The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team continues its work at the Most Circuit, with Hayden Gillim and Tati Mercado standing in for full-time riders Tarran Mackenzie and Adam Norrodin this weekend. Saturday began with a final free practice in which the American and Argentinian made final refinements with their technicians ahead of Superpole, with a determined Mercado finding another half second with respect to his best time of Friday. 

Superpole got underway at 11am local time (CET) and it was a baptism by fire for Gillim who knows nothing of this qualifying format. With each rider able to lower their times by a fraction of a second in the limited time available, Mercado qualified twenty-second with a 1’32.961, Gillim behind him in twenty-third thanks to a time of 1’33.756. 

The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda riders started the first of the weekend’s 22-lap SBK races from the eighth row of the grid. Mercado got away well when the lights went out and immediately set to work to get into a rhythm. Unfortunately, a technical issue prevented Tati from racing as he would have liked, but he managed the situation and was able to reach the finish line. Aware that his first ever WorldSBK race would be something of an uphill climb, Gillim meanwhile did his best to keep pace with team-mate Mercado through the opening laps. The American’s lap times remained in line with those of the Argentinian for the best part of the race, though unfortunately neither was able to prevent a significant gap from opening up ahead of them. Mercado ultimately crossed the line twentieth, followed by Gillim in twenty-first place. 

Leandro ‘Tati’ Mercado P20

“It was a difficult race, harder than I expected actually, because right from lap one I had issues shifting gear. It meant I ran long a few times. I found a way to ride and thought it important to complete the race and increase my understanding so that we can find a way for tomorrow. It was a pity about how it went but I wanted to collect as much useful data as possible ahead of the next races. We’ll do our best to take another step tomorrow, just as we’ve done in every session until now.” 

Hayden Gillim P21

“I had no expectations heading into my first WorldSBK race other than to bring the bike back in one piece. I got off to a good start and was on the back of the group. I ran wide at turn one which began a bit of a lonely race for me on lap 2. I made some more little mistakes throughout the first quarter of the race before I was able to get my head straight and start being consistent. Leandro had some issues that allowed me to close in on him and with six laps to go I was right on him, but again ran wide through turn 1. After that mistake I decided it was time to call it a day and bring the bike home safe. I feel like I learned a lot and was able to get a decent first race under my belt. I’m excited to see what we can improve on for tomorrow. A big thanks to the team for working so hard!”