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Mackenzie and Norrodin complete positive testing at new WorldSBK track Cremona

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The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team has completed the first of two planned testing sessions in preparation for round four of the 2024 Superbike World Championship, which will take place mid-June at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in Italy.

On Thursday 23 and Friday 24 May, riders Tarran Mackenzie and Adam Norrodin were out at the Cremona racetrack in Italy along with a number of other WorldSBK and WorldSSP teams. Weather conditions were favourable on Thursday morning, with air temperatures of around 20°C, allowing the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda riders to familiarize themselves with this 3.7-km track that appears on the championship calendar for the first time this year. With no prior knowledge or data, the team made the most of these sessions, collecting data and feedback that will be useful for the September race weekend. Tarran set a best of 1’31.2 on Thursday morning, while Adam recorded a 1’33.5. Thunderstorms and heavy rain came on just after lunch, meaning that most riders, the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team included, sat out the rest of the day before returning to the track on Friday.

Friday brought dry and sunny weather which meant that the team could work consistently throughout the day. As they focused on learning the layout, testing new components and collating precious information for future races, Tarran closed with a fastest time of 1’30.646, and team-mate Adam with a 1’31.591, both pleased with the progress made over the course of the two days.

The team will now continue its work in the coming days before testing at the Misano World Circuit on Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 May.

Tarran Mackenzie WorldSBK Rider #95

"Thursday started in a very positive way, and I was really pleased with our lap times as we got up to speed with the new track, keeping the bike largely as it was at Assen. We only got a half day because of the rain but then were back out again this morning. We made another good step using a bike similar to what we used yesterday, but I found a little more in myself with some more track knowledge and a bit more understanding. I got a bit lost in the middle of the day and had a little crash just before lunch, but that wasn’t a real issue. Then after lunch we tried a new fork, which brought positives and negatives. We found a bit of a direction in the final hour, going back to the fork I’d started with, which seemed to give me better feeling. We ran out of time at the end to do a run on a Q tyre, but other than that I was pleased and happy with my times on a race tyre, and we feel better prepared for September’s race weekend."

Adam Norrodin WorldSBK Rider #27

"Cremona is quite an interesting track, really technical and physical too, so I think the race weekend will be pretty tough. But I’ve enjoyed these test sessions. It’s everyone’s first time here of course, and on day one we only rode in the morning, stopping at lunchtime due to rain. I was happier today, as every time we’ve headed out, we’ve understood more about what we need to do and what we’re missing. We’ve made many changes, collected a lot of info, and the communication with the team has been really good. So, I’m really happy overall; we’ve learned a lot and now we’ll see what we can do next week at Misano."