Mcguinness Wins TT Again As Redding Wows at British GP
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THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF DUNLOP MOTORSPORT IN TOUCH [ www.injection.tv ] ISSUE SIX, JULY 2008 McGuinness wins TT again as Redding wows at British GP Fabrizio Giovanardi moved into a commanding 23-point lead in the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship after the fifth round at Croft on June 1. The Vauxhall driver took victory in the third of the day’s races to lead his team-mate Matt Neal in the title standings with Mat Jackson’s BMW third and Jason Plato fourth in the SEAT. The first race was full of drama before the officials brought it to a premature end on the grounds of safety. The race was initially stopped after five laps after an accident and was re-started in wet conditions. With cars sliding off the circuit, stewards called a halt with full points declared, leaving Colin Turkington as the winner, ahead of Neal and Gordon Sheddon. Darren Turner slid off track having qualified on pole position in his diesel- powered SEAT, and Plato, who had qualified third, crashed on the warm Steve Plater led home an all-Dunlop podium in the Supersport race following the exclusion of Bruce Ainstay up lap. He recovered to finish 12th after starting from the pit lane. Turkington took a second win in the Plater takes first TT trophy, McGuinness second race, but Mat Jackson had a brilliant drive from 18th on the grid to finish little more than a tenth takes fourth successive Senior title of a second behind in his BMW. Turkington almost lost control of his Steve Plater recorded his first ever Dunlop’s leading finisher who took Dunlop taking fourth through to car on the penultimate corner, but win in the Supersport category a deserved place on the podium. tenth positions at the chequered had just enough of an advantage to of the Isle of Man TT, heading McGuinness, Plater and Keith flag. hold off Jackson. an all-Dunlop podium ahead Amor all retired from the event, "We go racing to develop and Matt Neal was third, strengthening of John McGuinness and Keith but Dunlop was still delighted to improve the performance of our his grip on second place in the Amor in the first of the category’s see 12 of the top 20 riders using road tyres, so the results at events championship, while Plato, so close races. Plater crossed the line little its tyres. like the Isle of Man TT and the to becoming champion in 2007, more than three seconds ahead could manage no better than eighth. In the four-lap Superstock race, North West 200 are extremely The final race saw Giovanardi in of McGuinness on his Yamaha, McGuinness was again on the important to us," says Phil Plater, perfect form, the Italian eventually but the pair were more than 20 podium for Dunlop, finishing Manager Motorsport UK. "John's finding his way past Rob Collard’s seconds behind the New Zealand second to Cameron Donald. The victory in the Isle of Man and BMW having started from third rider Bruce Ainstay, whose Suzuki Morcambe rider was the first ever Steve's performances at both the place on the grid, and he went on to was deemed to have an illegal part to contest an Isle of Man TT race TT and the North West 200 prove take victory by 1.5s ahead of Adam in the engine and was excluded on Dunlop’s D211 GP tyre, and that Dunlop make a formidable Jones’s Seat Leon. from the results. he followed up these results with race tyre that is equally adept on Jones was penalised two penalty Just under half the grid started the a magnificent victory in the blue the road." points on his competition licence Supersport race on Dunlop tyres. after a robust move on Collard, ribbon race, the Senior TT. who was then hit by Mike Jordan’s The company debuted the D211 It was McGuinness’s Honda Integra. Plato completed GP tyre, and the top eight finishers, fourth successive senior his miserable weekend by clashing and 15 of the top 20, were running win, and with it he with Turkington’s BMW and trailed Dunlop rubber. It was a fine result equalled Mike Hailwood’s round at the tail of the field. Turner for the tyre manufacturer, and tally of 14 TT wins, tangled with Jackson after a safety for McGuinness who completed making him the second car period, which put paid to his the race with a broken steering most successful TT rider chances of salvaging points from a damper which covered his visor of all time behind Joey promising performance in qualifying. in oil and left him powerless to Dunlop. His lap time on defend from a charging Plater, Dunlop race slicks was whose victory comes just weeks 129.516mph, the fastest after he bagged an historic hat- race lap of the 2008 TT trick in another of the world’s and just short of his own premier public road racing events, lap record, which he set the North West 200. in 2007. Anstey made up for his McGuinness finished disappointment in the second of ahead of Donald and the Supersport races, winning from Hutchinson in the six lap, Ian Hutchinson and Ryan Farquhar, 226 mile race, with McGuinness celebrates his 14th Isle of Man TT title 2 Le Mans 24 hours - The 2008 edition of the Le Mans 24 hours produced everything from a record breaking qualifying and race pace to a record crowd of 258,500. Dunlop scored podium finishes in the LMP2 class with the Team Essex Porsche RS Spyder, and in the GT2 class with the Farnbacher Racing Ferrari after a challenging race Team Essex celebrate at Le Mans held in mixed conditions. Much of the race was run in the dry but, shortly International GT Open - It took only five before dawn, the rain began to fall races for the Swiss team Trottet Racing to heavily. and the teams worked with their clinch its first victory. Marcel Fassler and tyre companies to make critical tyre Henri Moser, deputizing for the regular choices. The Essex Racing team of John drivers who were busy at Le Mans, won at Nielsen, Sascha Maassen and Caster Spa after starting from pole position, and Elgaard, led as darkness fell, but an Mark Winterbottom took two podium finishes behind Jamie Whincup they led to the chequered flag ahead of engine problem robbed them of power championship leaders Andrea Montermini for around four hours, allowing the van and Michele Maceratesi. Montermini had Whincup wins Sandown but Merksteijn Porsche to pull ahead into challenged until the pit stop sequence when, a lead it was never to lose. In GT2, the due to the handicap system, the Ferrari was Virgo Motorsport Ferrari team battled held in the pits for 25 seconds. Advanced Winterbottom leads title chase against the odds to run second in Engineering took a resounding double victory class despite losing the power steering in Sunday's Spa GT Open race, with Michele Jamie Whincup took two wins and the Ingall went on to finish seventh, but system early in the race. There was Rugolo and Maurizio Mediani taking victory round win at Sandown, Melbourne, moving ahead Whincup was leading and looking heartbreak for the team with little more in their Ferrari F430 ahead of sister car of into third place in the drivers' standings comfortable before a lock-up allowed than two hours remaining when, having Alessandro Bonetti and Damien Pasini in a after six races. He only missed out on a through his team-mate Craig Lowndes, and battled throughout the race, the car thrilling finale which saw contact between third win when he made a mistake in race Shane van Gisbergen who scored his best was retired with an engine failure. The the two cars in the last corner. The third car two in his Ford Falcon. Mark Winterbottom ever finish in the Australian V8 Supercars. first Dunlop car across the line overall of the Italian team (Maletic-Aguas) finished took two second place finishes and a sixth Lowndes suffered a broken axle on the was the Rollcentre Pescarolo, driven by fourth, completing a great day for the AF to lead of the drivers' table. warm up lap for the third instalment of the Vanina Ickx, Joao Barbosa and Stephen Corse team. The race, which took place in Whincup started the first race from pole contest, and so it was van Gisbergen and Gregoire. Their Judd V10-powered car fantastic weather conditions unusual to the position and, once Winterbottom had failed his Ford team-mate James Courtney who was delayed by a gear selection problem, region, was marked by a three-lap safety to out-drag him to the first corner, the result led the field away. Van Gisbergen slid wide, and a puncture which was a common car period shortly before the driver changes, was never in doubt. Craig Lowndes rounded dropping to fourth, Courtney pitted too early, feature of the race with razor sharp due to oil spilled over the track. Montermini- out the podium positions but race two saw and it was Whincup who benefited the most, gravel stones dragged onto the circuit Maceratesi (81 points) keep leadership in an altogether different affair. emerging from the pits with a lead he was by spinning cars. The Quifel Team ASM the championship, and are now followed by The race started on a damp track and at not to lose. finished 20th overall after suffering gear Rugolo (61), Gião-Couceiro (60) and Bonetti- the first corner there was drama as Russell Ford drivers filled the top four positions selection problems.