Plater back in the riding seat at Mallory.
The Virgin Mobile Samsung Yamaha British Superbike team will be out in force this weekend as it fields a quartet of riders for the ninth round of the Think! British Superbike Championship at Mallory Park.
The Virgin Mobile Samsung Yamaha British Superbike team will be out in force this weekend as it fields a quartet of riders for the ninth round of the Think! British Superbike Championship at Mallory Park.
A fortnight ago James Haydon scored Virgin Mobile Samsung's first victory since September 2002, this weekend sees the return of Steve Plater from injury to the very track where he claimed the team's last win prior to Haydon's recent success at Knockhill.
"The win at Knockhill was very timely and I was thrilled to be able to claim the first and second place finishes for the team," said Haydon. "I'm really looking forward to this weekend. I have won here twice before in BSB with Suzuki and Ducati so I'm just praying that the good fortune I had in Scotland has followed me south and I'll be able to claim a Yamaha victory here as well."
Meanwhile Plater is also eager to get back on track for obvious reasons. The Lincolnshire-based rider can finally end his eleven-week racing drought after breaking his wrist at Oulton Park in May.
"I'm fully recovered now," commented Plater. "I tested at Mallory last week and I had no problems with the wrist. This weekend I am just going to take it one step at a time and, as long as I am racing with a big smile on my face, I'll be happy!"
While Plater returns fully recovered, team-mate Gary Mason will be nursing a damaged cruchet ligament in his left knee after his fall at Knockhill. Despite the injury, Mason is still upbeat about the weekend.
The fourth member of the team, Tommy Hill, will also be looking for a more profitable weekend after uncharacteristically failing to score points in Scotland.
Having proved his racing abilities at recent tests at Mallory Park, Hill is keen to put all that he has learned aboard the Yamaha R1 into action this weekend.
"I've led races here in the past and generally go well here," claimed Hill. "I'm hoping that Knockhill was a one-off and I will be concentrating on getting back to my point-scoring ways at Mallory."
