NW200; Team Black Horse Report
Added on Tuesday, May 15th, 2007 by Carole Nash Editor
NW200; Team Black Horse Report
The Kennedy Group International North West 200
Both Tuesday and Thursday evenings practice went well for Team Black Horse, and despite the severe weather warnings given by the weather forecasters only the Thursday evening practice was hampered by showers in the 600/Superstock session.
By the end of qualifying both Team Black Horse riders, Lougher and Moore had qualified their machines respectably. Ian ending up in 8th position in Supersport 600 class and 9th in the Superstock class. Team Mate and newcomer, Jimmy Moore taking a brilliant 23rd position and top newcomer on the Team Black Horse CBR600RR, securing 28th place out of seventy three starters in the Superstock class and 53rd in the Superbike class on the Black Horse Superstock Fireblade machine.
Meanwhile onboard the rapid Stobart Motorsport Superbike, Lougher qualified in 7th position and notched up the fastest speed trap time of the week, registering 198ph, proving the Paul Bird machine is a match for any of the competition on power.
140,000 people basked in glorious sunshine throughout the Kennedy International North West 200 festival and as temperatures soared, race day kicked off with the Dewalt Performance Tools sponsored Superbike race. Notwithstanding an uncharacteristic poor start, Lougher had soon moved through the field and was challenging for fourth position when a second wave startline incident caused the race to be red flagged.
On the restart and again with Lougher moving through the field, Bruce Anstey crashed causing another red flag situation and the race result was declared after two laps, with Ian taking 6th place. Meanwhile, Jimmy Moore, in his first ever pure road race had a good solid run, coming home in 33rd, an improvement of twenty places from his qualifying position on the Black Horse Superstock machine.
Next up was the Club SOI Portrush Supersport Race, the first of the two hotly contested 600 races of the day; Lougher battled from the third row of the grid and found himself in a monumental six rider scrap for 3rd position which continued to the flag.
Unfortunately, for Ian on his Team Black Horse Honda CBR600RR a front fork seal blew on the last lap, while he was holding 3rd, and from there on in Ian was unable to brake as late a normal which made it impossible to fight off the frantically pursuing pack. It was a disappointed Lougher who took the flag in 6th slot. Jimmy had no such machine issues and his lap times showed he was certainly getting to grips with the nine mile Triangle course and the twice AMA Superstock Champion finished a highly credible 16th from 71 starters racing amongst far more seasoned campaigners.
In the CP Hire Limited Superstock Race, Lougher, was baulked at the first corner and lost the tow of the first group, instantly finding himself relegated to 9th and unable to make any significant in roads throughout the remaining 5 laps.
Jimmy, meanwhile was again proving his metal, but a mistake saw him run on at Church Corner on the second lap, resulting in him having to perform a three point turn to re-enter the race circuit. However, unphased he went on to post some impressive lap times and brought the Team Black Horse Honda CBR1000cc Fireblade home in 29th position from 50 finishers.
The second 6 lap Superbike race, sponsored by Black Horse Motorcycle Finance Limited, saw Ian holding third position until once again the red flags were displayed after Cameron Donald fell on lap three. On the restart Lougher, got a poor start by his standards and was unable breach the gap to the leading group of four riders, but in trying, Lougher still posted his fastest lap time of the week at a speed of 122.686mph and finishing in 5th position.
Moore, once again mounted on the Black Horse Superstock machine, brought the Honda home in a respectable 20th position.
The final race of the day was supported by the Ballymoney Borough Council, this the second 600 Supersport race. The colossal crowd was treated to a magnificent display of motorcycle road racing, with the first four riders constantly swapping position throughout the 5 laps.
Meanwhile Ian, although putting in some fast lap times and despite having broke the existing lap record he was just unable to get within striking distance of the lead group and eventually taking the flag in 5th. For Jimmy things had now clicked and this was the race he was most looking forward to, and he really sprung a few surprises on the more familiar competitors, riding a fabulous race and bringing the Team Black Horse CBR600RR Honda home in 12th place, ahead of such names as Adrian Archibald and Adrian McFarland.
Ian Lougher: ” I always enjoy the NW200, and initially I was disappointed with my performance and the results I achieved on race day, having graced the rostrum many times before. But with the dust now settled, and having had time to study the timesheets properly and watched the race coverage on TV I now feel more upbeat.
I somehow seemed to lose out following the various red flag incidents, and my finishing positions neither tell the story of the race or reflect the fierceness of the competition. Certainly conditions couldn’t have been better for my first pure road race of the year, and we have again moved forward with set-up on all the bikes and am very much looking forward to heading to the Isle of Man for the Centenary TT next week.
I’m also very pleased on how my new team mate Jimmy Moore has progressed this week in his very first pure road race meeting, he has gone extremely well, working very professionally with our team mechanics and has been a pleasure to have in the team ”
Jimmy Moore :
I have been watching this race from America since 1999 and really never thought I would have the chance to race in it. However, thanks to Motorcycle-USA.com and Ian Lougher’s Black Horse Honda team, I have now had the experience of racing down the coast road, wheeling and sliding out of York Corner, holding it flat through station corner and, among other things, blasting up under the bridge from Church! What a rush!
That single day of racing is easily the funniest time I have EVER had on a motorcycle! The fans are amazing and the atmosphere electric. The thrill of racing past fans standing on the side of the road and tearing down three miles of a bumpy public road straight away, with the front end lifting in 6th gear, is simply something that must be tried to be appreciated.
With the 4 previous races that day preparing me for the final 600 race, I pulled out all the stops and really tried to make that one count. The little CBR600 was working perfectly. I got a great start and immediately found myself in good company. Chris Palmer and Adrian Archibald were my first two victims and from there I just tried to stay focused and pull away. I managed to keep it on two wheels, not make too many mistakes and brought it home VERY close to a top ten finish! Much better than I could have EVER imagined. Now if I could just keep it pinned through Mathers, I could win it!
The second half of the North West 200 TV coverage can be seen on Wednesday 16th May 20.00hrs – 21.00hrs BBC NI. For viewers outside Northern Ireland BBC N.I can be found on satellite channel 973
