Karl Harris battled against the odds to qualify his Rob Mac Racing Yamaha R1 in an impressive 6th place despite riding with three broken bones in his right foot. The Sheffield hard-man defied the odds by cutting his own plaster-cast off his foot to compete at Round three of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park, today (5th May).
A gutsy performance throughout free practice and qualifying saw Karl overcome the pain to rack up another solid pre-race performance. Drama shrouded the beginning of Race one as rain began to fall on the warm-up lap. Harris joined the grid waving his arms in the air to alert the race officials of the pending danger. Despite his protests the race got underway, though was short-lived as a number of riders succumbed to the conditions at the first corner.
A quick race re-start ensued giving the riders time to switch to wet Pirelli tyres. Karl struggled to launch his Yamaha YZF-R1 off the line but made up three valuable places to sixth by the end of Lap 1 Gradually chipping away at the gap ahead of him to Leon Camier on the Ducati, Karl fell victim to a highside coming at Druids corner in the closing stages of the second lap.
Race 2 was to bring no further luck for Karl. The Yorkshire-man was keen to have a steady race and earn some valuable championship points. Not on his usual front running pace, Karl was running in 9th place for the majority of the race. On lap 12 he lost the front end going into Druids, crashing out of the race and ending his point scoring campaign for another weekend.
The team now faces a very fast turnaround before the re-run of the snow-cancelled Brands Hatch next weekend (10/11 May).
Rob McElnea, Team Principal: "Karl has put a very brave face on his fitness but this weekend has highlighted just how much his injury is restricting him. Obviously we are disappointed that we have shown so much promise but are yet to get the results. It's going to be a very tough turnaround between now and Brands Hatch for Karl to be fit."
Karl Harris: "I'm devastated. I've tried my best this weekend to overcome the situation with my foot but I don't think even I realised the full extent of it. The crash in Race one gave me another heavy knock to my foot and I have suffered as a result of riding injured. I'm so desperate to give the team the results that they are working so hard for but I think need to concentrate on getting fit before they will come."
Race 1 Result:1) Byrne (Ducati)
2) Haslam (Honda)
3) Camier (Ducati)
4) Rutter (Ducati)
5) Sykes (Suzuki)
DNF - Harris (Rob Mac Racing Yamaha)
Race 2 Result:1) Byrne (Ducati)
2) J Ellison (Honda)
3) Camier (Ducati)
4) M Laverty (Suzuki)
5) Easton (Kawasaki)
DNF - Karl Harris (Rob Mac Racing Yamaha)
Championship Standings:
1) Byrne - 95
2) Camier - 56
3) Crutchlow - 55
=3) Rutter - 5
5) Laverty - 39
