McDougall qualifies third for Supersport Cup race at Oulton Park
04-05-2008
British Supersport Cup
Rd 02 - Oulton Park, 4th May 2008
Final Qualifying Positions
Beowulf Racing's Pat McDougall constantly battled against changing weather conditions and a host of machinery modifications at Oulton Park today to blast the squad's Yamaha YZF-R6 into third place in the standings for tomorrow's 16-lap race in the British Supersport Cup. McDougall's time of one minute 42.129 seconds is just two-hundredths of a second behind the second-placed Cup rider Andy Weymouth (Yamaha) and puts him in 21st place on the grid in terms of the main Supersport championship.
Following a series of rainstorms and a lengthy delay to the start of the opening Qualifying session this afternoon, Pat splashed his way to 6th place in the Cup standings and 24th overall. Having to contend with a still-wet circuit Pat looked set to log his best time on his final lap of the 35-minute period but was thwarted by a near-highside at Lodge corner, which he rescued extremely skilfully. Instead, his twelfth lap remained as his best, timed at one minute 53.447 seconds.
In the interval before the second Qualifying session the Beowulf crew tore in action to remove a faulty wiring loom and quickshifter. Working to a deadline with no margin for error, the task was completed with the squad's trademark efficiency.
The second session was held under overcast, but dry, conditions. After an early tyre change, McDougall really began to pile on the pressure and was running in seventh place overall at the halfway point. Another pit stop to adjust his machine's suspension saw him continue to increase his speed in terms of the Cup riders, but many of his factory-backed competitors upped their pace further still. At the end of the 35 minutes McDougall had climbed his way through to third in the Cup standings and 21st overall, which he thought was a fair reward for the efforts of himself and the squad.
The team are looking forwards to Monday's race with confidence. With settings logged for both wet and dry conditions around the 2.7-mile Cheshire circuit, the unpredictable weather which has so far plagued the 2008 Supersport Cup series shouldn't be a factor in tomorrow's second-round outing.
Pat McDougall, Beowulf Supersport Cup rider
"My intention today was to get into the low 1.42's and we've achieved that. Andy Weymouth and myself are so close on times, we should have an interesting race tomorrow. We've made lots of changes today, which have improved the bike but there's still a problem with front-end chatter, which I reckon we can sort out tonight. Overall I'm happy and I'm ready for tomorrow's race come rain or shine."
David McDougall, Beowulf UK Team Manager:
"It's been typical British Superbike weather today - we weren't sure whether to run wet or dry tyres or somewhere in-between. From a development point of view though, that's no bad thing - we're really getting to grips with how the bike operates under a host of different conditions. We improved our time today by almost a second from what we achieved in yesterday's dry practice sessions which is pretty good when you're pushing as hard as we are. I'm really not worried about tomorrow's race - we've got the settings for either wet or dry conditions."
British Supersport Cup
Rd 02 Qualifying Positions
1. Craig Fitzpatrick (Yamaha) - 1:40.741
2. Andy Weymouth (Yamaha) - 1:42.105
3. Pat McDougall (Yamaha) - 1:41.129
British Supersport Cup
Rd 02 Qualifying Positions
1. Chris Martin (Kawasaki) - 1:39.661
2. Glen Richards (Triumph) - 1:39.712
3. Hudson Kennaugh (Yamaha) - 1:39.948
21. Pat McDougall (Yamaha) - 1:41.129
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.
