Tark
24-08-2005, 09:26 PM
RIOT RACING LEAVE BRANDS HATCH WITH HEADS HELD HIGH
European Superstock 600 Championship
Rd 6 – Brands Hatch
Sunday 7th August.
RiOT Racing leave the Brands Hatch World Superbike meeting today with their reputation for professionalism and determination enhanced. Riders Mark Talbot (20 ) and Chris Northover (19), both aboard R6 Yamaha’s, overcame the odds to finish the sixth-round European Superstock 600 championship race in 26th and 27th place respectively. Following the later exclusion of 16th place finisher, Spaniard Jordi Almeda Font (Yamaha) for non-conformity to the technical regulations, both jumped up a place in the results to 25th and 26th. RiOT were one of the few British teams to be awarded a one-off wild-card entry to the prestigious event.
Just to have both riders, plucked from national-level racing, qualify for the race was an achievement in itself for the for the tiny Kent-based team who were now up against major outfits like Bertocchi Kawasaki (Italy), Alstare Corona Suzuki (Belgium) and Ten Kate Honda (Holland). As Talbot and Northover lined up on the grid for the race with over 90,000 spectators willing them to do well, Team Owner Jorge Vairinhos must have smiled to himself as he realised his ambition to be back in world series competition after a three-year absence.
Things looked promising as the riders blasted away towards Paddock Hill Bend on the opening lap. The RiOT boys traded paint with each other and several other riders at the back of the field and it seemed the team would put on a show for the crowd. Disaster struck on the second lap when Northover was knocked off at the Druids hairpin and it was left to Talbot to defend team honours. The Cumbrian’s dose of bad luck came several laps later when another rider exiting pit lane baulked him and it became obvious that completing the race without being lapped would be the best result he could expect. Northover was not going to be denied his day in the sun either, and although aching from the crash remounted his bike, now one lap down on the rest of the field. Out of 33 starters, Talbot and Northover were the last two riders to cross the finishing flag.
“It all comes down to aggression on the opening lap” was Mark Talbot’s verdict of his own performance. “Unlike in the UK these guys seem to take it easy to begin with until they get dialled in. They went slow, so I went slow – I should just have nailed it from the start. But the whole weekend’s been incredible – I’ve no regrets about taking the challenge on.”
As he emerged in bandages from the medical centre later, the famous grin of Chris Northover was still intact. “There was no way I was giving up today after all the efforts the team and my family had put into this. My shoulders aching and my leg’s in agony but it doesn’t stop me from being the happiest man on the planet at the moment” he beamed.
Jorge Vairinhos summed up: “I couldn’t have asked any more from Mark. He’s completed the race, not been lapped and flied the flag for his country. What more could you expect for his first World Series event?”
Turning his attention to Northover: “Racing can sometimes be a cruel game and one mistake can cost a rider dearly. It’s awful to leave the track not knowing what might have been, but his determination in getting back on the bike speaks volumes.”
Vairinhos continued ““I’d like to say a huge thank you to all the additional sponsors who’ve stepped in as the race approached. I must also mention the team members and supporters who’ve put in so much effort behind the scenes but especially our mechanics. We don’t have the budget to buy new parts so our crew has had to work tirelessly on the bikes into the early hours of the morning making repairs and ensuring the machines would be set up as competitively as possible.”
During the weekend the tiny squad has generated a huge amount of interest. Vairinhos relented on his threat to pack his riders off to bed early last night instead of allowing them to attend the RiOT Racing paddock party. The presence of World Champion James Toseland and top riders Norick Abe and Glenn Richards was upstaged by the Talbot and Northover who performed a unique David Brent-style dance rendition of the Beatles “Back in the USSR”, which brought the house down and cemented them into the hearts and minds of all who were present. RiOT Racing isn’t a name the fans who attended Brands Hatch this weekend will forget in a hurry.
European Superstock 600 Rd 6 – 12 laps (Brands Hatch)
Race Result
1. Claudio Corti – Yamaha (Ita)
2. Niccolo Canepa – Kawasaki (Ita)
3. Maxime Berger – Honda (Fra)
25. Mark Talbot – Yamaha (GBr)
26. Chris Northover – Yamaha (GBr)
European Superstock 600 Championship
Rd 6 – Brands Hatch
Sunday 7th August.
RiOT Racing leave the Brands Hatch World Superbike meeting today with their reputation for professionalism and determination enhanced. Riders Mark Talbot (20 ) and Chris Northover (19), both aboard R6 Yamaha’s, overcame the odds to finish the sixth-round European Superstock 600 championship race in 26th and 27th place respectively. Following the later exclusion of 16th place finisher, Spaniard Jordi Almeda Font (Yamaha) for non-conformity to the technical regulations, both jumped up a place in the results to 25th and 26th. RiOT were one of the few British teams to be awarded a one-off wild-card entry to the prestigious event.
Just to have both riders, plucked from national-level racing, qualify for the race was an achievement in itself for the for the tiny Kent-based team who were now up against major outfits like Bertocchi Kawasaki (Italy), Alstare Corona Suzuki (Belgium) and Ten Kate Honda (Holland). As Talbot and Northover lined up on the grid for the race with over 90,000 spectators willing them to do well, Team Owner Jorge Vairinhos must have smiled to himself as he realised his ambition to be back in world series competition after a three-year absence.
Things looked promising as the riders blasted away towards Paddock Hill Bend on the opening lap. The RiOT boys traded paint with each other and several other riders at the back of the field and it seemed the team would put on a show for the crowd. Disaster struck on the second lap when Northover was knocked off at the Druids hairpin and it was left to Talbot to defend team honours. The Cumbrian’s dose of bad luck came several laps later when another rider exiting pit lane baulked him and it became obvious that completing the race without being lapped would be the best result he could expect. Northover was not going to be denied his day in the sun either, and although aching from the crash remounted his bike, now one lap down on the rest of the field. Out of 33 starters, Talbot and Northover were the last two riders to cross the finishing flag.
“It all comes down to aggression on the opening lap” was Mark Talbot’s verdict of his own performance. “Unlike in the UK these guys seem to take it easy to begin with until they get dialled in. They went slow, so I went slow – I should just have nailed it from the start. But the whole weekend’s been incredible – I’ve no regrets about taking the challenge on.”
As he emerged in bandages from the medical centre later, the famous grin of Chris Northover was still intact. “There was no way I was giving up today after all the efforts the team and my family had put into this. My shoulders aching and my leg’s in agony but it doesn’t stop me from being the happiest man on the planet at the moment” he beamed.
Jorge Vairinhos summed up: “I couldn’t have asked any more from Mark. He’s completed the race, not been lapped and flied the flag for his country. What more could you expect for his first World Series event?”
Turning his attention to Northover: “Racing can sometimes be a cruel game and one mistake can cost a rider dearly. It’s awful to leave the track not knowing what might have been, but his determination in getting back on the bike speaks volumes.”
Vairinhos continued ““I’d like to say a huge thank you to all the additional sponsors who’ve stepped in as the race approached. I must also mention the team members and supporters who’ve put in so much effort behind the scenes but especially our mechanics. We don’t have the budget to buy new parts so our crew has had to work tirelessly on the bikes into the early hours of the morning making repairs and ensuring the machines would be set up as competitively as possible.”
During the weekend the tiny squad has generated a huge amount of interest. Vairinhos relented on his threat to pack his riders off to bed early last night instead of allowing them to attend the RiOT Racing paddock party. The presence of World Champion James Toseland and top riders Norick Abe and Glenn Richards was upstaged by the Talbot and Northover who performed a unique David Brent-style dance rendition of the Beatles “Back in the USSR”, which brought the house down and cemented them into the hearts and minds of all who were present. RiOT Racing isn’t a name the fans who attended Brands Hatch this weekend will forget in a hurry.
European Superstock 600 Rd 6 – 12 laps (Brands Hatch)
Race Result
1. Claudio Corti – Yamaha (Ita)
2. Niccolo Canepa – Kawasaki (Ita)
3. Maxime Berger – Honda (Fra)
25. Mark Talbot – Yamaha (GBr)
26. Chris Northover – Yamaha (GBr)