Cooper records best ever lap of the Mountain Course in Superbike TT‏

Dan Cooper opened his 2014 Isle of Man TT Races account  with a solid 20th place in the six lap Dainese Superbike TT race, which not only saw the Stroud rider pick up another bronze replica but also record his best ever lap of the Mountain Course at 125.618mph.

After a mixed week of practice, weather conditions were perfect on the island and the race was promptly underway at 11.00am and with a strong opening lap of 124.356mph, the Tsingtao Kawasaki rider immediately slotted into 20th place. The 27-year-old former British 125cc champion slipped back to 22nd on the second lap and a troublesome first pit-stop, which took twice the length of time it should have done, saw him drop further down the order to 28th place.

However, for the second half of the race, he continued to gain time on the riders in front of him and claw his way back up the leaderboard, a fourth lap at more than 123mph seeing him back up to 22nd. Battling past the riders he'd initially overtaken on the first lap, Dan really flew around the 37.73-mile Mountain Course on the sixth and final lap and with a speed of 125.618mph, some 15 seconds quicker than he'd ever gone before, he finished the 226-mile race in a strong 20th place.

Dan Cooper: "The last lap of the race was definitely the best bit and after the problems we had at the first pit-stop, it was good to fight my way back up the leaderboard. I was up to 18th at one stage of the race so to lose all that time was frustrating and meant I had to get back past the riders I'd overtaken on the first lap. We'd made some changes to the bike after the final practice session on Friday evening and it made the bike loads better and although I got held up a bit on the last lap with traffic, we've made good progress and have taken a good jump forward. I felt really comfortable in the closing stages and to make such a good improvement in my lap times bodes well for the other 1000cc races. Now I've got six laps under my belt, I know what the bike's going to do so if we can get the 600cc working a bit better; we should be set for some good results in the other races this week."

2014 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy

Monday 2nd June 10:45 hrs Supersport TT Race 1 4 laps14:00 hrs Superstock TT Race 4 laps

Wednesday 4th June 10:45 hrs TT Zero Challenge 1 lap12:00 hrs TT Supersport Race 2 4 laps14:30 hrs TT Sidecar Race 2 3 laps

Friday 6th June 10:15 hrs Lightweight TT Race 3 laps13:00 hrs Senior TT Race 6 laps

Qualifying Periods*

Monday 2nd June12:30 hrs - 13:00 hrs Sidecars16:00 hrs - 16:30 hrs TT Zero Challenge

Wednesday 4th June15:50 hrs - 16:15 hrs Senior TT 16:20 hrs - 16:45 hrs Lightweight

*Please note: all times and dates are subject to confirmation and may be changed at very short notice.


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