Final preparations are underway for the opening race of the 2008 Isle of Man TT festival and both Steve Plater and Ian Hutchinson have completed their practice and are ready for Saturday’s first race, the Dainese TT Superbike event to be run over six laps of the 37.73-mile mountain course.
Practice was not straightforward for either rider who both had problems with set up in the early sessions. But after sitting out Tuesday and Wednesday because of the poor weather conditions the sun returned to greet the riders for the final two night’s of practice.
Ian Hutchinson was able to find a good set up for both AIM Yamaha bikes and is fully prepared for the Superbike and Supersport events that take place during the coming week.
He recorded the fifth fastest time in the Superbike class in practice with a lap of 126.959mph posted in the final session on Friday and Monday’s lap of 120.362mph saw Hutchy end the week as 14th fastest in the Supersport class.
“I am happy with the performance of both bikes,” said Hutchy. “Everything appears to be running smoothly but the proof will be in the pudding on Saturday. I have been a frequent visitor to the podium over the past few years and it would be nice to be there again this time for AIM Yamaha.”
Meanwhile Steve Plater recorded a fast lap of 121.847mph to become the fourth fastest rider overall in the Supersport class but had ongoing suspension problems with the AIM Yamaha R1 Superbike and was left down in 24th place overall with a quickest lap of 120.362mph.
“We had gone the wrong way with the suspension adjustments on the Superbike,” explained Plater. “But hopefully we now have it sorted. I am going to use Saturday’s race as a test and as long as the bike is friendly and rideable over the six laps then it’s not an issue. However I am very happy with the Supersport machine, it’s running well so we are hopeful of a strong result.”
The sun is shining and the visibility is good on the mountain section of the course so the scene is set for some exciting racing today. The first race is the Superbike event at noon followed by the first three-lap sidecar race at 3.15pm.
Image Credit: Baylon McCaughey
