R1 Strong First Qualifying

From http://www.virginmobileracing.com Strong First Qualifying Both Simon Crafar and Steve Plater began their 2002 British Superbike campaigns in impressive style for Team Virgin Mobile Aiwa powered by Yamaha at Silverstone today, with both securing grid places in the first three rows. Crafar heads the campaign on the all-new 2002 fuel-injected Yamaha R1, securing a fine second row start after the single lap Superpole shootout grid decider. The Kiwi spent the earlier test sessions working on extensive set-ups for the new machine and put the work to good use in the cold conditions. Simon seized the lap and demonstrated the potential to come from the R1, inch perfect around the sweeping, fast circuit both man and machine lapped faster than at any point of the weekend so far – in the end Crafar’s time was less than 0.5s off a front row place. ‘I’m happy enough with a second row start here for sure. We have spent a lot of time here dialling in certain aspects of the chassis. The testing that we have done has given us a very clear direction to take the development of the motorcycle in but as usual when you start competing on a new motorcycle you suddenly find that the last little bit of speed means new challenges to overcome and that’s what we have found here. ‘At the end of yesterday my head was buzzing with all the development ideas we had, today we have been isolating those ideas and working on getting the bike into corners smoother and faster. ‘A second row start here in the first race of the year, after such a relatively short time with the bikes, is excellent. At this stage of its development life the bike has delivered a good performance and shown there is plenty more to come.’ Plater was also flying on his R1, lapping less than a second behind his teammate although Steve was less than impressed with his performance. ‘I made three mistakes on that lap so I am pretty annoyed with myself. I knew where I was right and where I was wrong on the circuit and those points definitely cost me some time. ‘I am frustrated with myself because I know I can do better and I know that the bike is capable of much more – and would have delivered it if I had been better on the one lap. Superpole is a lottery. One mistake is heavy to take with you, three and I knew I would be pushing hard to get a good time. ‘Third row on the grid is still pretty good though and that speaks more about the bike than my performance does. Come the races I know it’s going to be tough over every inch of the track.’ Paul Jones, riding for Team Virgin Mobile Aiwa powered by Yamaha under the satellite Colin Appleyard run squad, had mixed fortunes on the Yamaha R7 today. A fine qualifying performance saw the youngster burst into the Superpole group of the fastest riders and he was immediately up on his best qualifying time so far until a slide at the slow Luffield Turn saw him fall. The bike managed to throw Paul over its front faring and his lap was over. Thankfully Jones was unhurt in the fall, the spill cost him on the timesheets though – with no time registered for the one-off lap he will start tomorrow’s race from the 16th place on the grid. Team boss Rob McElnea was pleased with the team’s performance overall saying: ‘This was the first time the bikes have been put out in anger and what we learn in the competition scenario is like taking big steps forward. ‘The tests that we have had so far have been very good but they are always a way of us getting to know the bikes. Here we are starting to see what they can do. ‘In this setting I guess you can call it an ongoing test because we are learning so much and seeing the true potential of the new R1. Both Simon and Steve are riding the bikes superbly and are pushing the bikes hard. ‘Now we are moving the bikes onto the next level. We are a premier team and want results but our intention is to take the bikes on further. Over the next three rounds we are aiming to get the bikes up to the front of the grid. ‘The amount of ground we have covered in a short space of time has been amazing and I am very confident that we can achieve our goal very soon.’ Pole: Steve Hislop, Ducati 1m 21.180 2 Sean Emmett, Ducati 1m 22.043 3 John Reynolds, Suzuki 1m 22.452 4 John Crawford, Suzuki 1m 22.461 5 Michael Rutter, Ducati 1m 22.546 6 Dean Thomas, Ducati 1m 22.710 7 Simon Crafar, Team Virgin Mobile Aiwa Yamaha 1m 22.858 8 Glen Richards, Kawasaki 1m 23.172 9 Karl Harris, Suzuki 1m 23.287 10 Paul Young, Suzuki 1m 23.598 11 Steve Plater, Team Virgin Mobile Aiwa Yamaha 1m 23.694 12 Paul Brown, Ducati 1m 23.724 13 Jamie Morley, Suzuki 1m 24.098 14 Gary Mason, Kawasaki 1m 24.148 Fall: Paul Jones, Team Virgin Mobile Aiwa Yamaha