Disappointment for TAG Triumph at Donington Park

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Two successful days of practice and qualification saw riders Paul Young and Peter Ward running first and second at one stage of Sunday morning’s qualifying session that saw Young end in provisional pole position before he subsequently dropped to third after session two, leading the team to belief their luck had changed and hopes of good results were high.
From his front row starting position, Young was second into the first corner and then remained in the leading group throughout a race that at times he led before ultimately passing the chequered flag in second place to secure TAG Triumph’s first podium finish this series.
However, the teams' joy was short-lived. After the delight of watching Young celebrate his achievement on the rostrum as he collected his trophy and sprayed the champagne, Young’s machine was found to be just 500g underweight in the post-race inspection leading to his exclusion from the results. 
A distraught Young said “I thought we were shaking off our bad luck but after this perhaps not! We were weighed at Brands Hatch and were well in there so assumed we’d be OK here. The whole team is totally gutted. It’s difficult to feel positive at the moment, but on the plus side I am riding well and am pleased to be on the pace. I feel I’m still a contender and with nine races to go I’ve certainly not given up on the title.”

 The bad luck did not cease and when Supersport Cup rider Ward qualified in 12th, his best in the series so far, he then had to pull off the grid before the start of the race with a minor technical problem.  Having put his number 32 onto Young’s spare machine, Ward entertained with one of the rides of the race after he started from absolute last to charge his way up the order. But just as he was about to challenge for the Supersport Cup lead, the rear of the bike that was set up for Young not him, broke away at Goddards to leave Ward sliding out of the action.
“That’s my third crash in as many races and it’s not a nice feeling” said a gutted Ward. “I was really looking forward to that race because I was fastest in Cup and knew I had a good pace on race tyres.
It’s also really disappointing for everyone who worked so hard just to get me out there.”
I’ve shown I can do it and now I just need to focus on the positives ready for Thruxton next week.”
It was also a difficult and troubled weekend for TAG Triumph’s junior rider Shaun Winfield, who suffered machine problems in both qualifying sessions. After beginning the re-started weather affected British 125GP Championship race from 28th on the grid Winfield ended the seven lap contest in 20th position.