Tark
24-08-2005, 09:24 PM
MIXED PERFORMANCE FOR RIOT RIDERS
European Superstock 600 Championship
Rd 6 – Brands Hatch
2nd qualifying session, Saturday 6th August.
It’s been a day of mixed results for RiOT Racing riders Mark Talbot (20) and Chris Northover during today’s second qualifying session for Sunday’s European Superstock 600 championship race at Brands Hatch. With both riders aboard R6 Yamahas, the early progress of team front-runner Talbot has been slowed by a wrist injury, whilst newcomer Northover has improved his Friday time by over two seconds. The European Superstock 600 race acts as a support event to the prestigious World Superbike series.
Riding with a wrist injured in a crash during yesterday’s opening qualifying period, it took until his very last lap today before Talbot bettered his Friday times with a lap of 1:40.515. The time was just two-tenths of a second faster than he had managed yesterday.
“It’s so disappointing,” said Talbot afterwards. “It’s taken half an hour of hard slog to go faster than I managed during just three laps of qualifying yesterday. The wrist felt fine last night, but the minute I started using the front brake today, I was in agony.”
Normally a hard taskmaster on his riders, Team Owner Jorge Vairinhos took a realistic outlook to Talbot’s predicament. “It’s important that Mark doesn’t lose confidence at this stage of the weekend” he said. “He’s having an injection on his wrist this afternoon and the race surgery here is very effective. We can make a few adjustments to his bike which will help, so it’s not all over yet.”
It was a different story for teammate Northover who had used yesterday simply to take his time and get acclimatised to the world championship atmosphere. Today, he put the hammer down and started to knock lumps off his Friday times. In keeping with his exciting, eccentric riding style where every lap is different, Chris’s times varied up and down throughout today’s half hour session but the end result of 1:40.057 spoke for itself.
“I’m learning quickly,” said a jubilant Northover afterwards. “I’ve got to get used to a new bike and I’ve only ridden the Grand Prix circuit here once before. The knee I injured in a practice crash on Wednesday is getting better all the time. I’m pushing harder and I’m not finished yet.”
Team owner Jorge Vairinhos was pleased with the Tonbridge rider’s performance. “Chris is within half a second of where I wanted him to be at this stage,” he said. “He’s fast in some places on some laps, and fast in other places on other laps. Once we can get him to string consistent laps together, we’ll see what he’s really capable of.”
However, the RiOT squad still has one last bite at the qualifying cherry left. With yesterday’s opening session being red-flagged at the halfway point due to oil on the track, an additional 15-minute session has been added to the end of proceedings today to make up the lost time. The leaders are unlikely to better their times by any significant margin, but for Northover and Talbot it’s a huge opportunity to climb their way up the grid.
European Superstock 600 Rd 6 (Brands Hatch)
Qualifying 2 Times
1. Yoann Tiberio – Honda (Fra) 1:32.926
2. Claudio Corti – Yamaha (Ita) 1:33.618
3. Niccolo Canepa – Kawasaki (Ita) 1:34.518
32. Chris Northover – Yamaha (GBr) 1:40.057
33. Mark Talbot – Yamaha (GBr) 1:40.515
European Superstock 600 Championship
Rd 6 – Brands Hatch
2nd qualifying session, Saturday 6th August.
It’s been a day of mixed results for RiOT Racing riders Mark Talbot (20) and Chris Northover during today’s second qualifying session for Sunday’s European Superstock 600 championship race at Brands Hatch. With both riders aboard R6 Yamahas, the early progress of team front-runner Talbot has been slowed by a wrist injury, whilst newcomer Northover has improved his Friday time by over two seconds. The European Superstock 600 race acts as a support event to the prestigious World Superbike series.
Riding with a wrist injured in a crash during yesterday’s opening qualifying period, it took until his very last lap today before Talbot bettered his Friday times with a lap of 1:40.515. The time was just two-tenths of a second faster than he had managed yesterday.
“It’s so disappointing,” said Talbot afterwards. “It’s taken half an hour of hard slog to go faster than I managed during just three laps of qualifying yesterday. The wrist felt fine last night, but the minute I started using the front brake today, I was in agony.”
Normally a hard taskmaster on his riders, Team Owner Jorge Vairinhos took a realistic outlook to Talbot’s predicament. “It’s important that Mark doesn’t lose confidence at this stage of the weekend” he said. “He’s having an injection on his wrist this afternoon and the race surgery here is very effective. We can make a few adjustments to his bike which will help, so it’s not all over yet.”
It was a different story for teammate Northover who had used yesterday simply to take his time and get acclimatised to the world championship atmosphere. Today, he put the hammer down and started to knock lumps off his Friday times. In keeping with his exciting, eccentric riding style where every lap is different, Chris’s times varied up and down throughout today’s half hour session but the end result of 1:40.057 spoke for itself.
“I’m learning quickly,” said a jubilant Northover afterwards. “I’ve got to get used to a new bike and I’ve only ridden the Grand Prix circuit here once before. The knee I injured in a practice crash on Wednesday is getting better all the time. I’m pushing harder and I’m not finished yet.”
Team owner Jorge Vairinhos was pleased with the Tonbridge rider’s performance. “Chris is within half a second of where I wanted him to be at this stage,” he said. “He’s fast in some places on some laps, and fast in other places on other laps. Once we can get him to string consistent laps together, we’ll see what he’s really capable of.”
However, the RiOT squad still has one last bite at the qualifying cherry left. With yesterday’s opening session being red-flagged at the halfway point due to oil on the track, an additional 15-minute session has been added to the end of proceedings today to make up the lost time. The leaders are unlikely to better their times by any significant margin, but for Northover and Talbot it’s a huge opportunity to climb their way up the grid.
European Superstock 600 Rd 6 (Brands Hatch)
Qualifying 2 Times
1. Yoann Tiberio – Honda (Fra) 1:32.926
2. Claudio Corti – Yamaha (Ita) 1:33.618
3. Niccolo Canepa – Kawasaki (Ita) 1:34.518
32. Chris Northover – Yamaha (GBr) 1:40.057
33. Mark Talbot – Yamaha (GBr) 1:40.515