Kris Turner's Bike Fails Again!

June 23, 2007 - Kris Turner had technical problems yet again with his bike, forcing an early retirement from Race 3 of the 2007 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup.

This isn't the first time Kris' bike had problems; the motorcycles are maintained by rookie mechanics, who are supervised by a single experienced chief race mechanic. 

Kris' bike had a chain problem, electrical faults and brake problems, so hopefully the Red Bull mechanics will get focused here pretty soon and help Kris do his best.

When his bike is working, Kris shows an incredible amount of raw talent, usually in the top 1-4 riders.

In the meantime, at Donington, Championship leader Italian Lorenzo Savadori won his second race of the Cup season ahead of arch rival Frenchman Johann Zarco.

He finished an equally great second on a bike down on power after he was hit by fellow Frenchman Cyril Carrillo braking for the hairpin.  They were joined on the podium by Britain's Matthew Hoyle.

Out on Dunlop slick tires for the first time at Donington after three wet practice sessions a good number of the Rookies chose to take a second sighting lap as allowed under the rules and get a little dry track time.

A fantastic start by Britain's Stuart Mitchell saw him lead for the first half lap until he drifted wide letting Spaniard Luis Salom underneath.  Carrillo was second by the end of the lap ahead of Savadori and Mitchell.

Starting from the back of the grid after recording no qualifying time because he fell in the first free practice session Zarco completed the first lap in tenth.  The Lead group of four broke away with Salom, Savadori, Carrillo and Mitchell battling at every turn. The group was caught by Briton Jamie Mossey but he was forced to take a ride through penalty for jumping the start.

Salom stopped on lap 4 with a technical problem.  By the end of lap 5 Zarco was up to fourth and the fastest man on the track.  Two laps later Savadori led by less than a second from Carrillo and Zarco with fourth man Reiterberger 5 seconds behind but ahead of Mitchell.

Clearly the man to watch after his charge through the field Zarco snatched second from Carrillo and suddenly he was leading as Savadori ran off the track.  It was an all action lap 8 as Carrillo then hit the back of Zarco as they braked for the Melbourne hairpin at the end of the lap.

Suddenly Zarco had an almost six second lead ahead of Reiterberger with Deane Brown a superb third in his first ride since breaking his leg and wrist in an early season British championship round.

Savadori had regained the track 7th and Carrillo 11th.  Though Zarco was leading the chasing pack were faster as the Frenchman struggled with the loss of power from the bent exhaust and the rear mudguard rubbing on the tire.

Behind him Reiterberger, Brown, Hoyle, Trabalon, Mitchell and Savadori cut his lead to just 3 seconds in a couple of laps.  They were lapping a second quicker than the lone Frenchman with 7 of the 17 laps remaining.

With 5 laps to go Zarco's lead was only 2 seconds and the chasing pack of 6 could smell blood. Just 4 laps to go and the lead was 1.8 seconds.  The six man pack banged fairings and elbows as they chased.  A lap later Savadori had charged to the head of the pack and was breathing down Zarco's neck.

Mitchell crashed out of the pack with three laps to go. Savadori and Zarco fought for the lead at each corner but with 3 laps remaining the Italian managed to take the advantage and started the final lap with a 1.6 second lead over Zarco.  He was now also under extreme pressure from Hoyle with Reiterberger and Brown not far behind.

Trabalon crashed out of the group before starting the last lap. On the final lap Zarco stole second back from Hoyle braking at the end of the back straight and help off his challenge over the final two corners. A great run from the back of the grid gave Cameron Beaubier sixth and Lucy Gloeckner seventh.

"That was such a tough race." said Zarco.  "From the start I had to fight through from the back but the start was good and it went pretty well. I didn't take any chances and I could see I was catching the leaders.

Then Lorenzo went off and I was in the lead, that was great but I could not believe it when I felt the bike hit me from behind as I braked for the hairpin.  I managed to stay on but from then the engine had no power. I just rode it as smooth and fast as I could.  I knew they were catching but I just couldn't go any faster and when Lorenzo passed me I realized that it was over.  All credit to him, he rode a great race."

Savadori had done a great job of recovery after his mistake.  "I was trying to get away and braked a bit too hard, the back wheel came off the ground and stepped out in a big way, I had to run off the track.  After I went off the track I thought it was impossible to win. Zarco and the others were so far in front. I thought the best that was possible was a podium.  I just kept trying, trying. Only right at the end did I realize that I could catch Zarco and win."

Third man Hoyle was just as happy.  "At the beginning I was just going backwards through the pack.  I just had to settle down and concentrate.  Then I started to improve and slowly I was catching the other guys.  It just got better and I caught the leading group and really enjoyed it.  It's fantastic to get on the podium and I don't see any reason why I shouldn't do it again now."