RUTTER BREAKS HIS OWN LAP RECORD IN SES TT ZERO RACE VICTORY 6.6.19

Thursday 6 June 2019

Michael Rutter was in record breaking form in today’s SES TT Zero race for electric bikes at the 2019 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy.

Rutter clinched the race win with a new record lap from Bathams Mugen teammate John McGuinness. Another veteran competitor, Team Mirai’s Ian Lougher, took the final podium place.

Celebrating its 10th year this year, the TT Zero Race lap record has gone from an average speed of 96.82mph set by Mark Miller in the inaugural TT Zero Race, to Rutter’s new time of 121.909mph, just under a second inside his old record set last year.

The race has been dominated in recent years by the Mugen team, with John McGuinness, Michael Rutter and Bruce Anstey all winning races for the Japanese-based factory team and today’s win for Rutter’s – his fifth in the class -also extended his record of winning every TT Zero Race that he has participated in. He was also the first rider to break the prestigious 100mph mark for an electric bike in 2012.

Rutter was never headed in the race and his lead was over 4 seconds at the opening timing point at Glen Helen from Bathams Mugen teammate John McGuinness. Davey Todd, who replaced his Penz13.com teammate Daley Mathison – who was so tragically killed in the Superbike race earlier in the week – on the Nottingham University bike, was in third but was already almost eleven seconds off the leaders pace. Wales’s Ian Lougher and South African Allann Venter (Brunel University) completed the top five.

McGuinness closed the gap to just over three seconds at Ballaugh and set the fastest time through the Sulby speed trap – a remarkable 176.14 to Rutter’s 173.86 with Todd also flying through Sulby straight with 160.16 – all three times testament to the progress that these electric bikes have made.

However, Rutter again improved his lead back up to almost five seconds by the third check point at Ramsey Hairpin. By the Bungalow the main question on everyone’s lips was whether Rutter could break his own lap record and he answered the question at the Grandstand with a new lap record.

McGuinness comfortably held on to second place at the chequered flag but with Davey Todd stopping after Ramsey, Ian Lougher moved into the final podium place and duly came home in third with an average lap speed of 102.690mph.

With Todd retiring, it was left to Allann Venter to give Brunel University the honour of being the leading University. The Duffy Motorsport pair – Mike Norbury and Shaun Anderson were next home with 83.289 and 72.026 respectively. Matthew Rees, representing the University of Bath, was the final finisher.

A New Chapter of Racing Has Begun at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

NHMS officially opened The Flat Track with a ribbon-cutting ceremony following the Laconia Motorcycle Week kick-off event at the North East Motor Sports Museum on Thursday.

The Flat Track’s first event will be held during Laconia Motorcycle Week on Saturday, June 15. Race fans have a new reason to enjoy the thrill of racing in Loudon, as so much bar-banging, tire-rubbing action will be packed onto The Flat Track when these pro riders enter the arena.

General admission and VIP tickets for the Laconia Short Track presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys are available on AmericanFlatTrack.com. The race will also be streamed live on FansChoice.TV and broadcast on NBCSN on Sunday, June 23 at 2:30 p.m.

The Flat Track is the fourth racing surface to be added to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which already includes the famed 1.058-mile NASCAR oval, 1.6-mile road course and a 0.25-mile mini-oval.

In addition to the new Laconia Short Track presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys event (June 15), the speedway will host other on-track racing events throughout the week including the 96th annual Loudon Classic (June 16), the longest-running motorcycle race in the United States, plus all new camping options, Harley-Davidson, Indian and Yamaha demo rides (June 10-15), a vendor mall and a plethora of entertainment, making the speedway the home base for riders visiting Laconia Motorcycle Week.

Motorcycle Week at NHMS officially gets underway on Saturday, June 8 and is a top destination for riders during Laconia Motorcycle Week, which runs through Sunday, June 16.

For a full schedule of NHMS’s Motorcycle Week events, visit: NHMS.com/Events/Motorcycle-Week/Schedule or download a PDF version.

For ticket information for events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, including the June 8-16 Motorcycle Week at NHMS, the July 19-21 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 race weekend and the September 20-21 Full Throttle Fall Weekend, visit the speedway website at NHMS.com or call Fan Relations at (603) 783-4931.

DUNLOP TAKES 19TH TT RACE WIN WITH NARROW BENNETTS LIGHTWEIGHT TT RACE VICTORY

Thursday 6 June 2019

Michael Dunlop took a thrilling Bennetts Lightweight TT Race victory at the 2019 Isle of Man TT Races, fuelled by Monster Energy, on Thursday evening when he beat Jamie Coward by just 1.299s at the end of the shortened two lap race.

Dunlop (SC Corse Paton) and Coward (KTS Racing Kawasaki) swapped the race lead on a number of occasions and were never more than a few seconds apart but the Ulsterman just held off Coward for his 19th TT victory. Lee Johnston finished in third place on the KMR Kawasaki.

Dunlop led Coward at Glen Helen on the first lap by 2.68s with Gary Johnson only 0.676s adrift in third. Bonetti slotted into fourth ahead of Michael Rutter and Johnston with Peter Hickman the best of the Nortons in eighth.

Coward pulled two tenths of a second back on the run to Ballaugh but by Ramsey Dunlop had extended his lead to four seconds and although Johnson was still in third, he was now 5.8s behind Coward. He had his hands full with KMR Kawasaki team-mate Johnston who had closed to within 0.158s but John McGuinness was a retirement at Ballaugh.

Over the Mountain, Coward took 3.7s out of Dunlop’s lead to trail by just three tenths of a second at the Bungalow and he took the lead for the first time at Cronk ny Mona. His opening lap of 120.65mph gave him a slender 0.748s advantage over Dunlop but Johnston had made great progress to move up to third ahead of Stefano Bonetti, Johnson and Paul Jordan.

Davey Todd retired his Norton at the pits but at the head of the field, Dunlop cut Coward’s lead by three tenths of a second at Glen Helen second time around with just under half a second separating the duo. Johnston was only two seconds ahead of Bonetti as Jordan moved ahead of Johnson into fifth.

At Ballaugh, the gap had come down further still to 0.163s but at Ramsey Dunlop was back in front by 1.4s with just the final run over the Mountain to come. Coward wasn’t giving up without a fight though and he had the better run to the Bungalow as he brought the deficit down to 1.158s.

The Yorkshire rider took another four tenths out of Dunlop as they passed through Cronk ny Mona and as Dunlop flashed across the line at 122.746mph, three hundredths of a second outside his own lap record, he had an agonising wait to see if he’d won.

Coward lapped at 122.52mph but fell 1.299s short although second place saw him claim his first ever TT podium. Johnston took third for former winner Ryan Farquhar with Jordan taking an excellent fourth place finish in his third TT ahead of Rutter and Bonetti.

Johnson faded to seventh as Peter Hickman gave Norton something to cheer about in eighth with Dominic Herbertson and Horst Saiger completing the top ten.

HICKMAN SECURES FOURTH TT RACE WIN WITH MONSTER ENERGY SUPERSPORT TT RACE 2 VICTORY

Thursday 6 June 2019

Peter Hickman claimed his fourth TT Race victory at the Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy when he won Thursday’s two-lap Monster Energy Supersport TT Race, his first win in the 600cc category.

The Trooper Beer by Smiths Racing Triumph rider was locked in battle throughout the two laps with Dean Harrison (Silicone Engineering Kawasaki) but with his now customary charge over the Mountain on lap two, the Burton upon Trent rider edged to a win by 3.3s. James Hillier took third on the Quattro Plant Wicked Coatings Kawasaki.

Having originally been scheduled for 10.45am on Wednesday, the race, cut from four laps to two, eventually got underway at 12.55pm on Thursday and with dry conditions all round the Mountain Course, except for some sight damp patches at Laurel Bank, the Black Dub, Glen Helen, Kerromoar and Ramsey Hairpin, it was Hickman who led at Glen Helen on the opening lap.

However, his lead over Hillier was just 0.06s and it was close across the leaderboard with Harrison, Gary Johnson, Lee Johnston and Jamie Coward filling third to sixth place positions as just two and a half seconds covered the top six. Ian Hutchinson was in trouble though with the Honda Racing rider retiring at Quarter Bridge.

It was all change at Ballaugh as Harrison took over the lead from Hillier and Hickman with the trio separated by only half a second but by Ramsey Hickman moved back to the top of the leaderboard. The gap was only 0.038s as Hillier dropped back to third, one and a half seconds adrift of Harrison.

The trio remained close as they went up and over the Mountain for the first time but an opening lap of 127.21mph gave Hickman a 2.3s lead over Harrison with Hillier just under a second further back in third. Conor Cummins and Coward had moved up to fourth and fifth as Johnston slipped back to sixth.

With no pit stop on this occasion, the riders went on to their second and final lap but Harrison’s strength on the opening sector could again be seen as he turned his deficit into a half second advantage as the riders swept round the left hander at Glen Helen. It looked to be a two-horse race as well as Hillier was now three seconds in arrears of Hickman.

By Ballaugh, Hickman had edged ahead again but it remained extremely tight with Harrison only three tenths of a second behind. Hillier dropped another second but stayed in third over six seconds clear of Cummins as Coward and Johnson completed the top six.

As they arrived at Ramsey for the final time, the gap, amazingly, was almost exactly the same and, just like last year’s Senior race, it was all going to come down to the final run over the Mountain.

Through the Bungalow, Hickman had added another six tenths of a second to his lead and he’d increased it to 1.9s at Cronk ny Mona. Indeed, with the fastest lap of the race, 128.14mph, Hickman clinched victory by 3.302s for his first Supersport TT win.

Harrison had to settle for second with Hillier taking another 600cc podium in third as Cummins finished in a safe fourth. Coward took his best ever TT result in fifth ahead of Dunlop with Davey Todd also having his best ever TT finish in seventh. Gary Johnson, Lee Johnston and David Johnson rounded out the top ten.

Hickman’s victory saw him extend his lead at the top of the Joey Dunlop TT Championship to 13 points and he now leads the way on 66 from Harrison (53) and Hillier (49).

Coward took his third successive maximum haul of points in the race for the TT Privateers Championship and he’s moved onto 75 points ahead of Derek Sheils (47) and Paul Jordan (45) who took 12th and 11th respectively in today’s race.

Matt Stevenson was reported to be off at Greeba Castle and was treated at the scene for a wrist injury.

The new BMW S 1000 RR continues its world tour: BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team visits Jerez de la Frontera.

• Sixth round of the 2019 FIM Superbike World Championship season.
• Test at Misano brought more progress with the new RR.
• Tom Sykes: “My target for Jerez is to be at the front or close to it.”

Munich. The new BMW S 1000 RR’s world tour in the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) enters the next phase. This weekend (7th to 9th June), the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and its riders Tom Sykes (GBR) and Markus Reiterberger (GER) will contest the sixth round of the 2019 WorldSBK season, at Jerez de la Frontera (ESP).

The team made use of the break following the races at Imola (ITA) to complete a two-day test in Misano Adriatico in Italy last week, during which new electronics and chassis components were tested. At Jerez de la Frontera, the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team gained initial experience with the new RR in January, during one of the first winter tests of the fledgling project.

Quotes ahead of the races at Jerez de la Frontera.

Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “We already gathered data at the winter test at Jerez de la Frontera, which we are now able to use for tuning the two BMW S 1000 RRs for the race weekend in the same place. We were also able to work through a few areas last week during the test at Misano. We are making continuous progress with the new RR, and this is reflected in the performance on the track. Our objective for the debut season is to move towards the top step by step, and we’ve done well with this in the race events so far. Now we are looking forward to Jerez de la Frontera and will give it our all to be up there battling for the top positions.”

Shaun Muir, Team Principal BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “Following on from a successful test at Misano last week, both Tom and Markus have got a good and positive feeling to take to Jerez this weekend. Markus for sure has made a step forward with his feeling and balance of the bike and we hope that we can transfer this into Jerez. He’s had a good history in Jerez at the past so I feel it could be a positive circuit for him. Equally Tom came away from the test with a good feeling too. A lot of parts were tested, even though we had some changeable weather. But overall, both riders and the team are feeling confident for Jerez. We feel that we can certainly challenge for the top six positions over the course of the weekend and the weather looks very promising, too, so that will be good for some consistency. So overall, we’re in a good, strong position.”

Tom Sykes: “I am very much looking forward to going to Jerez. We showed some potential there in the winter test, even considering the basic nature of where our package was back then. It was fresh out of the crate and certainly a long way from where we are now. So, given the fact that we already showed our potential back then and also off the back of the successful two-day test last week at Misano, I’m really optimistic. I think the track layout can be beneficial for the BMW S 1000 RR and I would certainly like to be in a similar position to where we were at Imola. So obviously my target for Jerez is to be at the front or close to it and to keep moving the whole of the project forward together with the guys.”

Markus Reiterberger: “I am looking forward to going to Spain. Hopefully warm Spanish weather will await us. The track is nice and fluid, and I think that it should suit me. A lot of changes have been made to the asphalt there in recent years and I hope that the conditions there will be good. When we did tests there in winter, our BMW S 1000 RR was brand new. Meanwhile, we have made major developments to the bike and I am excited to see how it will perform there. We made further progress at the Misano test last week. I am feeling confident and will make sure that I am well prepared when I arrive at Jerez. Thanks to the team for the support, and now it’s time to attack once again.”