Strong fourth place in Macau for McGuinness

Morecambe’s John McGuinness enjoyed another excellent showing at the Macau Grand Prix on Saturday with the Honda Racing rider crossing the line at the end of the 12 laps in a fine fourth place.

Having made his debut at the Far East venue back in 1998, the trip to Macau has become an annual event for the 23-times Isle of Man TT winner and his week got off to a strong start on Thursday when he placed second in the morning’s free practice session.

With conditions around the 3.8-mile armco-lined circuit perfect, things got better still for John later in the afternoon when he topped the timesheets after the opening qualifying session, his best lap of 2m27.476s giving him a slender advantage of 0.230s over Martin Jessopp. However, it was the latter named who went on to claim pole position in Friday’s final qualifying session with a stunning lap of 2m24.387s.

John improved his time too but only by four tenths of a second and it meant he lined up in fifth place and on the second row for Saturday afternoon’s 12-lap race. Getting underway just after 3pm local time, a solid start saw John complete the first lap in sixth place, just ahead of team-mate Conor Cummins.

As the race wore on, eventual winner Peter Hickman and Jessopp had gone clear at the head of the pack with Michael Rutter just about secure in third. However, the battle for fourth was anything but secure and as the race entered its closing stages John was circulating in close formation with Gary Johnson, Ian Hutchinson and Cummins. It looked like John would have to settle for fifth but an excellent overtaking maneouvre on Johnson saw him ride around the outside of his rival and take an excellent fourth at the chequered flag.

John McGuinness: I got an average start off the line and after that, it was just wheel-to-wheel for the whole 12-laps. I had a great race with Michael, Gary and Hutchy, and then Stuart [Easton] came from nowhere and got stuck into our group. The move on Gary for fourth was brave, but I had confidence in myself and the Fireblade that we’d make it, so thought just go for it! I am slightly disappointed that I wasn’t on the podium, but I’ve had a good year and I enjoyed myself today so I’m happy with fourth, it’s a really good way to end the season.”

More, from a press release issued by Paul Bird Motorsport:

Top Six For Hutchy At Macau Grand Prix

Paul Bird Motorsport riders Ian Hutchinson and Jimmy Storrar put in solid performances at this morning’s Suncity Group Macau Grand Prix to come home in sixth and 12th place respectively.

Former winner Hutchinson was hoping to add to his 2013 success and after qualifying in fourth place, the 11 times TT winner from Bingley in Yorkshire was confident of success aboard the Kawasaki ZX-10R. Meanwhile, Scotsman Storrar, from Perth, was making his debut for the Penrith-based team and qualified in a creditable 11th place.

With humidity high around the 6.12km Circuito Da Guia, Hutchinson got a good start and ran with the leaders for the opening lap before becoming embroiled in a scrap for third place with former winners Michael Rutter and John McGuinness as well as ex PBM team-mate Stuart Easton and Gary Johnson.

As the BMWs of eventual winner Peter Hickman and runner-up Martin Jessopp pulled away at the front, the battle for the final podium place intensified, but Hutchy, who won the Superstock TT earlier this year for Paul Bird’s team, couldn’t hang on and had to settle for sixth place on the team’s Kawasaki swansong.

Storrar rode a solid race throughout on the cusp of the top ten and despite limited riding this year, battled to a determined 12th place at the end of the 12 lap race around the closed roads of the former Portuguese colony on the southern coast of the People’s Republic of China near Hong Kong.

Paul Bird, Team Owner: “After winning last year, we were hoping for a repeat performance but it wasn’t to be. I’m pleased that both riders brought the bikes home safely and whilst the results might not have been what we wanted, we will still have a little celebration I’m sure. That race brings to the end our association with Kawasaki which we have had since 2009 so we now look forward to working with Ducati and our valued sponsors from next season onwards and to try to win back the MCE British Superbike Championship as our main priority.”

For more information, please visit www.pbmuk.net – look out for the brand new website coming soon.

More, from a press release issued by Michael Rutter’s publicist:

Rutter takes 16th podium finish at Macau Grand Prix

Bathams-sponsored Michael Rutter extended his record total of podium finishes at the Macau Grand Prix on Saturday with the Bridgnorth-based rider finishing in an excellent third place in the 12-lap race to make it 16 rostrums in total at the Guia circuit.

Riding the Penz13.com BMW Motorrad by MGM China machine, Michael was immediately on the pace around the 3.8-mile, Armco-lined course and placed third in Thursday’s opening free practice session. Later that afternoon, he took almost two seconds off his lap time to take second in the first qualifying session, just 0.230s behind early pace setter John McGuinness.

Friday morning saw the second and final 45-minute qualifying session and with another two seconds taken off his lap time, Michael’s best lap of 2m25.524s meant he qualified in second overall behind former team-mate Martin Jessopp and subsequently lined up in the middle of the front row.

However, although he initially made a good start and led into the first corner, a problem with the electronics of the BMW almost immediately after meant he slipped back to fifth on the first lap as Jessopp and Peter Hickman made the early running. The duo soon pulled away from the rest of the field as Michael found himself behind Ian Hutchinson and team-mate Gary Johnson with John McGuinness and Stuart Easton close behind.

Slowly but surely though, he was able to advance forward and overtook both Hutchinson and Johnson to put himself into third. Michael then edged away from Johnson, opening up a two-second gap and he was able to come home for third to finish on the podium for the fifth successive year and extend his record total of podiums to 16.

Speaking afterwards, Michael commented: “I went off the line and the traction control light immediately came on, which basically meant that everything shut down! I had to learn how to ride the bike again because it kept wheeling everywhere and I dropped back to fifth as a result. However, I was able to be a bit smoother on the throttle because the traction control light saved the back tyre a bit and I managed to get myself back up to third.”

“We had very hot conditions throughout the week but the track was in good condition and I was happy to finish third and get another rostrum. The result was what I expected to be fair as Peter and Martin have been riding their bikes all year in BSB and it was always going to be a tough ask to beat those two!”

More, from a press release issued by RC Racing Express:

Top 20 finish for Lintin on Macau debut

Ivan Lintin and the RC Express Racing team were back in action this week with the Lincolnshire rider making his debut at the Macau Grand Prix and it proved to be a more than positive outcome as he took a strong 18th in Saturday’s ultra-competitive race.

The Bristol-based team were making their return to the Far East venue after their first appearance in 2013 but for Lintin, Thursday morning’s free practice session was the first time he’d seen the 3.8-mile circuit. Adopting a sensible and mature approach, Ivan gently eased his way into the event and with a lap of 2m42.430s, he recorded the 26th fastest time.

The afternoon saw the first qualifying session around the daunting, Armco-lined circuit and it was run in two halves after fellow newcomer Russ Mountford crashed heavily. Although he slipped back to 27th fastest, Ivan lapped four seconds quicker than what he had done in the morning and this was again the case in Friday’s final qualifying session. The session was again stopped due to an accident, this time involving another debutante, Tom McHale, but with a best lap of 2m35.867s, Ivan duly qualified in 25th overall.

The 12-lap race got underway just after 3pm local time with conditions again perfect and a good start immediately saw Ivan advance forward. This set the trend for the entire race and, showing his aptitude and how well he was learning the course, Ivan shaved almost three seconds off his lap times to record a new personal best of 2m33.190s. He continued to climb the leaderboard and was ultimately rewarded with 18th place at the chequered flag, the second newcomer to finish.

Ivan Lintin: “I’m really happy with how the week progressed and I got faster with every session I went out, continually knocking seconds off my lap times. Although 18th wasn’t what I was hoping for, the pace was incredibly quick this year but I chipped away and can be satisfied with my debut. After what happened to Tom and Russ in qualifying I wanted to have a good safe run and head into 2016 in a good position with my aim now to come back to Macau next year with a lot more knowledge.”

Ben Constable, Team Co-owner: “What a week! The place definitely has its own aura and we were again really proud to be part of the event. I’m also immensely proud of what Ivan and the whole team have done this week. Macau is renowned for being one of the hardest tracks in the world to learn but Ivan never stopped doing exactly that and after qualifying in 25th, he made good strides forward in the race and can be more than happy with 18th. We’re now looking forward to working with Ivan again in 2016 and already building the machines in preparation for next season. We also have some big news to announce in the next few weeks and are ready to take 2016 head on.”