It's a sign of a good racer, we suppose, that he can go out there and look fast and comfortable on the bike straight off. But McConnell looked pretty good for someone who's just spent a season riding a stock 600 with half the horse power. Virgin team boss Rob McElnea was upbeat about the 18 year-old Aussie's first laps on a superbike;
“He went well. He was surprised how easy it was to ride because he was expecting this fire-breathing animal. He's already gone quicker than Richard (Wren) did last year, which is a good benchmark. The good thing is he really wants to learn and he trusts us. If we say try something he trusts us and does it and he can see the results straight away. It's just what the team needed.”

The Virgin team were looking forward to this weekend but as far as next season goes, and after a succession of 'experienced' racers at the helm, McElnea was contemplating a younger line-up;
“The Rutters, Emmetts, Reynolds' just aren't marketable anymore. Emmett's been no use at all through this season. I want to try and focus on younger riders in the team and bring them through. Tommy (Hill) is at the top of that group and he's getting there [Rob also mentioned Crutchlow, Camier, Jones, Sykes].”

For such a big, high profile team 2005 hasn't been too successful with just one win for Hill at Cadwell Park in August. “It has been tough and we haven't had the results but the bike is just about getting there."Says McElnea. "It's only the HRC bikes, which are ahead, the Ducatis aren't so far away at all. We're off to Slovenia (the Akrapovic factory) again soon and last time that gave us a big jump.”