John McGuinness took a hard-earned podium in the Superbike race today on his HM Plant Honda Fireblade. The Morecambe rider was involved in a close battle for the win, but had to settle for 3rd on his CBR1000RR. In the second race McGuinness had to recover from an off-track excursion to come home in 5th position. In Superstock Steve Brogan had a minor problem on his Fireblade and had to retire at the end of the first lap. In the Supersport races the HM Plant Honda rider took his CBR600RR to 11th in the first race and a fighting 4th place in the second race.
John McGuinness – HM Plant Honda
Superbike – Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade (3rd and 5th)
“Well, what can I say about today? I mentioned yesterday that there’s never a game plan with races at the North West 200 and today really proved it. You can be on pole but come the race you’re fighting tooth and nail with the other guys. Overall I’m fairly satisfied with a podium, but a win could have been on the cards – sadly it was not to be. What this has done is shown us how the bike will perform at the Isle of Man TT races and the feeling is good. The new 2008 CBR1000RR Fireblade is going to be a real weapon at the TT. I’m looking forward to it. I do want to give my congratulations to Michael Dunlop for winning the 250cc race. It was a pleasure to be on the podium with him and I’m sure his dad is very proud.”
Steve Brogan – HM Plant Honda
Superstock – Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade (DNF)
Supersport – Honda CBR600RR (11th and 4th)
“I’m definitely happy with the second Supersport race but in the first I made a massive mistake which cost me dearly, so I was very disappointed with that. The positive from the first race was that I knew we had pace to run with the front-runners. Basically in the first race I out-broke myself into one of the chicanes and it cost me dearly. In the Superstock race I didn’t get a good start and then the back wheel locked up a couple of times on the first lap so I had to pull in. The second Supersport race was much more satisfying. I got a half-decent start but the race got red-flagged when Guy Martin crashed at Blackhill. I got away well on the re-start and stuck with the front guys, but I lost the three Yamahas in front when I got a false neutral going into the hairpin. For me the first part of the day was a bit disappointing really, but the second Supersport result wasn’t too bad. I may come back here to race again, we’ll see what happens next year.”
Havier Beltran – HM Plant Honda Team Manager“Today I’ve seen some of the closest road-racing ever. Firstly I have to mention Michael Dunlop’s win in the 250cc race. For him to win today after losing his father, Robert on Thursday, well, everyone either had a tear in the eye or a lump in the throat. That result picked the whole paddock up after everything that had happened. In the first Superbike race it was so close. John was battling hard on the last lap but despite all of us wanting first place, he took a well-earned podium. In the second Superbike race John led for part of the way but overshot one of the chicanes – which is easily done – but managed to come through from 8th to 5th place, so we were pleased with that. For Steve there was never any pressure to get results and in the first Supersport race he took 11th, with John 9th on the Padgetts CBR600RR. Again, Steve ran-on at one of the chicanes and spent the last two laps alone on track. In Superstock sadly Steve had a rear brake issue and had to retire at the end of the first lap but he more than made up for it with a superb performance in the second Supersport 600 race when he took fourth position. That’s an excellent result from Steve and by the end of the race Steve was only around three seconds down on the eventual top three, which is a splendid result. Overall we’ve been very pleased with how things have gone for HM Plant Honda at the North West 200.”
