TUNSTALL 18TH IN MAGNY COURS WORLD SUPERSPORT RACE Tom Tunstall earned himself a hard fought 18th position in the final round of the World Supersport Championship at Magny Cours, France this weekend. Onboard the Hardinge-Ice Valley Motorsport Honda CBR600RR, Tom made good progress through the field but lost too much time battling with Dutch Superbike and Supersport Champion Arie Vos to have a chance of a point scoring finish. Despite qualifying down in 31st place, Tom remained confident for the race with his Hardinge-Ice Valley Motorsport Honda working well around the high-speed 2.73 mile Formula One circuit. A strong start to the 22 lap race, which was enjoyed by an impressive weekend crowd of 61,000 spectators, saw Tom in the mix from lap one. The 27 year old soon became involved in an intense on track battle with Dutchman Vos, which enabled the group of riders fighting for championship points to break away. Once Tom was able to pass the Dutchman he went on to post impressive lap times but couldn’t bridge the gap to the next group and had to settle for 18th place. “We got caught out in qualifying when it started spitting with rain, which was a shame because I knew I could definitely go quicker. In the race I made a good start off the line and picked up a few places straight away but ended up losing a bit of time to the group in front when two riders collided right in front of me. I was able to close the gap and caught up with Vos and we spent the next six laps having a real battle where we were passing each other at least twice a lap. I wouldn’t have minded if we were battling for points but we weren’t at this stage and we just ended up losing too much time.” explained Tom “Once I finally got past him I was posting the same lap times as the guys in 14th and 15th place, but by then my race was over as I’d lost too much time. It’s frustrating because the bike and tyres were working well and I really felt that we could have finished in the points.” he continued. “In a championship as competitive as World Supersport the factory riders are on lap record pace from the first session where as we’re learning the track, setting up the bike and trying to find out what tyres will work. All in all racing a full season at World level has been a fantastic experience from start to finish. I don’t feel that we’ve been able to show our true potential this year, which is why it’s really important to be back here next season.” Tom concluded. Tom and the Hardinge-Ice Valley Motorsport team would like to thank all their sponsors and backers for the support and interest they’ve shown during their debut season in the World Supersport Championship. More, from a press release issued by Freelance Sports PR: DISAPPOINTMENT FOR ROBERTS EUROPEAN SUPERSTOCK – MAGNY COURS It was a disappointing end to the year for 21-year-old Brendan Roberts. Roberts who was competing in the final round of the European Superstock Championship struggled all weekend (6th – 8th October) with the technical 2.5-mile Magny Cours Circuit. With varying weather conditions throughout the weekend it was difficult for the young Australian to find a comfortable set up on his HP Racing Suzuki. In the wet conditions Roberts climbed to third on the time sheets during second free practice. However a number of technical problems in second qualifying proved disastrous and he could only manage to qualify in 16th position. After a good start and avoiding the first corner crash he was soon working his way through the field up to tenth place. On lap eight of the 14-lap Roberts lost the front end going into the penultimate corner, despite a valiant effort to re-mount he was forced to pull into the pits, not the way he wanted to end the season. Roberts has had a fantastic year, running his own team on-board GSXR-1000 Suzuki’s in the National Superstock Championship in the UK. He took six impressive wins and won the Championship with three rounds in hand. After winning the GSXR 750 Cup at Silverstone, the HP Racing Team drafted in Roberts to replace their injured rider in the European Superstock Class. Roberts impressed from the start turning up at tracks, which he had never visited before and from six starts gained three podiums including one win at Imola. This secured him fifth position in the Championship after only competing in six of the ten rounds. Commenting he said “This weekend was a nightmare, the conditions made it hard to learn the circuit and to perfect a good race set-up. With my number one bike out of action after a crash on Friday, things went from bad to worst. I was pushing hard in the second qualifying only for the clutch to let go, then in the race it was over heating and lost all power. I could feel the rear spinning as water was spraying onto the tyre, then all of a sudden the front went from under me, when I looked at the bike the front tyre was wet so I knew then any chance of salvaging some points were dashed. A big thanks has to go the HP racing Suzuki team for their support and giving me the opportunity this year, also my friends and family that have supported me throughout the season. Huge thanks goes to my Mum, Di and my mechanic Glen their help has been much appreciated all year. As for next season I’m hoping to finalise a deal within the next week which will see me racing in the European Superstock class during 2007.”