Linfoot secures fourth first time out at Macau Grand Prix
13-11-2008
42nd Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix. First qualifying.
Thursday 13th November 2008
Weather: Dry, sunny, 25 degrees
Dan Linfoot made an impressive debut performance racing at the 42nd Macau Motorcycle GP today. The 20 year old riding the Rob Mac Racing Yamaha Supersport 600 R6 exceeded all expectations by qualifying fourth in the 600cc class and 20th overall despite being up against road riding legends including John McGuiness and Michael Rutter riding full blown Superbikes.
In warm sunny conditions, Dan spent the entire 45 minute opening practice session on track, putting in laps in an effort to understand the long 3.8 mile public road circuit located in the Portuguese colony of Macau. Despite it being his first time racing on the road after a career in world championship short circuit racing, the Harrogate rider looked comfortable onboard the powerful Rob Mac Yamaha setting a lap time of 2m 40.490 after 16 laps.
Following the opening session Dan was able to give the proven Rob Mac Racing team good feedback on the performance of the Yamaha R6. This allowed the British Superbike squad to make some suspension changes in preparation for the first qualifying session. With a good lap time and knowledge of the circuit already under his belt, Dan upped his pace considerably during qualifying by slashing his lap time. Having been over five seconds adrift of the Supersport pole man, in the opening practice session, Dan's impressive 2m 36.79s lap set in qualifying, was significantly just three seconds slower than the class leaders.
Speaking about his first laps of the historic Macau circuit, Dan said: "Macau is a mega place and the track is something special. Racing here is a completely different experience to what I'm used to and with all the barriers and walls being so close it's a real buzz. Before I went out on track I thought it looked a bit scary, but as soon as I put my helmet on and got on the bike there's no worries and I'm already tucking in behind the screen to avoid rubbing my shoulder on the walls."
"I got to test the bike before we came out at Cadwell Park, but racing on a public road is obviously different. We've softened the suspension to help it absorb the bumps and man hole covers and with the gearing we've found its working well. In qualifying I did an eight lap stint and then came in to make a few small changes. When I went out the times started to come a lot easier and I was literally knocking a second off my lap time each lap. My last lap didn't feel fast but it was a second quicker again which is great because I still feel there is a lot more to come."
Second qualifying for Saturday's 15 lap race takes place on Friday morning between 7.30 and 8.30am.
Television coverage of the prestigious race can be seen on Motors TV from 2pm on Sunday 16th November 2008.
Sponsors
Team Beowulf Racing.
The great race at the new Portimao circuit brings an end to our season in World Superbike Superstock 600, with riders Gino Rea and Dan Linfoot.
The season has been a success with Gino third and Dan fifth in the championship standings following three victories and five additional podiums in total. The results have also acted as a stepping stone to the riders for next season, with both securing high profile, career progressing rides for 2009.
Thank you for all of the emails, calls, texts and visits throughout the year. It has been much appreciated.
