MV Agusta Racing Team push ahead with mixed results in Adelaide

TBR - MV Agusta Racing Team has continued its 2008 Australian Superbike and Nakedbike Championship chase with mixed results at round 2 of the Australian Superbike Championship, held in fine and warm conditions at South Australia’s Mallala Raceway April 17-20.

Riding the 2008 MV Agusta F4 1000 R 312 Superbike, Kevin Curtain had a hectic meeting, with the team making major changes to the bike setup from Friday right through to the second race on Sunday. This was mainly due to the new forks and shock that have been fitted to the bike since round 1 at Eastern Creek. Race 1 saw Curtain sitting comfortably in 7th but unfortunately some suspension issues prevented Curtain from being able to push any harder. Race 2 was a similar story with Curtain pushing as hard as he could to finish a very creditable 8th position right on the back of a freight train of factory team regulars. Curtain clocked a 1:07.215 sec lap time in race 2 which is only. 9 of a second behind the fastest lap of the race.

"It's hard to come to a track we have never been to on the MV and expect to be competitive straight up against the other factory team's who have been coming here for years and have good base settings to work with. The team has been working really hard to improve the bike with the new suspension we have fitted since Eastern Creek. But it seems until Qualifying session 2 we were not really improving the bike that much, as we corrected one problem it created another. Anyway that's development and I feel we are definitely are going forward all the time and that's so important. I was really happy to be able to run right with the front guys for a few laps in the second race, it goes to show things really are heading in the right direction. I am confident that if we continue to improve the bike as quickly as we have so far, we will be running right up the front in no time flat. I would like to thank all the MV fans that turned up today to cheer me on, there was a heap of them in the grandstand at turn 1 and I really appreciate the support" said an overwhelmed Curtain.

Craig Trinder had a devastating blow to his championship chase on his MV Agusta Brutale RR in the Nakedbike class. Qualifying session 1 saw Trinder fastest in class by a substantial 2 second margin. Qualifying 2 was a different story, Trinder was comfortable with the bike and confident his time from the first session would keep him on the pole time, so he went out to get some valuable track time and fine tune the bike. However 3 laps into the session oil leaked at high rpm from the clutch cover onto the tyre causing Trinder to crash on the entry to southern loop. The oil leaked out due to an imperfection of the sealant on the clutch which was changed just prior to the session. Trinder was taken to Hospital for further examination.

"Obviously it's a real shame to have an incident that's out of your control as a rider. We were on pole for the race and getting quicker and quicker every session. The bike felt great and I was confident that I would have repeated my perfect form from Eastern creek, 3 wins from 3 starts. Regarding the accident I'm extremely disappointed because of how well we were going championship wise. I could accept it if I made the mistake but it was totally out of my control. I've raced all my life, I live to race and this could be the end of my racing career, that's what makes it so damn hard to accept" said a frustrated Trinder from his Royal Adelaide Hospital bed.

Craig has sustained a shattered right pelvis from the incident and will go under surgery later this week. He faces a long road to recovery with at least a further six weeks on his back in hospital in Adelaide.

Round 3 of the Australian Superbike Championship will be held at Winton raceway (Victoria) May 29 – June 1. This gives the TBR MV Agusta Racing Team more valuable time to develop the Superbike prior to the event.