The Magny-Cours Circuit in France has staged the final day of the ninth WorldSBK round, in which PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda riders Tito Rabat and Zaqhwan Zaidi worked hard in the day’s races.

After a brief warm-up in the early morning, the team prepared for the ten-lap sprint race, which ran in dry, sunny conditions. Lining up on the seventh row of the grid, both Rabat and Zaidi made a strong start to the Superpole Race and set about establishing a good rhythm. In what was a rather uneventful race for the pair, the Spanish rider was able to confirm final eighteenth position, with Malaysian rookie Zaidi placing nineteenth across the line.

The weekend’s second and final 21-lap Superbike race also took place in the dry, with Rabat and Zaidi again beginning from row seven. It was not a lucky day for Tito, however, with the Spaniard suffering a problem with his rear tyre soon after the start, an issue that forced him to return to the garage on lap 8. Motivated to do well in Race 2 after scoring his first championship point in Saturday’s Race 1, Zaqhwan did well, narrowing the gap to the leaders in terms of lap time and showing a consistent pace that allowed him to successfully cross the finish line, a solid P18.

In the championship standings, Rabat positions twenty-fourth with six points and Zaidi twenty-sixth with one point. Next up for the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team is round ten, scheduled to take place on 26-28 September at Motorland Aragón in Spain.

Tito Rabat

“I don’t know what happened but there was something strange with the rear tyre in Race 2. It was sliding around a lot and couldn’t maintain any kind of pace. I didn’t feel it was safe to ride and so I came back to the pits. I wanted to head back out but unfortunately, I was unable to rejoin the race. I’m very disappointed because the weekend was very hard, aside from FP1 which had started quite positively. It is what it is anyway; all we can do is stay strong and keep working.”

Zaqhwan Zaidi

“I felt today went well. We improved the pace and lap times with respect to earlier sessions and I’m happy with the progress we’ve made over the weekend. We know we’re still far from the front but we’re working hard to improve and close the gap with every race. I’m focused on doing my best each weekend, and I want to thank the team for all their work here. Let’s stay motivated and get ready to fight at the next round.”