RAIN HITS ROOKIES’ QUALIFYING BID
29 August 2004 - Honda Racing

Red Bull Rookies Honda’s Eugene Laverty (1:36.867) and Steven Neate (1:38.051) qualified in 11th and 17th positions respectively for the 11th round of the British 125GP Championship at Cadwell Park.

They were unable to improve their times set in this morning’s qualifying after the elements intervened just before the start of the second session.

Laverty’s main opponent for the British 125GP title is championship leader Christian Elkin, who is better placed in second position on the front row of the grid for the 14-lap event. Pole position was set by Ashley Beech in a time of 1:34.961, with James Webb and defending champion Michael Wilcox completing row one.

High winds were the main problem for the Honda RS125-dominated field to contend with for the duration of the first session. The leading riders set their times on a dry track with Laverty and Neate taking up third and fifth row qualifying positions respectively on the provisional grid.

However, the 2.2-mile Lincolnshire circuit was engulfed by black clouds in the afternoon and a heavy shower poured down on the British 125GP competitors just prior to the start of the second session. This necessitated a change to treaded tyres and a cautious end to qualifying on a drying track, with all riders conscious that they would be unable to improve their times in less than ideal conditions.

Eugene Laverty: “Qualifying did not go according to plan and it puts pressure on me to get a good start from the middle of the third row. It’s a long way round here and there are plenty of places to overtake, so I’ve got a fighting chance over race distance. I’ve just got to keep calm and concentrate on my own race rather than worrying about what Christian [Elkin] is doing.”

Steven Neate: “I’m obviously frustrated at the events of today. I have been on the fifth row at two other rounds this year and even managed to finish in the points at Mallory Park, so that gives me some confidence for tomorrow’s race. There’s nothing you can do when you’re faced with such challenging conditions – that’s racing! I hope that I can make up for lost time tomorrow.”

Qualifying times: 1. A. Beech (Honda) 1:34.961; 2. C. Elkin (Honda) 1:35.579; 3. J. Webb (Honda) 1:35.626; 4. M. Wilcox (Honda) 1:35.942; 5. J. Dickinson (Honda) 1:35.992; 6. B. Clark (Honda) 1:36.613; 7. A. Walker (Aprilia) 1:36.621; 8. K. Weston (Honda) 1:36.629; 9. J. Morris (Honda) 1:36.703; 10. R. Guiver (Honda) 1:36.810; 11. E. Laverty (Red Bull Rookies Honda) 1:36.867; 17. S. Neate (Red Bull Rookies Honda) 1:38.051

www.honda-racing.co.uk

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