The third Superbike World Championship round at the TT Circuit Assen concludes positively for the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team, with Tarran Mackenzie ninth and fourteenth in Sunday’s races and Zaqhwan Zaidi making further progress in what is his rookie WorldSBK season. 

First up on Sunday morning was the brief warm-up session, which ran in wet conditions. While Mackenzie completed a handful of laps, Zaidi elected not to do so, not wanting to take any unnecessary risks. Although the rain then gave way to sunshine, the track remained wet for the ten-lap Superpole race, which got underway later in the morning. Both riders opted for rain tyres given the soaking asphalt. From fifteenth, Mackenzie immediately made good inroads, appearing confident despite the precarious conditions. Upping his pace lap by lap, the British rider passed both Alex Lowes and Bassani on lap four to move into ninth place. Passed in turn by Redding, Tarran was not about to give in. Continuing to work hard to secure a top ten finish, the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda rider crossed the line ninth, his best SBK result to date and particularly useful in that this result meant a third row start for Race 2. Team-mate Zaidi was able to move into eighteenth early on and maintain that position for a good part of this ten-lap sprint. The Malaysian ran a clean race, avoiding mistakes in what was his first wet SBK race, to cross the line nineteenth.

Both Mackenzie and Zaidi set out to improve on their race 1 results in the second 21-lap Superbike race, which ran in dry conditions. The British rider benefitted from a third-row start, ninth thanks to his Superpole race result, while the Malaysian rookie again lined up in twenty-third. Mackenzie got off the line quick, momentarily sixth before traffic saw him slip to tenth. Unable to match the rapid pace of his closest rivals in the early stages, Tarran nevertheless held his own inside the points zone, fifteenth at the mid-race point. Passing Gerloff in the second half of the race, the British rider assured himself of another points finish, fourteenth across the line. Zaidi ran a clean but solitary race, holding his starting position for almost the entire race to cross the line twenty-second as he continues his apprenticeship in the competitive WorldSBK class.

Mackenzie moves up to eighteenth in the general standings, with nine points, while rookie Zaidi is yet to get points on the board. The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team will now focus on preparing for WorldSBK round four, taking place at the Cremona Circuit in Italy over the weekend of 2-4 May.

Tarran Mackenzie #95

“Probably my best day and weekend to date in WorldSBK, qualifying under a second off pole, scoring points in race 1 despite some drama, finishing ninth in the Superpole race and then starting row three for Race 2 and again scoring points. In the last race I felt quite good once I got into a rhythm. I was quite close to the group in front but couldn’t quite get on to the back of them. I struggled a little in the final laps but was able to bring it home and score points. I’m over the moon with this weekend and want to say a big thank you to the team for all their help and hard work. I’m looking forward to Cremona.”

Zaqhwan Zaidi #21

“Today’s races went quite well, and the pace was a bit better than yesterday. I just had a little issue with the bike setup but I did my best and finished where I finished. I just need to continue to work hard to improve and become a better rider. The team has helped me a lot this weekend, so many thanks to them, and we now look ahead to Cremona, where we’ll push again. I’m happy with the way we’re working as a team, and I will continue to try my best. Thanks again to everybody for their precious support.”