Rutter Triumphant in Record-Breaking Macau Qualifying

Michael Rutter, the six-times winner of the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix, claimed a dramatic pole position on the grid for tomorrow’s (Saturday) 44th running of the Far East classic on the very last lap of the second and final qualifying session.

The 38-year-old British rider on the Team of Paris – AXA Ducati 1098 looked certain to have to settle for second place on the grid after his young rival, Stuart Easton, had put in a record-breaking lap moments earlier to top the leaderboard.

But using all his experience and knowledge of the 6.2km Guia Circuit, Rutter put in a storming final lap to go round in 2:23.714 seconds, less than one tenth of a second quicker than Easton’s earlier 2:23.798 seconds.

Both men were well inside the existing qualifying lap record set by Easton last year of 2:25.476 seconds, and both riders were much quicker than Easton’s race lap record of 2:25.170 seconds set in 2009.

Easton, the 27-year-old Scot, was riding the Paul Bird Kawasaki Racing Team machine for the first time after switching from the Shaun Muir Swan Honda squad. He is looking to win the race for the third time in succession.

Rutter, back at his best, is equally determined to stop his younger rival’s ambitions and take a seventh record-breaking victory himself.


Another British rider, John McGuinness, was third fastest on the IGT/sorrymate.com Honda, over two seconds slower than Rutter and Easton. The 39-year-old American Jeremy Toye, on the Lee’s Cycles Racing BMW 1000, slipped from provisional third to fourth place on the grid, lapping two fifths of a second slower than McGuinness.

Simon Andrews, the 26-year-old British racer making a return visit to Macau, was fifth fastest on the MSS Colchester Kawasaki, a fifth of a second a lap slower than Toye.

Chris Peris, the 24-year-old Canadian on the Iron Horse BMW, was the fastest newcomer to the event, setting 12th quickest time out of the 26 qualifiers. The 15-lap race will be held on Saturday.


Pic courtesy of Macau GP website.