Michael Rutter has spoken of his delight at topping the British Superbike rostrum for the first time in more than three years with a marvellous ride to victory at a damp
Mallory Park.
Although a brief shower before the start of the race prompted a tyre strategy lottery amongst most riders, Rutter braved it out on slick rubber, together with the likes of Cal Crutchlow and Karl Harris.
However, while Crutchlow and Harris slipped down the order as they were forced to wait for the drying to circuit to come back to them, Rutter was taking the initiative by getting a fine start and assuming the lead when Michael Laverty crashed. Confidently circulating out front, Rutter was even lapping just as quickly as those with treaded tyres behind him.
Having weathered the slippery conditions over those first few laps, Rutter soon began to stretch his legs as his closest rivals began to regret their choice of rubber. It meant he crossed the line more than four seconds up on Shane Byrne, the win marking Rutter's first since May 2005 at
Oulton Park.
“It is phenomenal,” he told
Crash.net Radio. “It is fantastic to win again after three years, because I haven't been on top of the podium for some time. This is great for the team and the sponsors, so hopefully we can keep it up.”
While Rutter admits the North West 200 Ducati did pose its fair share of moments as he searched for grip, he was adamant that a good result in those conditions meant he had to push hard early on and not fall out of contention.
“Those first few laps are deadly, but they are the most important ones. It was difficult in the wet at
Snetterton too, but I got my confidence up there, so I thought I'd better dig in early here and get going. Once or twice I backed in, but I kept the brakes on and tipped in and somehow it got round.”
Rutter's win is all the more notable given he suffered a heavy tumble in the first race, one that forced him to race with a badly damaged knuckle.
