Disappointing day at Oulton for John McGuinness
Raceline Photography
By Phil Wain
May 8 2005
John McGuinness had a disappointing weekend at Oulton Park with rounds seven and eight of the British Superbike Championship taking place at the Cheshire circuit on Bank Holiday Monday.
The AIM Racing rider failed to add to his points tally, retiring after just six laps of the first race and failing to start the second, mechanical woes afflicting the R1 Yamaha.
Practice conditions were mixed but when the second and final qualifying session got underway, the circuit was dry so the pace would be frantic. After ending up 13th in the opening session, hopes were high of a top ten qualifying position and that’s where John was lying when the red flag was brought out, just a couple of minutes before the end of the session. With no soft rear tyre left to use, he was powerless to do any more and slipped all the way down to 17th, only good enough for a fifth row position.
© Raceline Photography
The threat of rain was hanging over Oulton when the first race blasted away from the line and, with a lowly grid position, a good start was going to be crucial. However, his race was over almost immediately, with the engine overheating subsequently losing power. John was fighting a losing battle and, sure enough, he was forced to retire at the end of the sixth lap.
The rain began falling as the riders made their way to the grid for the second race but John never even made it that far. With a wet front about to be fitted to the machine, the front wheel bearing collapsed, preventing the spindle from coming out and, despite the best efforts of the team, it wouldn’t budge. So, as the 18-lap race commenced, John was stuck in the garage with his race over before it had even started.
An extremely dejected John said, “Oulton Park is one of my favourite circuits so to come away from the meeting without any points is very disappointing, not just for me but for the whole team. Everyone put in maximum effort throughout but after the final qualifying session, things just went downhill. We’re all working hard and pulling together but we aren’t getting any of the rewards to show for it. The next month is very important to me with the road racing season getting underway and I hope that we can turn it around and get the results we deserve.”
John and the team will now endeavour to put the meeting behind them, as they make their way across the Irish Sea for the next round of the championship. Round four takes place on Sunday 15th May at Mondello Park in Southern Ireland in what will be a busy period for everyone, the International North West 200 road races getting underway just two days later. The Isle of Man TT is also on the horizon, commencing on the 28th of May.
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