Mackenzie and Zaidi see gradual improvement on day 1 at Misano

On track at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team and riders Tarran Mackenzie and Zaqhwan Zaidi have completed the first of the practice sessions making up the sixth Superbike World Championship round.

The day’s first practice got underway in hot and sunny conditions, affording the rider 45 precious minutes in which to start setting up their CBR1000RR-R machines to suit the track and the high temperatures. Both Mackenzie and Zaidi worked hard, using the data collected during the recent test as a reference. A 1’36.028 for Tarran and a 1’39.370 for Zaqhwan, who is riding at this track for the first time, saw the duo position twenty-first and twenty-third at the end of FP1.

Higher temperatures for the afternoon’s FP2 made it harder for the WorldSBK field to improve on their earlier references. PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda rider Mackenzie was nevertheless able to find another half a second on a track now measuring 45°C to record a best of 1’35.084, while Zaidi was able to lower his FP1 time by a good second and a half to set a best of 1’37.631. The riders will return to the track on Saturday morning for a final practice session in which to prepare for the subsequent Superpole and Race 1.

Tarran Mackenzie

“In FP1 I had similar feeling to the recent test and so I knew I wanted to change something for the second practice. We did this, returning to the bike we used at Assen, and it immediately felt different, of course, but gave me a little more of the feeling and confidence I was looking for. So that was good. It’s very hot and greasy out there and I was able to set a faster time than I did during testing, so quite a good Friday, in which we saw improvement. There’s still work to do but we’re a little closer so hopefully we can continue moving in this direction and have a better today tomorrow.”

Zaqhwan Zaidi

“I missed the recent test and everyone else is very fast of course. So today I tried to concentrate on learning the track and understanding the bike’s performance here, and we saw improvement with every exit. The final sector of the track is quite tricky though, so we need to find some more speed there. Hopefully we can do that tomorrow as we continue to make some adjustments to the bike. I want to say a big thank you to the team as they’ve done a good job today. We’ll keep working and see what we can do tomorrow.”

Mackenzie and Zaidi successfully navigate a SBK Race 1 that brought crashes for many

The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team has concluded the first of the weekend’s WorldSBK races at Italy’s Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” in sixteenth and seventeenth place with riders Tarran Mackenzie and Zaqhwan Zaidi.

Prior to the race, the riders took part in a final practice, with both Tarran and Zaqhwan able to exploit the cooler conditions as they prepared for the Superpole. Tarran found a little more pace to set a 1’35.025, while Zaqhwan continued to focus on building his performance step by step at another new circuit. In the final minute the Malaysian rookie was able to set a 1’36.895, eight tenths quicker than his best of yesterday and a time valid for qualification.

During the 15-minute Superpole phase, Mackenzie completed three fast laps. Setting a best of 1’34.385 in the final stages, the British rider qualified for SBK Race 1 in twenty-second position. Rookie Zaidi’s session played out in similar fashion, the Malaysian making his fastest lap – a 1’36.256 – on returning to the track for a second exit. Though this reference fell one tenth of a second short of being a valid qualification time, his earlier FP3 time meant that he was permitted to line up for the afternoon’s first race.

Race 1 ran over 21 laps with a track temperature of 55°C. Teammates Mackenzie and Zaidi both lined up on the eighth row of the grid. Making a clean start when the lights went out, both PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda riders soon made up several positions following a series of crashes for other riders. Lying seventeenth and eighteenth on lap two, they each gained a position at the mid-race point before concluding just outside the points zone – Tarran sixteenth and Zaqhwan seventeenth.

Tarran Mackenzie #95

“Things went a bit better this morning and I was happier with my qualifying performance. We’ve changed the chassis quite a bit since the recent test and that’s brought some improvement, but I haven’t done many laps with it yet. So, today’s race was basically the first long run, which will hopefully put us in a better direction for tomorrow. It was a bit worrying early on when riders started crashing – the track was a bit greasier than usual, but it could have been worse. We’ll keep working anyway and see what we can do tomorrow.”

Zaqhwan Zaidi #21

“It was nice to see some improvement today. I was lapping with a pace only around one second slower than those running mid-field, which I didn’t expect to be honest. The track was perhaps more slippery today, considering the high temperatures, but I was able to run with consistent pace, though I realise it’s still not enough. We’ll keep working to improve of course, but I’m pleased because the team has done a good job today. We only made small changes in terms of setup and now Race 1 has helped us to understand where to focus our attention as we prepare for tomorrow’s races.”

A crash conditions Mackenzie’s Sunday at Misano; Zaidi scores a best of seventeenth in Race 2

The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team and riders Tarran Mackenzie and Zaqhwan Zaidi have rounded out the sixth Superbike World Championship round at Misano World Circuit.

On track at Italy’s Misano World Circuit, the riders completed a brief Sunday morning warm-up before attention turned to the Superpole race. Getting away well from row seven, Mackenzie made a good start to the ten-lap sprint, making up two positions right away and working hard to keep contact with the group immediately ahead. His efforts were unfortunately in vain as a crash on lap four put paid to his chances of making any further progress.

WorldSBK rookie Zaidi ran a consistent race, lapping with better pace than he did in Saturday’s race 1. Making up four places with respect to his starting position, the Malaysian rounded out this sprint race in eighteenth position, collecting more precious data ahead of the weekend’s final 21-lap race.

The afternoon’s race ran in even higher temperatures than Saturday’s Race 1, the 57°C track temperature making for very slippery conditions. Following the morning’s crash, there was not quite sufficient time for the team’s technicians to restore Mackenzie’s bike to a race-ready condition, which meant that Zaidi was the team’s sole representative for the final race. The Malaysian did what he could from twenty-second on the grid, gaining ground also because of crashes for several others. Focusing on his own pace and performance, Zaqhwan crossed the line in seventeenth place, repeating his Race 1 result.

The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team now has a good three weeks in which to ready itself for round seven, scheduled to run at Donington Park in the UK on 11-13 July.

Tarran Mackenzie #95

“It wasn’t our day. The crash during the Superpole race conditioned the rest of Sunday, as although the team worked really hard to fix damage to my bike, there wasn’t quite enough time before Race 2, which meant I was unable to start the last race.”

Zaqhwan Zaidi #21

“We made progress over the course of the weekend, which is positive. Conditions were much hotter than yesterday, but I think overall we improved the race pace today because I see everybody’s lap times were slower, so that’s quite good in terms of our progress. Anyway I will try to work hard and keep the motivation strong for the next races. Thanks to the whole team for all their hard work in challenging conditions this weekend.”