PLATER WINS MACAU 2006

[totalmotorcycle]

PLATER WINS MACAU 2006
Tuesday, November 21, 2006 - - Curtesy Insidebikes



The word from Macau;

Steve Plater emerged triumphant from a record-breaking Rio Hotel Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix – 40th Edition to take victory and put paid to Michael Rutter’s hopes of adding to his tally of wins.

Plater, on the AIM Racing Yamaha 1000, passed Rutter, the pre-race favourite, on lap four and stayed out ahead of his rival until the chequered flag.

Rutter, looking for his seventh win which would have been a record for the event, tried hard to regain the advantage and four times he and Plater broke Rutter’s long-standing lap record.

Rutter, on the Stobart Motorsport Honda 1000, was badly baulked by a slower rider two laps from home but continued to chase the race leader and was just under a second behind him at the chequered flag.

One man who was not disappointed that Rutter was beaten was former British star Ron Haslam who shares with him the record of six wins in the event. Haslam was a guest of the event as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations.

A third British racer, Ian Hutchinson, Rutter’s team mate looked as though he would challenge for victory in the early stages, but after losing second spot to Plater he began to drop back and finally finished third, twenty seven seconds down on the race winner.

Scot Stuart Easton, a third member of the Stobart Motorsport Honda squad, was fourth home, five seconds behind Hutchinson but only a tenth of a second ahead of another British racer, Guy Martin on the second AIM Racing Yamaha.

Former winner and the man who has finished runner-up to Rutter for the past four years, John McGuinness, had for him a poor race and finished sixth on his Stobart Motorsport Honda.

Steve Allan beat fellow Scot Callum Ramsay, both on MSS Discovery Racing Kawasakis in the Supersport 600 Class.

It was the second year in succession that Allan had taken victory in the race, but he announced afterwards that he was now looking for a Superbike ride for next year’s event.

Hong Kong racer Cheung Wai On on his privately-owned Yamaha was third in the smaller bike class, 20 seconds behind Ramsay.