World Endurance, Qatar

Philippe ahead of Steve Steve was competing in the final round of the World Endurance championship held at the Losail circuit, Doha on Saturday where despite an early crash the team – Phase One Yamaha completed the eight hour race in an overall position of ninth - fifth place in the Superbike class.

Steve topped the qualifying times for the Phase One team, just marginally faster than his two teammates Glen Richards and Warwick Nowland and the team secured second place on the grid alongside the newly crowned world champion SERT team who had clinched the title in the previous round.

The Phase One Yamaha team had found a good set up for the eight-hour race and were confident of a top result. As the race got underway it was Steve who took the first hour on the bike to immediately settle into third place behind Vincent Philippe on the SERT bike and David Morillon on the Bolliger Kawasaki.

Steve soon reeled in Morillon and headed off after Philippe following him for a few laps before forging ahead on the final corner to take the race lead, which he held for the next six laps.

But with just half a lap remaining to the first handover the SERT bike crashed into him causing the pair to fall heavily. Despite the pain from an injured arm and leg plus a head injury, Steve managed to get the Yamaha R1 going and ride it back to the pits where the team worked frantically for much of half an hour to get it repaired and back on the track.

Steve took no further part in the race although remained on standby in case he needed to replace either Richards or Nowland. But the pair carried on sharing the time between them for the rest of the eight hours and fought back bravely from dead last to finish in ninth position, fifth in class.

“It was a shame I was knocked off in the early stages of the race,” said Steve. “I had just posted the fastest lap of the race, faster than the pole setter and although later in the race it was bettered by Lagrive it was only by three tenths of a second.

“I didn’t ride again because my leg and arm were swollen and I had a bang on the head so my vision was not perfect. I did remain on standby however to cover for the other two riders but they both rode really well and I was not needed.”

After the race Steve attended the presentation evening where he received his trophy for second place in the championship and is now on his way to Macau where he begins practice on Thursday for the Macau GP with AIM Yamaha. Steve won the race in 2006 and will be looking for a repeat performance this time around.

Practise and first qualifying are on Thursday with final qualifying on Friday prior to the 15-lap race on the 3.8-mile circuit on Saturday scheduled for a 2.50pm (local time) start.

Qatar Preview

The British Superbike series may well be over but its business as usual for Steve who is preparing to head out to Qatar where he will contest the final round of the World Endurance championship as part of a three man team with Phase One Yamaha.

The Doha Eight Hour Race, the final leg of the 2007 QMMF Endurance FIM World Championship, will roar into action on Saturday, November 10th at the Losail circuit in Qatar. This final race of the year also marks an important precedent, as it will be the first ever Endurance World Championship race staged at Losail. The international circuit is 5.4km in length and was built in 2004 in the desert close to Doha, the capital of Qatar.

Currently lying in sixth place the English Phase One team comprising Steve Plater, Glen Richards and Warwick Nowland will be looking for a strong result to end their season on a high note. The team rode to fourth place at the Bol D’Or in September and will be looking to build on this next weekend although they cannot mathematically finish higher than third in the overall championship classification.

“I am looking forward to riding with the Phase One team,” said Plater. “I have been riding a Yamaha R1 all season so shouldn’t have any problem adjusting to the bike. It will be a new experience for all of us as this is the first time the World Endurance series has visited Losail so the only riders to have a bit of an advantage will be the local boys.”

The first tests for the Doha 8 Hours take place on Thursday, November 8. The race itself will take place on Saturday 10th November at 14:00 local time.

Following the Endurance race Plater will head straight to Macau where he will be reunited with his AIM Yamaha R1 to contest the Macau GP – a race he won for AIM Yamaha in 2006.