James Hillier's hopes of adding to his Isle of Man TT win of twelve months ago have so far been thwarted by bad luck with technical issues denying him better results than the ones he’s achieved. Podiums have looked a possibility for the Quattro Plant Muc-Off Kawasaki rider in both the Superbike and Superstock races but his best result so far has been seventh in the opening Supersport 600cc race.
 
The 28-year old led at Glen Helen on the opening lap of the Superbike race but despite completing the lap at 130.092mph, he was forced to ease the pace with brake problems and slipped back to ninth at the end of the six laps.
 
In Monday’s 4-lap Supersport race, which was delayed by three hours due to overnight rain, James had a sluggish start to the race but on his second lap he increased his pace to 123.763mph to move up into 10th place. For the second half of the race, he continued to move forward and was rewarded at the end of 150.92 miles of racing with a strong seventh place for yet another top ten finish and sliver replica.
 
Tuesday’s Superstock race was an almost carbon copy of the Superbike when a strong opening lap saw him firmly challenging for the podium positions. Fourth going into lap two, James was still handily placed on lap three but he had to stop at Ballacraine after experiencing tyre problems and the subsequent time lost saw him drop down the order although he persevered and ended up in 11th although this subsequently became tenth after fifith place finisher Conor Cummins received a two-minute penalty.
 
James Hillier: "It’s been a frustrating week so far and things just haven’t been going our way. I couldn’t have wished for a better start in the Superbike race and the first sector was brilliant but three quarters of the way round the lap, the brakes began to fade a bit. I had to start adjusting the brakes as sometimes the lever was coming back to the bar and others it was going that far out I could barely reach it. Under the really heavy braking sections, it was really difficult and I ended up going down the straights checking to see if the brake was working which is far from ideal to say the least. The bike felt really good up until that point but after that the race became a bit of a blur."
 
“In the 600cc race, the first lap wasn’t the greatest and I ended up going backwards until I got going in the second half of the race. I made a few mistakes and probably need to ride a 600 a bit more as I was riding it too much like a 1000. I didn’t fare much better in the Superstock race which was similar to Saturday in that I made a good start only to drop back. When I went through Union Mills on the third lap, it felt like I’d got a puncture and so I pulled in at Ballacraine to check what was wrong. The vibration was really bad and after that, it was hard to get into a good rhythm and I ended up trying too hard. We’re definitely overdue some good fortune so let’s hope that’s the case in the second half of the week.”
 
Pete Extance, Team Owner: “Bad luck’s been the order of the week so far and after a superb start in the Superbike race, we feel it was only the brake issues that kept James off the podium. He did a great job in the circumstances to bring the bike home in ninth and James then had a strong ride in the 600cc race. Seventh is where we feel we are with the bike so it was a good, strong position.”
 
“In the Superstock race, James again showed how strong he is on the opening lap putting himself into a good fourth place. He got away with Michael (Dunlop) after the pit stop but the tyre started to vibrate and it appears that the tyre spun on the rim which obviously dropped him down the order when a good result was on the cards. We’re looking forward to the second half of the week and the next three races where we’ll be hoping for a change in luck.”
 
James will be back in action tomorrow with the second Supersport race before contesting the 3-lap Lightweight and 6-lap Senior races on Friday.
 
Picture by Pacemaker Press International.  James exits Creg ny Baa ahead of John McGuinness.