First up for the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team on Saturday at Cremona Circuit was the final WorldSBK free practice, which ran on a much cooler track with respect to Friday’s sessions. This meant that lap times came down, with both Mackenzie and Zaidi finding a little more as they prepared for the subsequent qualifying session.

The Superpole proved rather challenging for the two riders. Mackenzie recorded a 1’29.878 during his first exit, before returning to the pits to switch tyres. The British rider returned to the track but unfortunately crashed at turn 2 with just over a minute to go, which prevented him from further improving on his reference. His previous best meant that he qualified twenty-second for Race 1. A fastest time of 1’31.967 for rookie Zaidi was enough to see him qualify twenty-fourth, on the same row as his teammate.

Despite sustaining bruising to his left foot, Mackenzie was passed fit to continue with the weekend. Saturday’s 23-lap SBK race ran according to schedule in the early afternoon. The qualifying results meant that both PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda riders lined up on row eight of the starting grid. Twentieth through the first corners, Mackenzie had little time to make his presence felt. Just as he was getting into his rhythm, a technical setback unfortunately forced him into the pits on lap six. Rookie Zaidi was lying twenty-second off the line but made up two positions in the early stages. The Malaysian worked hard from start to finish but was unable to improve on the overall result, the rider nevertheless accumulating more knowledge and data in what is his very first WorldSBK season.

Tarran Mackenzie #95

“It’s been a bit of a tough day to be honest. We had a new engine this morning that had a couple of teething problems. In Superpole I had a couple of issues and ended up crashing and then in the race a minor technical problem meant that I had to pull in. It was just one of those days, but we’ll try to reset overnight and go again tomorrow.”

Zaqhwan Zaidi #21

“I think we made a good start to Race 1 and I did my best to stick with the guys in front. I tried to follow them and maintain a consistent pace - it just wasn’t quite enough. I think we have a good direction in which to work, and the team and I will try something else to help me in the areas of the track where I’m struggling more. I could do with more track time, but in general, I don’t think it went too badly today. We will keep working, like I said, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race.”