PLATER MAKES FANTASTIC DEBUT WITH TWO GREAT RIDES
11 July 2005 - Colin Appleyard Racing

Team Hydrex Honda fielded two Superbike riders at Snetterton and the red and white Hydrex livery was in the thick of qualifying action.

Qualifying

In addition to the established rider Kieran Clarke, the team has acquired the services of former Kawasaki rider Steve Plater. A third Hydrex Honda has been prepared and built by Shaun Muir, the Team Principal, and Plater is excited about the prospect of being back on a Honda. He was very appreciative of the chance to show what he can do. “I rode one of these at the North West 200 and it was so much better than my old bike” he said.

In qualifying, both he and Clarke circulated well but saved the best towards the end of the session. In the morning, Kieran was in the second half of the rider line-up and Plater managed fourteenth. In the afternoon with track and ambient temperature well on the increase, the speeds grew accordingly.
A brilliant closing effort by Plater saw him on row two in sixth place ahead of Kieran who improved to seventeenth and row five. Both riders were optimistic for the race.

Race One

Again the HM Plant Honda of Ryuichi Kiyonari set the pace with Haslam in hot pursuit. The Hydrex Honda’s were in the thick of the action but Plater seemed to be swallowed up at the start. This gave him a massive job to do but he stuck to the task and gradually picked them off. Kieran Clarke had a reasonable start from seventeenth on the grid but sadly was obliged to retire with a mechanical problem at the end of lap one. Plater however, chipped away and worked his way up to sixth before he lost out on the final lap to Karl Harris.

1 – Ryuichi Kiyonari HM Plant Honda 2 – Leon Haslam Airwaves Ducati,

3 – John Reynolds Rizla Suzuki 4 – James Haydon Rizla Suzuki,

5 – Michael Rutter HM Plant Honda 6 – Karl Harris Honda UK Dunlop,

7 – Steve Plater Hydrex Honda

Race Two

With a track temperature approaching 42 degrees it was always going to be a very interesting race and Rutter meant business from the start.

Kiyonari was in fourth and the Hydrex Honda of Steve Plater came round in twelfth with a lot of work to do. As James Haydon, then Kiyonari crashed out the serious work began. Plater began a fantastic charge through the field and picked off riders one by one. The Hydrex Honda was incredibly fast and a terrific four-way scrap saw him get the better of Ben Wilson, Tommy Hill and Gary Mason to claim a brilliant fifth at the flag to the delight of the Hydrex Honda pit garage.

1 – Gregorio Lavilla Airwaves Ducati 2 – Michael Laverty Stobart Honda

3 – Michael Rutter HM Plant Honda 4 – John Reynolds Rizla Suzuki

5 – Steve Plater Hydrex Honda 6 – Ben Wilson Vivaldi Kawasaki

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