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Four-cylinder bikes in top four as Ducati falters
By Dan Moakes September 15 2002
In a meeting of contrasting fortunes, race two at Oulton Park saw Virgin Yamaha’s Steve Plater score his first victory in the series, giving the 1000cc R1 it’s first success. MonsterMob Ducati’s Steve Hislop remained the man to beat, however, and was the clear winner in race one.
Both races looked set to come down to a battle between the top Ducati men, but they all seemed to hit trouble in the second, after tying up the podium in the first. With Plater coming out ahead on the R1, this marked the bike’s first victory, only the second for a 1000cc four, and it was only the Yamaha marque’s second success since 1998.

The first race saw Suzuki’s John Reynolds take an immediate lead, from Shane Byrne, Michael Rutter, polesitter Hislop (all on Ducatis), and then Simon Crafar, Karl Harris, Plater and Glen Richards. It wasn’t long before Byrne passed Reynolds, and Hislop did the same to Rutter, but then the safety car was sent out due to a crash for Mark Burr.

The restart enabled Rutter to grab back his place from the points leader, and then move up to second at the expense of Reynolds. ‘JR’ tried to come back at Michael, but failed to get through, and by this stage the race for victory had become a four-way tussle, with Crafar and the rest having dropped off from the lead group.

At this point Hislop started to charge forward, and took third from the reigning champion. Leader Byrne then lost out to Rutter and Hislop successively, and Reynolds was through not long after. Hislop made good on his practice form when he passed Rutter for the lead, and he was not headed thereafter. With Sean Emmett in trouble thanks to a wrist injury during qualifying, this put the Scot in an even more commanding championship position, as he went on to win for the third race in succession.

Further back, Crafar managed to run wide in his battle with Plater and Harris, who both looked to have passed him, and tumbled from his Yamaha in the gravel trap. Reynolds was the next casualty, almost duplicating Crafar’s mistake as he attacked Rutter for second. John managed to stay upright, however, and was able to get back on track, although at the expense of several positions.

This left three Ducati men out front, with Renegade team-mates Rutter and Byrne having a late battle for the runner-up slot. ‘Shakey’ got the verdict when he made his move on the final lap, and pushed Rutter back to third. Neither could do anything about Hislop, who set the fastest lap for good measure. The contest for fourth was a close one, with Plater coming out ahead of Harris and Richards. Behind them was John Crawford, taking his best finish of the season, whilst Reynolds and Emmett had to settle for eighth and ninth.

Race two thew up all the surprises, as the normally reliable Ducatis had a terrible day, making life somewhat easier for the Yamahas and Suzukis. The start once again saw Reynolds take the point, although Rutter demoted him rather sharpish and was building a small gap almost straight away. Behind ‘JR’ it was Byrne, Hislop, Crafar and Plater (until the Kiwi was passed by his team-mate), and then Paul Young, Richards and Harris.

The lead was soon developing into a five-way struggle, with Hislop passing Byrne for third, and then Reynolds for second. At this point Rutter slowed from his first place, and it seems he was handicapped by a split exhaust. He managed to continue but had dropped into fifth for now.

The next development saw the lead group down to three, as Byrne followed his team-mate’s example and slowed with a problem on his own bike. The race was now between Hislop, Reynolds and Plater, with the latter pair going on the attack as the Scot appeared to have problems of his own. It seemed as though the Ducati was fit to continue, however, with the two Steves both going back ahead of Reynolds, but then Hislop immediately pulled off as his bike encountered terminal trouble.

The win came down to a dice between the Yamaha and the Suzuki, with Reynolds almost getting the advantage. On the last lap, the Nottingham man dived inside Plater, but ran wide on the exit of the turn to let his rival cut back in front. Seconds later Plater was an ecstatic first time winner. Next home, and some way back, were Crafar’s Yamaha and Harris’ Suzuki, making it a good day for the 4-cylinder 1000s. Rutter managed to get his bike home fifth, with Emmett next, making ten points back on Hislop, then Crawford, Dean Thomas, Young and second row man Gary Mason.

The series heads to Mallory Park next, with Hislop 56 points clear of Emmett and looking pretty secure for the title, at the ripe age of 39.

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