Destination Portimão for WorldSSP round seven
The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team and its Supersport riders Kaito Toba and Khairul Idham Pawi are gearing up for the weekend’s seventh round of the WorldSSP championship at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal.
The sixth Czech round left Toba and Pawi disappointed in terms of race results, but this only makes them more determined to do well at Portimão. This is a track that the riders have at least visited in the past, although neither has any recent experience. The two riders will work hard to hit the ground running on Friday, also considering that the SSP field has only one practice session in which to prepare for the Superpole qualifying phase. The time schedule for the Portuguese round will see all track sessions taking place later in the day, the WorldSSP races getting underway at 4.30pm on Saturday and Sunday.
The Autódromo Internacional do Algarve is located in southern Portugal, in an area very popular with tourists at this time of year. 4.592 kilometres long and made up of fifteen turns, the undulating nature of the track presents riders with a unique challenge.
Track Information:
Country: Portugal
Name:Autódromo Internacional do Algarve
Length: 4.592 km
Pole position: right
Turns: 15
2023 SSP RESULTS:
Race 1 - 1. Bulega (Ducati); 2. Manzi (Triumph); 3. Navarro (Yamaha)
Race 2 - 1. Manzi (Yamaha); 2. Bulega (Ducati); 3. Mantella (Ducati).
SSP RECORDS: Best lap – Manzi (Yamaha) 1'43.627 (2023). Superpole – Bulega (Ducati) 1’42.769 (2023).
Weekend schedule (CET -1):
Friday
12.20 – 13.00 – SSP Free Practice 1
16.55 – 17.35 – SSP Superpole
Saturday
11.40 – 11.50 – SSP Warm-up
16.30 – SSP Race 1
Sunday
11.40 – 11.50 – SSP Warm-up
16.30 – SSP Race 2
Khairul Idham Pawi WorldSSP Rider #89
"I’ve been to Portimão before, having raced there in 2020, so I know the track but also appreciate it’s a very technical one. We will continue to do our best and try to make good progress already in practice so that we’re in the best possible position for Friday afternoon’s qualifying. We are expecting a few updates for this round, so hopefully we can continue to improve as we began to do at the last event. I’m looking forward to it."
Kaito Toba WorldSSP Rider #27
"I’ve raced in Portimão a few times before, both on Moto3 and Moto2 bikes. It’s a challenging track with its rollercoaster layout, but it can make for some fun battles. I’m looking forward to working with my team to see what we can do at the Portuguese track. We’ll do our best to nail the set up already on Friday morning so that we can work step by step to progress throughout the weekend."
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