Hottest race takes it toll on QUB.

Some of the hottest conditions known at a European race confronted the MotoGP paddock at Brno, and forced the QUB Team Optimum squad to battle to the finish of the GP250 event.

Jamie Robinson started the race from a career-best seventh, and best privateer on the grid, but a week spent suffering from the 'flu and then a crushed finger in qualifying hardly aided his cause come the race. A bad getaway from the second row saw Robinson drop down the order and, in pain from his injury, provided him with a test of courage just to garner the single point for 15th place.

''I made a bad start, which hardly started my race off on the right foot,'' Robinson explained, ''I couldn't feel the clutch lever properly with my injured finger, but I soon got into the groove with a group of riders who were all difficult to get through. I got it home in the points, though, after what has been a very difficult week with being knocked for six by being ill at home and then crushing my finger yesterday. If I hadn't have crashed yesterday, I'm sure that I'd have done better, but I gave it everything out there. I've got no energy left at all now.''

Team-mate Adrian Coates struggled terribly after bad mechanical luck in qualifying that left him without a solid race set-up, and a distinct lack of track time. In a race unusually devoid of many retirements, it was a tough afternoon for the Irishman, and he only managed to make up seven places over his eventual qualifying spot of 29th.

''I still didn't have great carburation setting in the warm-up this morning,'' Coates reported, ''but we made some alterations for the race which were better, but not perfect. I went faster but then ran into chassis set-up problems due to me having so little track time. I got it to the finish, but I am just looking forward to Portugal now.''

''I'm just glad that both managed to get to the finish, even though neither Jamie and Adrian were in good shape in such hot conditions as we've had today,'' commented team boss Robert Fleck, ''I am surprised that so many actually finished at all, considering the amount of fallers through practice, but everyone kept a cool head in the end. We've had enough catastrophes for one weekend. and move on to Portugal in a better frame of mind.''