There was disappointment for Keith Amor in the final race of the 2008 Isle of Man TT Races when he was forced to retire from the 6-lap Senior race whilst holding on to a strong, top ten position. The Wilson Craig Honda rider was hoping to end on a high note but an electrical problem forced him out on the fifth lap when he was lying in 10th place and he will have to wait until 2009 to add to his haul of top class results.
The Falkirk rider endured a somewhat up and down TT this year and whilst he was running comfortably in the top ten in all five of his races, two finishes were offset by three retirements. However, he impressed greatly with his speed and style, further adding to his ever increasing Island reputation, and the undoubted highlight was the fantastic third place he achieved in the opening Supersport 600cc race, his first ever TT podium. He also increased his lap speeds, setting a new personal best of 125.760mph to become the 18th fastest rider ever to have lapped the 37 ¾ mile Mountain Course, thus also strengthening his position as the fastest ever Scotsman.
Speaking at the conclusion of the fortnight, Keith said:
“It’s certainly been a topsy turvy race week and, to be fair, I haven’t got the results I would have liked but the rostrum in the Supersport race showed what I’m capable of around here. The races were very tough and the competition high but, for only my second year, I think we’ve more than proved how competitive we can be and it’s only a couple of mechanical issues that have prevented me from finishing all five races inside the top ten. We struggled a bit with the big bike, firstly with the set up and then with the fuel but I felt good in the Senior and was looking good for around 6th-8th place until the electrics started to playing up.”
“It eventually ground to halt up on the Mountain again so it was shame for the week to end like that and even more frustrating that I’ve got to wait another year before coming back here! I’m pleased with how I rode all fortnight and happy to have gone quicker and improved my speeds so that’s very encouraging. It’s been a hard two weeks but I love this place so we’ll be back next year stronger than ever. I’d like to thank all the boys in the Wilson Craig team for their hard work and also to Dunlop who gave me some terrific tyres for the job, everyone’s support has been invaluable.”
