2011 FIM Endurance World Championship
The 8 Hours of Albacete, Round 2 of the 2011 FIM Endurance World Championship, didn’t go over too well this past weekend for Honda TT Legends team riders John McGuinness and Steve Plater.
Both Isle of Man TT stars rode excellent laps, but were forced to retire in the final 50 minutes of the 8 Hours of Albacete due to a crash with McGuinness at the controls of the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade.
The Honda TT Legends team reported that McGuinness lost the back end on the fireblade during the end of his racing stint. Honda TT Legends say he was uninjured but unfortunately it was impossible to bring the bike back to the pits to attempt a recovery and therefore the Honda TT Legends team was forced to retire.
Honda TT Legends says: “While the team is obviously disappointed with the result of the race, the progress made during the second round of the 2011 Endurance World Championship cannot be underestimated. The Honda TT Legends will now move on to more familiar territory – the Isle of Man TT from 30 May-10 June – before taking part in the Suzuka eight-hour race in Japan in July.”
Steve Plater (Honda TT Legends CBR1000RR) says: “We’re disappointed but that’s endurance racing. We were setting a good pace and holding fourth position with one hour to go when John had an unfortunate crash. This year is a big learning curve for the team and we’ve learned a huge amount again this meeting. We are more competitive than we were at the Bol d’Or which we’re happy about and we aim to move forward at Suzuka.”
John McGuinness (Honda TT Legends CBR1000RR) says: “I am massively disappointed. We’ve had a good weekend as a team and things were looking good in the race. I was holding the fourth spot and only had one or two laps to go before handing the bike back to Steve, but in the end it didn’t go our way. All we can do now is use what we have learned for Suzuka – and of course look forward to the TT.”