As usual, the SBK field benefitted from a final early morning practice, a session that ran in rather chilly conditions at Assen. Despite the low temperatures, the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team and riders Tarran Mackenzie and Zaqhwan Zaidi focused on the task ahead, namely preparing their CBR1000RR-R machines for the subsequent Superpole and first race. Malaysian Zaqhwan was able to put in his quickest time of the weekend so far, lapping over a second faster than he had in Friday’s FP2. Tarran took off another tenth with respect to his best of Friday, which meant that he finished this session in sixteenth position.

Conditions were already warmer for the 11am Superpole (air temp. 16°C, track temp. 18°C), a 15-minute phase in which the Brit and the Malaysian went all out to set a good qualifying time. Immediately putting in a 1’34.0, Mackenzie continued to push but it was with his last lap, completed in 1’33.539, that the Brit secured a spot on the fifth row of the grid, in fifteenth. Today’s classification was extremely tight, with the first sixteen riders all closing within one second of each other. With little time to get to grips with what is another new track, rookie Zaidi set a best of 1’37.256. Easily his best lap of the weekend, this reference meant that he qualified twenty-third for Race 1.

Race 1 ran at 2pm local time over a distance of 21 laps. Fifteenth on the grid, Mackenzie hesitated off the line and slipped to the back of the field. The Brit was then handed a double long lap penalty for having made a jump start. This penalty caused him to lose the little ground he had begun to make up but undeterred, Tarran fought harder than ever to set a strong pace and was up into the points zone with a third of the race still to run. Holding firm in fifteenth, Mackenzie made up three more positions in the final stages to conclude twelfth and earn himself four more championship points. Team-mate Zaidi held twenty-second through the initial stages, doing his best to establish a consistent rhythm around this tricky track. Keeping a cool head despite accidents for a number of his rivals, the Malaysian gradually made up places, running a steady race and finding himself eighteenth at the mid-race point. The rookie earned one more position later on, crossing the line in seventeenth place. 

Saddened to learn of the passing of long-time WorldSBK Race Director, Gian Franco Carloia, the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team extends its deepest condolences to his loved ones.

Tarran Mackenzie #95

“Mixed emotions to be honest, as it was probably one of the best rides I’ve had but I stalled the bike on the grid, which resulted in a double lap penalty. To lose all that time and then come through and catch a few guys for twelfth, the pace I had was probably the best I’ve ever had, with really strong lap times. So I’m really happy about that, and the bike felt good, it was just all ruined by the start, which was totally my fault. Quite annoying, but hopefully we can try and improve on that tomorrow. I don’t know what the weather will do, but we’ll be prepared for either scenario, wet or dry.” 

Zaqhwan Zaidi #21

“I think today’s race went quite well. I learned a lot, that’s for sure. This circuit is quite unique and difficult too with its high-speed turns, but I think we’ve made good progress, lap by lap. In the race I tried to just focus on myself and control the pace, finishing seventeenth. I’m very happy with the team and thank everyone for their hard work. I really enjoyed riding today actually and hopefully tomorrow we can make a few adjustments in the areas where we need to improve and be prepared for Race 2. We don’t know whether the weather conditions will change, but we’ll try to be ready. And a big thanks again to the team!”