EMS Racing Battle Hard in Monza Qualifying EMS
Racing had a tough two days of qualifying for
tomorrows’ Superstock 1000 FIM Cup race at Monza in
Italy. South African rider Sheridan Morais claimed 13th
position in the final session after initially running in
the top ten, whilst Irishman Mark Pollock was disappointed
to end final qualifying down in 30th place. For both riders
it was their first visit to the historic Monza circuit,
which is like no other venue on the WSB calendar, with its
near 200mph straights and fast flowing corners. Both riders
made the most of their track time but lost valuable laps
due to rain in the first qualifying session on Friday.
Despite the set back they were happy with the performance
and speed of their EMS Racing Suzuki GSXR1000’s and
put their grid positions down to a lack of track knowledge
compared to that of their Italian rivals. Sheridan
immediately gelled with the Italian circuit but had his
chance of improving his lap time wrecked when he suffered
brake fade due to a broken bracket on his front brake oil
reservoir. With less than ten minutes to improve his time
in the final qualifying session, the determined South
African stayed on track and rode around the problem the
best he could but was ultimately bumped down the grid and
in to 13th position. “I was feeling confident
and I just put on a new tyre when I noticed that the
bracket holding the reservoir was broken. It wasn’t a
problem for my first flying lap but after that the front
brake started to fade which made it really difficult around
this track because it is so fast. It’s disappointing
to be knocked down to 13th place right at the end so now
I’m just going to have to make a good start and
I’m confident I can do that because it’s a long
drag down to the first corner from the start line.”
explained Sheridan. Irishman Mark Pollock began the weekend
confident that the fast circuit would suit his style, but
like his team mate, Sheridan, he lost valuable track time
when the track was wet in first qualifying. At the end of
the session Mark was disappointed to finish as low down as
30th spot but remains upbeat for his chances in tomorrows
race. “My pace was OK, but I just struggled to
put a good lap together. If you look at my ideal times
through the three different sections of the track then I
should have been a lot higher up the field, but it just
didn’t come together. We made a few changes to the
gearing and the bike is working well, so I’m going to
have to get a good start and really get stuck in during the
race.” said Mark. Sunday’s 11 lap race
will get underway at 10.40hrs European time and promises to
be a thrilling spectacle as the EMS Racing rider’s
battle their way through the field.