Well it was a disappointing end to what looked like being a very positive weekend for the STP Motorsport MV Agusta British Superbike Team. After qualifying on the third row of the grid the team expected at least two podiums in the Superbike Cup as reward for some extremely hard work in the pit garage.
In morning free practice on race day Chris Burns posted the fastest time out of the Superbike Cup riders and was 13th overall, adding to the team's optimism. As the first race got underway this optimism looked as if it would become reality, with Chris quickly catching and passing Gary Mason to establish a lead in the Cup standings. In extending his lead in the Cup, Chris was constantly putting in fastest lap after fastest lap. That was until lap 16 when an electrical problem that had dogged the team in free practice returned, forcing Chris to pull off the track and retire from the race.
In race two the MV Agusta quickly fell foul of the same electrical problem on lap three, in virtually the same place on the track. Unfortunately, this time it resulted in a crash for Chris. Thankfully, while he his now nursing a few bruises he suffered no serious injuries.
Team Manager, Warwick Nowland comments: "While the end result is extremely disappointing for the team we have to put it in context; the results we have had so far this season have been better than we expected at this early stage in the development of the MV Agusta F4 1000 as a Superbike. As the only team running the MV Agusta in British Superbikes we are doing a lot of the development work while we are racing, this is not an ideal situation but it is one that we are dealing with very well as a team. One of the positives to come from this weekend is the way that the whole team has pulled together to get the bike so competitive and able to qualify so well. One thing we do know is that the MV Agusta is quick, and we are confident that we will soon be back to winning ways in the Superbike Cup."
Picture Credit: Turn One Photography
