22 April 2006 EMS Racing Take Impressive Seventh Place in
Valencia Season Opener Sheridan Morais and the EMS Racing
team proved they’ve got what it takes to be
competitive in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup with an
impressive seventh place finish in the opening round of the
series in Valencia, Spain. Competing for the first time in
the tough series, Sheridan improved on his qualifying
position of ninth and despite the changeable track
conditions, spent the full race fighting for a top five
finish. Teammate Mark Pollock looked set for a good result
after impressing in qualifying, but was caught out by the
damp track and crashed out of the race on the fifth lap.
Heavy overnight rain meant that the 4.005KM Spanish circuit
was still damp come the start of the Superstock 1000 FIM
Cup race. With the majority of practice and qualifying
taking place in dry conditions, the EMS Racing team were
left with the difficult task of predicting the weather and
setting up the two bikes up for the conditions. Starting
from ninth place and the third row of the grid, Sheridan
made a good start onboard the EMS Racing Suzuki GSXR-1000
and was in the thick of the action from turn one. The 21
year old South African immediately showed his hard charging
riding style and looked comfortable in the damp conditions
as he began mixing it with his predominantly Spanish and
Italian rivals. With the track still slightly damp and the
EMS Racing Suzuki working well, Sheridan fought his way
through the field. After a string of committed passes he
was into fifth place, but as the track dried further he
found the set up of his bike too soft and he began losing
grip and positions to finally finish in seventh spot.
“It was a tough race, but it was good fun and I
really enjoyed it. I got off the line well and because of
the set-up we chose for the conditions the bike felt at its
best early on in the race. I got held up a bit on the first
lap, which allowed the leaders to pull a bit of a gap, but
I was able to get to the front of the group fighting for
fifth place. Unfortunately as the track really dried the
set-up of my bike was too soft and I was sliding all over
the place trying to hold position.” explained
Sheridan. “The level of riding and the competition is
definitely high in the championship. It’s tough like
the South African Superbike Championship I rode in last
season, but there are a lot more riders capable of winning.
It’s good to get a solid result in the first race and
now I know the level of the championship for the rest of
the season.” he continued. After making good progress
throughout Qualifying, Irishman Mark Pollock left Valencia
a disappointed man after crashing out on lap five of the 13
lap race. Like his teammate, Mark set his EMS Racing Suzuki
up for the damp conditions but opted for softer setting,
which would have been ideal if the track had remained damp.
In the opening laps, Mark fought his way through the field
and into 13th place from his 18th place start, but within
two laps he began to struggle for front wheel grip. On lap
five with the track almost dry, Mark crashed out as he came
on to the back straight, but was fortunately unhurt.
“I’m bitterly disappointed. I wanted to have
the same feeling with the bike as we had in qualifying but
the set-up was just too soft for the conditions. Within a
couple of laps the front was pushing everywhere and I was
struggling to keep the pace and stay on. In the end the
front just washed out and that was the end of my
race.” said Mark. “Now I’m focussing on
Monza in two weeks time. As a track its much faster than
Valencia, which should suit me better and I’m
confident that we can run in the top 15 in the championship
this year, despite the level of the riders were up
against.” he concluded.