Assen September 2006
Sunday 3rd September 2006
Tough
Going For EMS in Assen Race
After
showing good pace in qualifying, the two man EMS Racing
team of Sheridan Morais and Mark Pollock had a tough day of
racing in the seventh round of the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup
at Assen. Sheridan ran with the leaders early on in the
race but suffered a technical problem which saw him drop to
11th
at the
finish, whilst Mark worked hard to claim
22nd
place
from 30th
on the
grid despite being knocked off in to the gravel on the
opening lap.
Following
a gear selector problem on his number one bike during the
first day of qualifying, Sheridan was forced to use his
number two bike for the remainder of the weekend. The
change of machinery didn’t seem to be a problem and
starting the race from 11th on the grid, Sheridan was at
his aggressive best and moved up in to seventh position by
lap two.
Due to
the technical problem, Sheridan was unable to continue his
impressive race pace and as a result began dropping down
the field. The tough South African refused to give up and
fought for every position, eventually crossing the line in
11th
place.
“I
made a good start and was right up there but then I just
couldn’t do the times. I tried to hold on and by the
end of the race the guys behind me were definitely faster
but some how I was able to keep them behind me until the
finish. Considering all that I think I was actually pretty
fortunate to finish 11th.”
explained Sheridan
“Since
the race we’ve stripped the bike down to make sure
everything is OK. We’ve not had much time at all
because we’re racing again this weekend, but I
can’t wait to get back on the bike in Germany because
the Lausitz track looks like a lot of fun.” He
continued.
Mark
Pollock saw any chance of picking up some championship
points at Assen evaporate on the first lap after he was
pushed wide and into the gravel going into turn one. Mark
was able to rejoin but then overshot the same corner on lap
two, which left him dead last. Despite the set back Mark
got back on track and rode hard throughout the 13 lap race
to finally finish in 22nd
spot.
“It’s
a disappointing one that’s for sure. I got leaned on
going into turn one, pushed wide and then I was digging my
way out the gravel. On lap two I think I must have been
trying too hard to make up time and ran on at the first
corner and I was in the gravel again. On the plus side the
changes we made to the bike for the race worked well, so
I’m hoping we can go to Lausitz this weekend and be
more competitive from day one.” said
Mark.
The
eighth round of the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup takes place at
the Lausitzring in Germany this weekend
8th
to
10th
September
2006. Neither rider has been to the technical German
circuit before so will be hoping for dry weather to enable
them to be able to learn the circuit and get their EMS
Racing Suzuki’s dialled in for the
weekend.
Saturday 2nd September 2006
EMS
Racing in the mix at Assen
The EMS Racing team made a solid start to the seventh round of the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup at Assen this weekend and are ready for tomorrows race. Throughout practice and qualifying the team worked hard and despite suffering some technical problems and a crash on day one, were still able to show their potential around the newly revised Dutch circuit. South African Sheridan Morais arrived in Assen confident after completing a successful test at the Dutch track one week ago where the team were able to familiarise themselves with the new layout. Unfortunately due to mixed weather conditions at the test the majority of the settings did not work when they arrived for qualifying so they had to start from scratch in setting up the EMS Racing Suzuki. On the first day of qualifying Sheridan was forced to miss out the bulk of the session after a gear selector problem made the bike un rideable. The team worked late into the night to prepare Sheridan’s second bike and in final qualifying the 21 year old did not disappoint and looked set to claim his best qualifying position of the year after holding eighth place up until the final few minutes of the session. Unfortunately he had his time bettered and slipped to the third row and will start the race from 11th on the grid. “We’ve tried a lot on the bike this weekend and we’ve arrived at a completely different set-up to what we had at the test. We’ve played around a lot with the gearing, which is critical at such a fast flowing track, and I’m confident now that we’ve got it right for the race. I was really aiming for a second row start, but once again we’ve ended up on the third row. I’m happy with how the bike is working and as long as I can improve in the last part of the track we should be on for a good race tomorrow.” said Sheridan. Mark Pollock had it all to do this weekend in Assen as unlike Sheridan he was unable to complete last weeks test so had a completely new circuit to learn. He wasn’t helped on day one when one of the Dutch wild card riders knocked him off at the hairpin. Fortunately Mark was unhurt but the crash caused him to lose valuable track time, which left him at the back of the grid. In final qualifying, Mark was able to improve the set-up of the EMS Racing Suzuki and slash over 2.5 seconds off his lap time to take 33rd position on the grid for the 13 lap race. “I made some good progress today, which has helped me forget about being knocked off on Friday. We’ve been a bit behind all weekend but we made a few changes to the bike and now it feels better through the fast corners. I’m actually hoping for rain tomorrow because I feel it will be a bit of a leveller which should help us a lot.” explained Mark. Mark may well see his wish come true with rain forecast for the race on Sunday morning, which takes place at 10.40am. Team mate Sheridan is happy with wet or dry conditions having tested in both last weekend.