Disappointment for Smiths and Rutter in Supersport 2
Fresh from their stunning victory in Monday's opening Monster Supersport TT race, the Gloucester based Smiths Triumph Racing Team experienced disappointment at the Isle of Man TT races today when Michael Rutter was forced to retire from the second four lap Monster Supersport TT encounter.
With Monday's race winner Gary Johnson a non-starter after suffering a broken collarbone and other minor injuries in yesterday's Superstock race, just Michael Rutter lined up at the start for the former British Supersport champions and with some changes made to the set up of the Smiths Triumph Daytona 675R, the Bridgnorth rider was hopeful of an improvement on his ninth place of two days ago.
A solid start to the race saw the 42-year old on the fringes of the top ten but he was being hindered by a misfire and despite an opening lap of 122.542mph, he had to make an unscheduled pit stop to try and remedy the situation. After a stop of almost six minutes, he was on his way again although the loss of time obviously dropped him down the order.
Running in 68th and last place, Rutter managed to claw a few places back but the misfire continued and after stopping at Ramsey Hairpin on the third lap to try and make further adjustments, he was ultimately forced to retire just a few miles later at Windy Corner.
Michael Rutter: "After the handling issues on Monday and the lack of stability, we made a few changes to the bike and it was a lot better so things were looking good but the misfire put paid to our hopes of a better result. I pitted at the end of the first lap and we thought we'd cured it but it got worse and worse and I had little option other than to pull in. It's a real shame as the team's worked really hard and we haven't had the results our efforts have deserved."
Rebecca Smith, Team Manager: "I'm really disappointed for Michael as he's been really unlucky this last week and a half. He was forced to make a switch to Dunlop tyres and he struggled to find a decent set up after that as all of our data and set up has been built around the British Supersport Championship. Moving onto the Dunlops meant we had to start from scratch which proved a challenge. That wasn't the deciding factor today and although it's a bit early to say, it looks like the misfire was caused by the plugs or coils, an issue that's never happened before so it's fair to say we've experienced the highs and lows of racing at the TT.
"We've had a great time here and to win our very first race here was an unbelievable achievement and something that will stay with us forever. I'd just like to thank everyone in the team for working so hard the entire time we've been here and we'll look forward to returning in 2015 stronger. Best wishes to Gary for a speedy recovery too."