V&M Racing win Junior 600 TT.

The V&M Racing team were celebrating today after Scotsman Jim Moodie broke the Suzuki stranglehold on the 2002 Isle of Man TT races, when he romped to victory on the teams 600cc R6 Yamaha in the Junior 600 event, by a comfortable thirty three second margin.

Starting at number two, Moodie stamped his authority on the race from the word go, by overhauling David Jefferies ten second advantage after just seven miles of the opening lap, to lead on the road, and in the race - a position he never gave up throughout the entire four lap distance.

The V&M Racing team were celebrating today after Scotsman Jim Moodie broke the Suzuki stranglehold on the 2002 Isle of Man TT races, when he romped to victory on the teams 600cc R6 Yamaha in the Junior 600 event, by a comfortable thirty three second margin.

Starting at number two, Moodie stamped his authority on the race from the word go, by overhauling David Jefferies ten second advantage after just seven miles of the opening lap, to lead on the road, and in the race - a position he never gave up throughout the entire four lap distance.

"I really went for it right from the word go, and I was surprised how quickly I caught big Dave," said Moodie. "Once I'd got past him I just got my head down and went as hard as I could on the dry parts, and was a bit more cautious on the damp patches. The V&M R6 Yamaha felt like it was on rails, and I was hoping to go for the lap record on the last lap, but the clutch started slipping real bad after the pit stop, so I just coaxed it home to make sure of the win."

Eight times TT winner Moodie would almost certainly have added the Junior 600 lap record to his CV, had the clutch trouble not reared its head. On lap two of the race he lapped the 37.75mile TT circuit just four seconds outside the lap record despite the many damp patches, and having to slow down for the pit stop. His race time of 1hr 15min 56.9sec was also just four seconds outside the existing race record.

Fellow V&M rider Iain Duffus brought the second V&M Racing R6 Yamaha home in tenth place, two minutes behind his teammate, after one hundred and fifty one miles of flat out racing.

The former Junior 600 TT winner was disappointed with his finish, but was hampered when he lost the use of his rev counter in the early part of the race, which made gauging the optimum revs for his gear changing difficult, and critically lost him vital time around the many twists and turns of the Isle of Man public road circuit.

Team owner Jack Valentine though was delighted with his team's first victory of the 2002 TT races. "That was an awesome ride by Jim and he was well on course to rewrite the record books until the clutch started to slip," he said. "Now we've got that first victory under our belts, were hoping to continue the winning feeling on Friday. We've made some improvements to the F1 bike and hopefully we'll be able to give the Suzuki's a run for their money in the Senior."

The V&M Racing team would like to thank Mick Bennett from Penske Shock Absorbers, who sent a technician over to the Isle of Man especially to re-work the rear shocks on the F1 bikes. "We'd also like to say a big thanks to James from Penske, who's worked flat out to re-build the rear suspension on the big bikes in readiness for this afternoons F1 practice session," said Valentine.

A superb day was rounded off at the evening's prize presentations, when the V&M boss proudly picked up the manufacturers award from the Junior 600 event, when the winning team of Jim Moodie, Jason Griffiths and Iain Duffus scooped the award for Yamaha. "We've had a long and successful relationship with Yamaha, and it's nice to pick up an award on their behalf," added Valentine.

Junior 600 TT Result

1. Jim Moodie V&M Yamaha1hr 15m 56.9s119.22
2. Ian Lougher Suzuki1hr 16m 30.3s118.36
3. Jason Griffiths Yamaha1hr 17m 08.2s117.39
4. Richard BrittonSuzuki1hr 17m 22.4s117.03
5. Ryan Farquhar Kawasaki1hr 17m 24.7s116.97
6. Richard QuayleHonda1hr 17m 30.6s116.82
7. Adrian ArchibaldHonda1hr 17m 30.8s116.82
8. Shaun Harris Suzuki1hr 17m 44.8s116.47
9. Brian Gardner Honda1hr 17m 51.8s116.29
10. Iain Duffus V&M Yamaha1hr 17m 55.5s116.20

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