Plater's Macau win catapulted him into the spotlight and helped him land a full time ride with the team in the British Superbike Championship, the North West 200 and the Isle of Man TT, as well as a place in the Kawasaki's World Endurance Championship campaign and his title defence in the Far East.
However Plater must overcome a tough line-up of adversaries from twelve nations and territories if he is to repeat his success in 2007, the most determined of which will undoubtedly be Rutter who will this time be racing an Aviva Kawasaki 1000. Last year Rutter's attempts to better the existing record of Macau wins, which he holds jointly with motorcycle star Ron Haslam, were thwarted by Plater and he had to settle for setting a new lap record of 2min 27.588secs.
Stobart Motorsport is fielding a strong entry in the form of Ian Hutchinson, 3rd last year having challenged for victory in the early stages, and 2001 Macau winner John McGuinness. McGuinness notched up his 13th Isle of Man TT victory earlier this year, setting a new outright lap record of 130mph, and has been on scorching form ever since.
Guy Martin makes his third visit to Macau having finished 5th last year. This time he will be on a Honda 1000 with Solent Scientific Racing, while Macau regular Stephen Thompson will be aboard the IGT Racing Team Suzuki 1000. James McBride on the JV Racing Yamaha 1000, Les Shand once again on a Honda 1000 with BTS Racing, and Chris Palmer on the Slingshot Racing Yamaha 1000, round off the strong group of British regulars.
