On track at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal, the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team and its riders Adam Norrodin and Ivo Lopes have completed the first practice sessions making up round seven of the WorldSBK championship. In a change to the usual race schedule, all track sessions are taking place a little later in the day, with the SBK races scheduled to run at 6pm on Saturday and Sunday. 

Despite the fact that temperatures were already high for the first practice session, PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team rider Adam Norrodin put in the work during FP1, focusing on bike setup and race preparation together with his technicians. After a steady session in which the Malaysian gradually lowered his times, the rider placed twenty-second with a fastest reference of 1’44.754 set in the final moments. Ivo Lopes, who stands in for Tarran Mackenzie this weekend, is riding the Honda SBK for the first time this weekend. The local rider made good progress throughout the opening session, improving in terms of outright performance with every exit he made. The Portuguese rider ultimately set a fastest time of 1’44.399, which put in twenty-first place at the end of the phase.

In the afternoon’s second practice, both Norrodin and Lopes soon improved on their earlier times. Getting into a good rhythm around the track despite the challenges posed by the heat, the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda riders both continued to work in the right direction. In the final ten minutes, Ivo found another few tenths to set a 1’43.510 and position twenty-second, followed by Adam, twenty-third with a 1’43.958.

Adam Norrodin

"I’m happy to be back after missing the Most round due to injury, but I think it will take me a little time to find the right feeling again. Physically, I feel ok though I’ve only put together about eight laps, so we’ll see how I am over race distance. In FP1 we tried many things, some positive, some negative, and then tried something else during the second practice that straight away brought some improvement. I set my fastest times with the used tyre, which is important, and I think we’re moving in the right direction each time we head out. The bike is not perfect yet and we have a few things to adjust ahead of tomorrow, but we’ll get there. I think we can have a positive weekend; we just need to trust and keep pushing".

Ivo Lopes

"Day one is successfully completed, and I can say we made great progress. We knew it was going to be difficult but the work we’ve done today has been very positive and I am very happy. It's a new bike and new tyres that I'm not used to using, so it was bound to take me a little time to adapt. I really like the teamwork because we got straight down to the essentials; the guys all have a lot of experience and that’s been great. But I always want more, so we head into Saturday with the desire to work harder, step by step but with real motivation. It is a great pleasure to be in Portimão with this team".