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Bruce MacDonald

Briton Mike Rutter demoralised his rivals in the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix final qualifying session yesterday with two minutes and 32.547 seconds of two-wheeled riding magic around the 6.3-kilometre street circuit.

 In the 32 years since the first motorcycle GP, no rider has gone so quick on the technically demanding, bumpy circuit.

 Rutter, who is making his fifth visit to Macau, candidly admitted after yesterday's second and final qualifying session that he had never imagined going so quickly on his Honda Britain 750cc RC45.

 He has a whopping 1.589-second buffer over second-placed compatriot Roger Bennett, on a Harris Performance Suzuki 750cc. Rutter's teammate, Ian Simpson, on an identical RC45, lies in third place with a time of 2:34.453, nearly two seconds off the pace.

 Rutter's scintillating performance eclipses the previous best time posted on the track - Andi Hoffman's 2:32.880 on a Kawasaki 750cc last year during qualifying.

 Mike Edwards' lap record, set during the 1996 GP astride a 500cc ROC Yamaha, of 2:34.030 looks certain to be blown away today by a number of competitors.

 Mainland China's first runner in the bike GP, 24-year-old Huang Shizhao, was all out of luck even though his Team of China 750cc Honda sported an all-red colour scheme and the auspicious number 88.

 After qualifying a modest 32nd in the opening session with a time of 2:50.938, Huang clipped more than four seconds off that time before he tangled with Belmiro Aguiar's 750cc Yamaha.

 Macanese rider Aguiar escaped unscathed, but Huang was stretchered off the track and taken to hospital. He was later barred from racing today after suffering a dislocated shoulder.

 Rutter's final qualifying session began quietly enough and he was back in the pits after only three laps.

 But when he returned to the track. the course's fireworks began.

 'I was lucky to get a clear track,' Rutter said. 'Nothing much was done to the bike when I came into the pits - the mechanics have done a great job with the setup. When I went out, I was thinking of just putting the bike on the front row of the grid. Never did I think I could go so quick.'  He wasn't the only rider surprised by his pace around the track.

 Bennet, making his 10th visit, has never gone quicker and said: 'All I wanted to do was get on the front of the grid - it's important to get a good start before the Lisboa Bend.

 'I haven't raced since August, so it's a real surprise.'  Simpson also said he could have gone quicker.

 'I have no excuses. I should have put a new tyre on the bike,' he said.

 Fourth on the grid is German rider Gerhard Linder, who is making his first visit to Macau.

 Linder, a journalist by profession, said he was intimidated by the track when he drove around it in a car earlier in the week.

 'I felt it was really dangerous, but when you are out there riding it is not so bad,' he said.

 The 35-year-old, who clocked 2:34.997 on his final qualifying lap aboard his Motorrad Action Team 750cc Suzuki GSX, said he never expected to go so quick.

 'I had some trouble with the bike's settings and there wasn't much time between qualifying sessions to fix them, so it's good to have done this well,' he added.

 Rutter said his tactics today would be simple - go flat out to build up an early lead then ride defensively the rest of the way.

 'It's so important to pull a gap here - it is very hard to pass in Macau, you must commit yourself fully.'  The 15-lap GP is scheduled for 12.10 pm.



'I was lucky to get a clear track. Never did I think I could go so quick'