Mediaboss Marketing

by Philip Wain

Dan Kneen got his 2012 Isle of Man TT Races campaign underway with a solid 11th place in the opening 6-lap Superbike TT race. Despite having a fraught few weeks leading up to the event, which saw him building the Superbike GSXR1000 Suzuki right up until the first night of practice, Dan was able to post a series of 125mph+ laps and pick up yet another silver replica. The result also saw him finish 2nd in the TT Privateer's Championship. With conditions towards the end of practice week not ideal, Dan had only actually managed one lap on the Superbike machine during the entire week and with Friday's session being cancelled due to an oil spillage he came into Saturday's race somewhat blind with his settings. However, a good opening lap of 125.977mph allowed him to sit in 12th place at the end of the first lap and with another 125mph lap, he moved up to 11th at the conclusion of the second lap as he came into the pits for his first stop. A good stop enabled him to maintain 11th but a strong lap of 125.934mph saw him move up to tenth at two thirds race distance. Michael Dunlop pushed him back to 11th a lap later and although the sixth and final lap was his quickest - 126.072mph - he ended the race just 3.25s behind the Irishman after almost two hours of racing. Speaking afterwards, a satisfied Dan said: "After only managing one lap in practice on the Superbike race, I've got to be pleased with 11th today. With a lack of time on the bike, I hadn't managed to get a setting I was totally happy with so I took it steady on the first lap as I needed to get the brake pads bedded in and all sorts. The gearing was too tall and the wheelbase too long so the bike wasn't close to where I wanted to be and it was very much a high speed practice session for me. Having said that, I learnt an awful lot about the bike and if I can do a 126mph lap when the bike's not right, I'm sure we can find a fair bit more speed when it's dialled in more. Obviously, I would have liked to have gone quicker today and finished higher up but it's a solid start and one from which we can build on. Monday should be a good couple of races for me so I'll be aiming for higher then." Dan will be in action next on Monday when he'll contest the 4-lap Supersport and Superstock races. Picture by Mark 'Wally' Walters.

Monday should be a good couple of races for me so I'll be aiming for higher then."

Dan Kneen,

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Solid TT start for Kneen