A disappointing end to a promising Donington WorldSSP weekend for Toba and Pawi

A disappointing end to a promising Donington WorldSSP weekend for Toba and Pawi

SSP Race
Also available in: Japanese

The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team concludes the fifth World Supersport round at Donington Park with a twenty-third place finish for Pawi in Race 2, while Toba crashed out while battling for the points zone

A disappointing end to a promising Donington WorldSSP weekend for Toba and Pawi

Riders Kaito Toba and Khairul Idham Pawi used the limited time they had during morning warm-up to verify the setup of their CBR600RR machines ahead of the weekend’s final race. The weather stayed dry, allowing the team to make the most of this final opportunity to make technical changes. 

As on Saturday, the second and final Supersport race was again scheduled to start at 3.15 local time. Thanks to their results in qualifying, Toba and Pawi lined up on the seventh and eleventh row of the grid. As the race got underway, Japanese rider Kaito and Malaysian Pawi were looking comfortable in eighteenth and twenty-fifth position respectively. But unfortunately, a series of crashes meant that the race was halted with a red flag already on lap two. The race was restarted a short time later but reduced to just 12 laps. Back to their original grid positions, and therefore losing the advantage they had built up in the first ‘heat’, the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda riders had work to do from twenty-first (Kaito) and thirty-first (Khairul). Quickly up into eighteenth and twenty-first, the pair did their best to get into a good rhythm, mindful also of the limited race distance. Toba was doing well but his race was unfortunately cut short on lap seven, when a collision with another rider resulted in a crash through turn 12. Pawi also suffered a crash through the same corner in the final stages of the race, but the Malaysian was able to get back on the bike and finish up in twenty-third position. 

With the fifth championship round now complete, Toba lies twenty-first in the general classification with 10 points, Pawi thirty-third with a single point. The team will now travel straight on to the Czech Republic, where round six of the WorldSSP championship will take place already next weekend, 19-21 July, at the Autodrom Most. 

 

Kaito Toba Kaito Toba WorldSSP Rider #27

"It was a bittersweet Sunday for me. We made another small step during the warm-up which meant I was confident ahead of the race. My start was much better today, and I gained a bunch of positions during lap one but soon after that there was a big crash, and the race was red flagged. For the restart, I managed to make another decent start and was fighting for the top 15. Unfortunately, on the last corner another rider collided with me and caused me to crash, ending my race way too soon. I’m disappointed because we had a chance to get a good result this time around and that was taken away from us. At the same time, I’m happy with how we worked over the weekend, as the points zone felt within reach. We try to stay positive and will work hard next week in Most"

Khairul Idham Pawi Khairul Idham Pawi WorldSSP Rider #89

"We improved the lap times a little bit in Race 2 but there was still movement at the rear that caused me some issues. I lost the front through the last corner too, which was a pity. It’s still difficult for me to push and ride as I want, but hopefully we can take a step already next weekend at Most"

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