Michael Rutter Takes Pole In Dramatic Final Qualifying For Macau Grand Prix

Friday, November 19th, 2010

by Barry Russell

If his mechanic had pushed just a bit harder, Stuart Easton may have snatched pole position.

At 7:30 this morning, while most people in Macau were either asleep or still trying to defeat the odds in casinos, the six garages allotted to the Motorcycle Grand Prix were a hive of activity as competitors prepared for the final qualifying session. The AXA Ducatis and Paul Bird Kawasakis have been well set up right from the start, with Michael Rutter and Stuart Easton setting times that nobody else has been able to touch.

Today the two rivals pushed still harder, engaging in a thrilling duel that moved times down into the record breaking 2:23s. More than two seconds behind these two, Jeremy Noye, John McGuinness and the impressive Simon Andrews, on only his second visit to Macau, switched positions as the hour-long session went on. In the end a late effort by Rutter pipped Easton to pole position by less than a tenth of a second, with McGuinness 2.2 seconds slower in third and Noye and Andrews completing the top five.

In the AIM Suzuki garage, the overnight focus had been on finding the settings that had made Gary Johnson so blisteringly fast at the Guia circuit last year. As the first ten minutes of practice ticked by, there was no sign of improvement from either Johnson or James Hillier and both riders pitted early for further adjustments to their bikes. The stops took more than 20 minutes each, but the results were immediate as both riders forced their way into the top ten, finishing with Johnson 6th on a fastest lap of 2:26.849 and Hillier 7th just 0.2 seconds behind.

After the frustration of yesterday, the team was elated. Gary Johnson said, “We found the feeling we were looking for from the front and the tyres worked really well. I was held up on my fastest lap and I’m still a second off my middle sector time from last year, so I know we can go quicker.”

James Hillier said, “It was hard work, but I’m amazed at how fast we ended up going! It didn’t feel any faster than yesterday, so it shows how much we’ve improved the setting.”

With no further action for motorcycles due until tomorrow’s 7:30 warm-up and the whole team in a good mood, Hillier headed off with a group to visit the Great Wall of China, while Johnson went back to his hotel to freshen up ready to greet his parents, who will arrive this afternoon.

Expect a hard fight for the podium tomorrow.

FIRST SECOND
POS NO CL RIDER NAT TEAM TIME LAPS TIME LAPS GAP
1 6 Michael RUTTER GBR Team of Paris – AXA 2:25.245 11 2.23.714 15
2 1 Stuart EASTON GBR Kawasaki Racing Team 2:25.448 14 2.23.798 15 0.084
3 4 John MCGUINNESS GBR IGT/sorrymate.com 2:28.691 14 2.25.955 17 2.241
4 57 Jeremy TOYE USA Lee’s Cycles Racing 2.27.323 12 2.26.301 15 2.587
5 17 Simon ANDREWS GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki 2:27.519 15 2.26.621 19 2.907
6 69 Gary JOHNSON GBR MOCHA/IGT A.I.M. Suzuki 2:30.162 12 2.26.849 14 3.135
7 37 James HILLIER GBR MOCHA/IGT A.I.M. Suzuki 2:30.674 13 2.27.120 13 3.406
8 15 James STORRAR GBR DMR Racing 2:29.674 14 2.28.399 16 4.685
9 2 Keith AMOR GBR Kawasaki Racing Team 2:29.206 14 2.28.632 16 4.918
10 33 Luis CARREIRA POR Benimoto Suzuki Cetelem 2:29.564 14 2.28.822 17 5.108
11 9 James McBRIDE GBR Pazzo/Downview Finance 2:33.815 10 2.29.522 14 5.808
12 10 Chris PERIS CAN Iron Horse BMW ESP 2:33.964 13 2.29.693 15 5.979
13 11 Stephen THOMPSON GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki 2:31.431 14 2.29.936 16 6.222
14 13 Rico PENZKOFER GER Mocha BMW 2:33.364 10 2.29.958 10 6.244
15 40 Martin JESSOPP GBR Team of Paris – AXA 2:30.679 12 2.30.173 12 6.459
16 12 Horst SAIGER AUT MV Agusta Grisoni 2:34.443 16 2.30.571 20 6.857
16 31 Mark MILLER USA Mocha BMW 2:32.813 14 2.31.169 18 7.455
18 5 Cameron DONALD AUS Relentless Suzuki by TAS 2:31.508 14 2.32.272 13 7.794
19 8 Mark BUCKLEY GBR Luminox BMW 2:36.756 15 2.32.068 19 8.354
20 68 David JOHNSON AUS East Coast Racing 2:35.297 15 2.32.965 18 9.251
21 50 Dan KNEEN IOM DMR Racing 2:37.738 14 2.33.618 19 9.904
22 26 Didier GRAMS GER Team Heidger-Motorsport.de 2:38.776 14 2.35.042 14 11.328
23 23 Michal DOKOUPIL CZE East Coast Racing 2:38.550 15 2.36.168 20 12.454
24 7 Anthony Dos SANTOS FRA Team of Paris – AXA 2:42.677 15 2.36.187 19 12.473
25 22 Sean DWYER USA Vicious Cycle Racing 2:41.945 13 2.37.472 15 13.758
26 32 Joao FERNANDES MAC Team of Paris – AXA 2:41.198 13 2.37.488 18 13.774
Qualification Maxima 2:38.085
35 CHEUNG Wai On HKG Cheung Wai On 2:41.882 13 2.38.121 15 14.407
27 Fernando COSTA POR Clube Motorizado do Troco 2:42.979 13 2.40.540 2 16.826
18 SOU Sio Hong MAC Sou Sio Hong 2:43.518 16 2.42.858 16 19.144
70 IP Weng Keong MAC Ip Weng Keong 2:57.151 6 2.59.979 4 33.437

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