Head first for Mason at Snetterton |
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| Tuesday, 23 June 2009 17:34 | |||
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Gary Mason’s winning streak in the Daily Star Cup was temporarily interrupted at Snetterton, when a minor technical fault forced him to retire from the opening race. Riding his spare machine in race two, Mason scored his ninth win of the season, but crossed the line with a smashed screen and a sore head. Mason arrived at the Norfolk circuit in confident form, having won all eight Cup races at the previous four British Superbike rounds on the Q8Oils lubricated Quay Garage Honda. Qualifying was blighted by rain, but Gary was fast enough for a fourth row start, in front of Cup rivals Martin Jessopp, Peter Hickman and Tom Tunstall. In an incident packed Race One that was red flagged when Michael Rutter’s Worx Suzuki blew up on the fourth lap, Mason was forced to pull out by a technical fault on lap seven. This left the way clear for Tommy Bridewell to make an emotional return to the podium, riding the same bike that his late brother rode before his death at Mallory Park in 2007. Lap seven proved luckier for Gary in Race Two, when he set the fastest lap. However, on the final lap, while jockeying for position with Jon Kirkham on the NW200 Yamaha, he clipped the kerb, throwing him forward and smashing the screen with his head. Severely winded, Mason stayed focused to secure the win, just in front of Peter Hickman (Yamaha) and Tom Tunstall (Honda). Having won nine out of 10 races to date, Gary Mason is leading the Mirror.co.uk Cup by 56 points over his closest rival, Peter Hickman. The team will be back in action at Knockhill in Scotland on 3rd to 5th July. The lubricants used by Quay Garage Racing are blended in Q8Oils' purpose-built plant in Leeds, just like the Q8Oils range of MOTO SBK oils that are available to road riders. Article Source:
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