Milwaukee Yamaha recorded their first podium of TT2013 during today’s 4-lap Monster Energy Supersport Race 1 when Ballymoney’s William Dunlop took third place on his Yamaha R6. William will also collect a Silver Replica for his ninth place in today’s 4-lap Superstock race.
His team-mate Conor Cummins had a frustrating day with two retirements: the first in the Supersport race with handling issues on his Yamaha R6 and the second in the Superstock encounter, when an onboard camera came loose forcing him to pull in at Ramsey Hairpin.
Dunlop led the Supersport race in the early exchanges but had to give best to his brother Michael and Bruce Anstey on the podium, but three laps in excess of 126mph is encouraging, with another opportunity to take victory on Wednesday.
Dunlop said: “I got a good start in the Supersport race but couldn’t quite push as hard as I would like. We’ve made good progress but we should have been closer to the front on this bike, but it’s a good result for Milwaukee Yamaha. We will make a few changes and go for it again on Wednesday. The Superstock race wasn’t a bad result and I’m getting more familiar with the bike every time I ride it.”
Cummins said: “I’m absolutely gutted to be honest with that today. I was just struggling with the handling in the Supersport race and to try and do the lap speeds I wanted it just wasn’t safe to continue. There was no point wasting fuel and tyres, but I’m really disappointed I was up for a real go in that race. A camera came loose on the ’stocker and near had me off into Ramsey Hairpin. I was having an all right run on the R1, I just need more time on it. It can’t be helped and we still have a few races left to get some results.”
Shaun Muir concluded: “I’m delighted that we’ve been able to give Milwaukee their first TT podium in the Supersport race on our Yamaha R6.In saying that I think William could have finished second today if he had been with that leading group on the road; it’s a lot different doing it on your own. Third is a good fair result and we have changes to make for Thursday to give him more speed, better handling and a few other things. He was also committed to push in the Superstock race, which pleased me, and buckled down for a top ten result despite carrying a shoulder injury.
“Conor had a tough day and is really struggling to find a set-up this week that he’s comfortable with, so we’ll be making a trip to Jurby tomorrow. He was fortunate to escape a serious crash when the camera came loose on his Superstock R1 Yamaha, but we hope to iron these problems out for him and make progress in the remaining races.”
For more information visit www.milwaukeeyamaha.com
