Due to heavy rain, Saturday’s Race 1 was postponed until this morning. The race was shortened to 12 laps, but the grid remained unchanged, which meant that Toba lined up on row seven and Pawi from the last row after he was unable to set a qualifying time due to a crash during Superpole. When the lights went out, Toba made a very strong start and was into eleventh by the end of the first lap. The Japanese rider held a position inside the top fifteen for the first few laps, but the fact he had opted for rain tyres meant that he rapidly dropped down the field as the track began to dry. Battling to continue his race but struggling to hold strong lap times, Kaito eventually crossed the line in twenty-seventh position.  

Pawi had his work cut out from thirty-third but was able to make up numerous positions during the opening stages of this sprint-style race. Having progressed to twenty-third place by lap four, the Malaysian continued to up his pace as the race went on, passing rider after rider to climb all the way to the points zone. Khairul’s strong recovery saw him cross the line in fifteenth place, to score his second championship point of the season. 

Race 2 ran over the full distance of 19 laps and in dry conditions. Toba was lying nineteenth as the race got started. Establishing a good rhythm, he was able to pass several riders early on. Sixteenth with four laps to go, a tenacious Kaito set out to chase down the points zone, moving into fifteenth on the penultimate lap. The Japanese rider gained further ground on the very last lap to conclude the race thirteenth, earning himself another three championship points. Pawi, thirty-first through the early stages, had a tougher time making up ground in this second race, struggling with both his bike and a painful hand. He was able to progress to twenty-ninth but could do no more in what was a challenging outing for the Malaysian. 

As this eighth championship round concludes, Toba places twenty-first in the general standings, with fifteen points, while Pawi is thirty-fifth with two points.  The next WorldSSP championship round will see the team compete at the Cremona Circuit in Italy over the weekend of 20-22 September.  

Kaito Toba 

“This morning in race one the track was in mixed conditions and the tyre choice was a gamble. We went with wet and unfortunately the track dried out too fast, so there wasn’t much to do there. In contrast, the second race was fully dry. At the beginning of race two I didn’t have a good feeling with the bike. I was close to high siding many times. The feeling started to improve mid-way through, and I was able to set a solid pace. I gradually caught up with the guys in front of me and got to battle in the points zone. We leave with a thirteenth position, which is still not what we want, but it shows we’ve made progress since the beginning of the season.”  

Khairul Idham Pawi 

“In race 1 I felt quite good with the bike. I had to start from the back of the grid which was tough but to reach fifteenth in race 1 was a positive result. In race 2 I was struggling with the front, and also with my left hand, which I hurt in yesterday’s crash. It was hard to concentrate over the full nineteen laps, but I did the best I could. And will now focus on preparation for the next round at Cremona.”