The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team is on track at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal, competing in the second World Supersport round of the 2025 season.

Riders Kaito Toba and Syarifuddin Azman already completed qualifying on Friday, finishing twenty-third and twenty-ninth respectively. The duo was back on track this morning for a brief warm-up, with both riders making final preparations for the afternoon’s race.

The first of the weekend’s two 17-lap races ran as scheduled in warm, sunny conditions (air temp. 24°C, track temp. 35°C). From row eight of the grid, Toba made a good start, running twenty-fifth through the opening lap. Though very much aware that he was in for a tough race due to his starting position, the Japanese rider battled hard from start to finish, gradually working his way up through the field over the course of the opening laps. Twenty-second on lap 5, Kaito was then set back by an innocuous crash on lap six, through turn 3. Immediately returning to the track, he did his best to make up the lost ground, lapping two seconds quicker than his closest rivals. There were five laps still to run once he caught up to the back of the group, but Toba made the most of the short time available, passing several riders to cross the line twenty-seventh.

Rookie Azman, who qualified on the tenth row for today’s race, held his own off the line, positioning twenty-ninth one lap into this 17-lapper. Battling hard to stick with the riders immediately ahead of him, the Malaysian gained a position in the early stages before suffering a technical issue on lap seven that forced him back to the pits. Unable to rejoin the race, Azman’s race unfortunately ended there.

Kaito Toba #27

“In the warm-up we focused on building some extra confidence with the bike around this track. In the race I made up some positions in the first few laps and was fighting in a big group. Unfortunately, I had a small crash after losing the front. I picked up the bike immediately and stayed out on track to work on my pace and gather more data to improve our setting. Eventually I was able to catch up to the group and pass several riders. I’m looking forward to trying all over again tomorrow.”

Syarifuddin Azman #63

“Race 1 was unlucky for us. I had a technical problem from early on and had to come back to the pits. But despite that setback, I can say that I’m happy with the bike and with the work my technicians are doing. We continue to improve, step by step, and I have good feeling on the bike. So I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race 2, when I’ll do my best to score a good result.”