IoM TT Report
Keith Amor, who was drafted in to replace the injured Steve Plater in the HM Plant Honda Superbike squad says he is pleased with a solid result in the opening race of the 2010 Isle of Man TT.
The Scot finished sixth in Saturday’s six-lap PokerStars Superbike race, the first time he has finished in the top six of the super bike class since his debut in 2007. He was the highest placed HM Plant rider after teammate John McGuinness retired on lap one with mechanical problems.
The Falkirk racer was happy with his performance having only sat on the motorcycle for the first time on Monday. As well as his best super bike finish so far, Amor also posted his best ever lap of the Mountain Course with a final lap speed of 129.604mph.
Starting at number 5, and wearing the all-new limited TT edition Arai helmet, Amor put in an opening lap of 127.220mph for ninth place. Increasing his speed to 127.652mph Amor moved up to eighth place after two laps, before coming into the pits to refuel and change the rear tyre for the first time.
With visibility improving all the time and his pace improving, Amor moved up to seventh at half race distance and this was maintained on lap four, despite lapping even quicker at 128.973mph. Now circulating on the road at high speed with Cameron Donald and Michael Dunlop, the fans lining the course were treated to a short circuit-style dice on the roads between the trio and with a final lap speed of 129.608mph, his best ever, Amor was able to secure sixth.
Keith Armor says: "We tried a few different settings for the race but we’d gone in the right direction so my first two laps weren’t as I would have liked but at the first pit stop we were able to change a few things and it transformed the bike and I was able to get going properly."
"I have to keep reminding myself I didn’t sit on the bike until Monday and having lost the opening Saturday night due to bad weather, I’ve been chasing a good set-up all week in order to make the tyre last better. The second half of the race made things a lot better so we now know what we need to do for next Friday’s Senior race."
"I really enjoyed the dice with Cameron and Michael even if it did get a bit hectic out there but to get sixth place in my first ‘factory’ ride is pretty pleasing. All the boys in the team did a mega job and I was able to lap quicker than I’ve ever gone before so it’s good to get race week underway with a solid result."
TT Race Updates: TT HM Plant SBK | Keith Amor Results | Sidecar Results | Electric TT Practice | TT Superbike ReCap Video | Superbike Results | SBK Race Day Updates
Pos No. Rider Lap Time Lap Speed Machine/Entrant Grow Time Avg Speed
1 4 Ian Hutchinson 1000cc Honda / Padgetts Motorcycles 17 46.17 127.398 01 46 31.82 127.502
2 7 Michael Dunlop 1000cc Honda / Street Sweep/Robinson Concrete 17 29.52 129.419 01 47 05.75 126.828
3 6 Cameron Donald 1000cc Suzuki / Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing 17 28.57 129.536 01 47 15.40 126.638
4 8 Guy Martin 1000cc Honda / Wilson Craig Racing 17 29.22 129.456 01 47 18.05 126.586
5 9 Adrian Archibald 1000cc Suzuki / AMA Racing Team 17 40.90 128.031 01 47 21.72 126.514
6 5 Keith Amor 1000cc Honda / H M Plant Honda 17 27.99 129.608 01 47 24.11 126.467
7 3 Ian Lougher 1000cc Kawasaki / Blackhorse Kawasaki 17 56.59 126.165 01 48 45.20 124.895
8 16 Michael Rutter 1000cc Honda / Batham’s Honda 17 44.12 127.643 01 49 32.47 123.997
9 13 Daniel Stewart 1000cc Honda / Wilcock Consulting 17 45.14 127.522 01 50 02.24 123.438
10 12 Ryan Farquhar 1000cc Kawasaki / MSS Colchester Kawasaki 17 57.30 126.082 01 50 02.81 123.428
11 1 Bruce Anstey 1000cc Suzuki / Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing 18 08.68 124.764 01 50 07.67 123.337
12 18 Dan Kneen 1000cc Suzuki / Manx Gas / Marks Bloom Racing 18 07.56 124.892 01 51 15.26 122.088
13 24 Ian Mackman 1000cc Suzuki / 2 MACHS 18 22.99 123.146 01 51 22.28 121.960
14 28 Davy Morgan 1000cc Suzuki / CSC Branson Racing 18 10.12 124.599 01 51 31.16 121.798
15 34 Stephen Oates 1000cc Suzuki / Hallett Aviation/Road & Racing 18 18.31 123.670 01 51 39.72 121.642
Motorcycles
16 21 John Burrows 1000cc Suzuki / BE Racing 18 19.38 123.550 01 51 40.65 121.625
17 31 Rico Penzkofer 1000cc BMW / Penz13.Com Racing Team 18 14.84 124.062 01 51 58.68 121.299
18 33 Jimmy Moore 1000cc Yamaha / East Coast Racing 18 10.49 124.557 01 52 04.99 121.185
19 26 Paul Dobbs 1000cc Yamaha / Dave East Engineering 18 22.10 123.245 01 52 23.08 120.860
20 27 James McBride 1000cc Yamaha / Downview Finance / Pazzo Racing 18 18.13 123.691 01 52 36.17 120.626
21 25 Ian Pattinson 1000cc Yamaha / Phase One Endurance 18 21.36 123.327 01 53 02.84 120.152
22 37 Luis Carreira 1000cc Suzuki / Benimoto Suzuki Cetelem 18 18.50 123.649 01 53 12.04 119.989
23 17 Mark Miller 1000cc BMW / Penz13/SK Support 18 22.48 123.202 01 53 59.12 119.163
24 20 Steve Mercer 1000cc Yamaha / G Forces / SMR Road Racing 20 25.20 110.862 01 54 20.92 118.784
