EMS Racing

REPORTS

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.

Valencia 2006

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