Round five of the WorldSSP championship got underway in wet conditions at Autodrom Most on Friday, with riders Kaito Toba and Syarifuddin Azman heading out on track early for free practice. 

The less-than-ideal conditions did not deter the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team, particularly considering that the riders have only one practice in which to set up the CBR600RR to suit the Czech track. Despite rain showers and a full wet track, Toba and Azman nevertheless did their best to work with their technicians and prepare for the Superpole. This is rookie Azman’s first visit to Most, but he soon looked comfortable on track, his times improving as his confidence grew. Up into the top five with 10 minutes to go, the Malaysian put in a fastest time of 1’50.411, and his Japanese teammate a 1’55.234. These results saw the pair place twenty-third and thirty-second.

The afternoon’s Superpole ran also ran on a full wet track, though rain was not falling as the 40-minute qualifying session got underway. Toba and Azman wasted no time in getting out on track, aware that the rain could return at any time and impact on their lap times. Placing inside the top ten during the first part of this phase, Syarifuddin and Kaito continued to improve on their lap times, as did almost the entire field once the track began to dry. Toba set a best of 1’41.149 to qualify twentieth, ahead of Azman, who set the twenty-fifth fastest time (1’43.685) but who, like nine other SSP riders, did not quite make the qualifying threshold.

Kaito Toba #27

“It looks like we have a weekend with tricky weather conditions ahead of us. In today’s free practice we started off on a fully wet track, which then slowly dried up by the end of the session. I didn’t have a good feeling, but when we realized we had the same situation in Superpole, I have to say I got used to it and we were able to make consistent progress. We got to set a bunch of top ten-pace times, which was promising. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make the most of the last few minutes, when the track was at its driest. I was struggling to hold the line, and I couldn’t push for faster times. We’ll work to make a step and improve the bike’s setting for the weekend. Let’s see what tomorrow brings!”

Syarifuddin Azman #63

“We had quite strange conditions today and it was pretty tough in both FP and Superpole. Both sessions were fully wet at the start and then it became dry with about ten minutes to go. In the Superpole we used the slick tyre and I did my best to secure a good position. Not easy, as this is another new track for me, but I focused on improving, lap by lap. I hope tomorrow we can do more. I’d prefer rain for the race actually, but the forecast is unpredictable, just like at home in Malaysia, so we’ll have to wait and see.”