 November 14th 2006
Steve Prepares for Macau GP
Steve is on his way to Macau to prepare for the annual motorcycle Grand Prix on the famous four-mile Guia street circuit.
2006 marks the 40th anniversary of the event in which Steve last rode in 2003 where he rode the Honda CBR600 to third place in the Supersport event. He had crossed the finish line over 15 seconds ahead of the rest of the Supersport riders and was celebrating his win when he was told by officials that a 15 second penalty had been imposed because of a jump start which put him back down into third place.
“I hit the roof; a 30 second penalty in a 15 lap race was ridiculous. Obviously my front spindle had crossed the line before the lights went out but I’d just risked my neck for fifteen laps on one of the most dangerous circuits in the world and far as I’m concerned had been stabbed in the back with a penalty that big. I still finished on the podium in third place but was totally deflated to say the least!
This time Steve is riding in the Superbike class aboard the AIM Racing Yamaha R1 and is looking for a strong result.
A strong line-up of Superbike riders from no fewer than 11 countries will be looking to deny Steve the win, among them fellow Brit Michael Rutter who is out to clinch a record breaking seventh victory in the events fourth decade of racing.
But Steve is looking forward to the challenge and has as good a chance as any one else to take the win on Saturday. He said: “It’s a very dangerous road circuit with concrete walls one side and Armco the other, obviously leaving no room for mistakes.
“But I have ridden here twice in the past and am confident I can pull off a good result for AIM Racing.”
Qualifying takes place on Thursday and Friday with the 15-lap race set for a 2.50pm start on Saturday.”
|
