Gear linkage denies Finnegan, Klaffi top 10 finish

25-year old Lusk rider Martin Finnegan had to suffer disappointment in the Hotel Fortuna Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix, in the Chinese colony of Macau this weekend, when the gear linkage on his Klaffi Honda Superbike worked loose - forcing him to pull over and make adjustments.

Finnegan rejoined the race, finishing a disappointing 15th at the chequered flag.

It had been a hard week for Finnegan and his new team up to that point, with handling problems during qualifying leaving him in a lowly 18th place on the starting grid for the 15-lap race. Those problems were rectified come race day, however, and after a good start, Finnegan carved his way through the field, and was up to eighth place by mid race distance. It all went wrong for the big Lusk man soon after, though, when the gear linkage worked loose and, having stopped to fix the problem, Martin coasted back to the finish crossing the line in 15th position.

It wasn’t the début Martin had been hoping for but, despite the disappointing result, there were lots of positives to take away from the week long stay in Macau. Speaking after the race Martin said:
“I am disappointed with the result. Macau isn’t my favourite circuit, and I take no chances around here, but everything felt good in the race and I found it quite easy to work my way through the pack without riding too hard. The bike is really fast that’s for sure! After qualifying so far down the grid, I was hoping to get into the top ten, and I had made my way through to eighth when the gear linkage came loose. It’s just one of those things; that’s racing as they say!”

He continued by saying:
“Despite the disappointment, it has been a really useful trip and I am delighted with the bike. I’ll have a new bike next year, but it was good to see what Klaus has, and it is a really good package. I learnt a lot about Showa suspension and working with different products than I am normally used to, so it was a worthwhile trip. It would have been nice to get a result but it didn’t happen, and now I can concentrate on getting ready for 2006, which is going to be a big season for me.”

Martin is expected to join the Klaffi Honda squad again soon for testing, at the Brno Circuit in the Czech Republic. In the meantime, his new Motor Cycle and Extreme Sports Clothing Shop, Extreme 45, opens this coming Saturday, the 26th of November, near Turvey Business Park, Blake’s Cross, Lusk, Co Dublin.