respond and had to reluctantly settle for second at the chequered flag. Speaking afterwards, John commented: “To be honest, I’ve got mixed feelings – after the result last year, I’m delighted with the way I rode and to get back on the podium is obviously great but I can’t help feel a bit gutted as I was so close to getting the win. The backmarkers were having their own race and couldn’t really get out of the way but Steve went for it straight away and that was that – fair play to him. To come all this way and get so close to the win, only to lose out on the final third of the final lap, is quite disappointing but I put in a strong race and claiming the lap record is a bit of a consolation.” “Big thanks have got to go Birdy for letting me ride the bike and to all the team for doing such a great job. The bike was awesome and never missed a beat and overall, it’s been another good Macau GP. I’m just sorry I couldn’t get the win but I’ll be back in 2008 to try again.”