At 11am local time (CET), the ten-lap Superpole race got underway. Conditions were cool but dry, in contrast to Saturday’s very wet race action. From tenth on the grid, Mackenzie worked hard to keep pace with his closest rivals but slipped back a little over the first few laps. Struggling with arm fatigue, Tarran was nevertheless determined to hold on and complete the race, crossing the line eighteenth. Lopes, twenty-first on the grid, ran a consistent but rather solitary race. The Portuguese rider, who stands in for Adam Norrodin this weekend, made up two positions over the course of the ten laps, completing the race in nineteenth position. 

The second and final full length Superbike race ran at 3.30pm, again in dry conditions. Twelfth off the line, Mackenzie was caught up in traffic through lap one and dropped back to nineteenth, just ahead of team-mate Lopes, twentieth. An uneventful race for the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda riders saw them hold these positions for the first half of the 21-lapper, after which they each made up one place to conclude Race 2 eighteenth (Tarran) and nineteenth (Ivo). 

The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team will be back in action on 20-22 September, when the ninth WorldSBK round will run at the Cremona Circuit in Italy. 

Tarran Mackenzie 

“I knew that today’s longer race was going to be a challenge due to arm fatigue more than anything. But the bike felt quite good, and I feel we’ve made a step with my feeling so that’s positive. I always feel good in wet conditions, so warm-up this morning was fine, but then I found myself struggling in the races, partly with managing the rear of the bike, and partly with my arm, which made it hard in the changes of direction, especially later on in the race. I knew we just had to get through this weekend and now we’ll work on finding something for the Cremona round and the rest of the season.” 

Ivo Lopes 

“Today went better than yesterday for sure. In the Superpole race I understood the bike a little better and my lap times were not so bad, I wasn’t quite so far from the group ahead. I’m happy with my performance in race 2 also. The result is what it is, but I was able to push a bit more and improve my pace throughout – my fastest time came on lap 20. The variable weather hasn’t helped us this weekend as it was hard to identify the right setting, but my feeling was good today and I’m happy overall. A big thankyou to the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team for giving me another new experience and opportunity.”