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Hi Jack,

We finally got that elusive British Supersport Championship win! What a
race as well, talk about ending the season in a Blaze of Glory!!

The released Triumph ValMoto race report:-

You're only as good as your last race

Craig Jones brought elation and heartbreaking irony to Donington Park. Just
days after Triumph Motorcycles announced its withdrawal from racing, the
Cheshire teenager repaid the faith that his team has shown in him over the
past two years by providing it with an emotional and unbelievably
spectacular victory. In an almost carbon copy of the corresponding race
last year, where he scored the team's first ever short circuit podium,
Jones ably demonstrated the very same fighting spirit that makes Triumph
Motorcycles such an iconic and beloved brand - the same ethos that
qualifies ValMoto as one of the world's premier Supersport race management
companies. The only difference was that this time he was battling for the
win.

It has been a tough season for Triumph ValMoto. After a storming start in
the first race at Silverstone (2nd place), events conspired to rob the team
of the glory that it so richly deserved. But today, the combination of
Triumph Daytona 600, ValMoto expertise and Pirelli support proved utterly
irresistible around the Leicestershire Grand Prix circuit. After only
narrowly missing out on pole position, Jones was placed second on the grid
for the final race of the season. This event traditionally sees riders go
all-out for glory as they aim to secure contracts for the coming season.
And with the 2004 title already sewn up by Karl Harris (Honda CBR600RR), no
quarter would be given to any rival. But for Jones, the motivation was not
money - it was pride.

Nerves and a fierce desire to succeed saw Jones almost incur a jump-start
penalty when the lights changed. Grabbing a handful of brake prevented him
from adding ten seconds to his race time, but it also spoiled his launch
and he was relegated to eighth place on the way out of Redgate.
Nevertheless, he very quickly made his way back up the order. It was clear
that Jones was not a man to be messed with. He confirmed this with a
searing combination of clean and positive passing manoeuvres that put him
in contention for a podium position. Knowing that everyone on the track had
only one thing in mind, the 19-year-old Triumph Daytona 600 rider initially
held back from the leaders before engaging them swiftly and without
compromise.

After smashing World Supersport supremo Paolo Casoli's longstanding lap
record, Jones fired into the frontrunners and stamped his authority on
proceedings. From there on in, the action shifted up a gear as 250GP
veteran Honda CBR600RR rider Jay Vincent and TAS Suzuki rider (incidentally
Jones's old Junior Superstock sparring partner) Tom Sykes broke away with
the Triumph Daytona 600 snapping at their rear-sets. The pair did their
utmost to hold off the Racing Yellow challenge, but it was to no avail and
Jones smoothly slotted past one, then the other, to take the lead.

The second phase of the race saw the advantage swap hands repeatedly on
every lap. At times Jones found himself back down in third place, but
countless beautifully planned and executed overtakes - invariably off-line
and on opposite lock - showed everyone who was boss and propelled him back
to the head of the race. It also generated huge cheers from the thousands
of trackside spectators - regardless of what bike they might have arrived
on. With the Ducati of Michael Laverty and Kawasaki of Pere Riba looming
ominously, a single error would have proven very costly, but Jones did not
make any mistakes. He was able to gain phenomenal drive out of corners
where his adversaries could not, brake later than anyone else and - by
sliding his Triumph sideways into every tight corner - he made sure that he
was extremely difficult to pass. The British bike was not going to be
beaten on speed either. And after slipstreaming, block-passing, out braking
and riding around the outside of Sykes, Jones needed every ounce of
available power - not to mention an enormous amount of skill and
concentration - to hold off the competition for the remaining two laps.

For the nail-biting finale, all eyes were focussed on the Triumph machine
wearing a Union Jack with the number 18 in the centre. It tore down the
straight and stampeded through the fast and flowing Craner Curvers,
Schwantz and Coppice before reaching the tortuously tight final section. By
riding defensively, its rider ensured that nothing had a hope of coming
past through the Foggy Esses. It then proceeded to glide round the
Melbourne hairpin and scream under the Dunlop Bridge. And as it rounded
Goddards - with the chequered flag in sight - its four cylinders let loose
their war cry for one final time as Jones pointed his Triumph Daytona 600
toward its ultimate goal - victory in one of the most competitive series in
professional motorcycle racing.

At Donington Park, Triumph, ValMoto and a young man named Craig Jones
showed what can be achieved when youth, experience, determination and
passion meld in the intense heat of motorcycle racing. And while this
particular chapter in history may now be closed, in the moment that the
bike passed that fluttering black and white rectangle after the race of the
year - its rider pressed flat against the tank and running ahead of his
pursuers - the team compounded the accrued respect of its peers.

The simple fact remains that - even after a relatively short period of
development - the Triumph Daytona 600 has managed to occupy every step on
the British Supersport Championship rostrum. Today's momentous and timely
result means that if the old adage "you're only as good as your last race"
is to be believed, then right now Triumph ValMoto is the best.

I was invited in the Triumph ValMoto Pit Garage to watch the race on a big
screen, it was a truly great day!!!

Regards




Que Lastima, Jack "Rude Dog" Hays
972-952-5065
"I'll see you on the Dark Side of the Moon"


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