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Toba qualifies sixteenth in WorldSSP Superpole at Portimão

Qualifying

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Toba and Pawi take on the heat and rollercoaster layout of the Portimao track to qualify sixteenth and twenty-third respectively for Saturday’s WorldSSP race 1.

The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team is at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal, competing in the seventh Supersport World Championship round with riders Kaito Toba and Khairul Idham Pawi. The WorldSSP free practice ran in the midday sun with air temperatures already up to 32°C. Making a determined start, Toba and Pawi made continuous progress throughout the 40-minute session. Using the time to identify an effective bike setup to suit the challenging Portimão track, the riders lap times came down as the session went on. A fastest time of 1’46.389 for Kaito saw him place twenty-fifth at the end of FP1, with Khairul just a tenth behind (1’46.425) in twenty-sixth place.

In the afternoon’s Superpole session, which ran in slightly hotter conditions at 4.55pm local time, a 1’45.556 for Kaito in the opening stages projected him up into the top fifteen. The Japanese rider continued to push and work hard with his team, but it was his initial time that remained his overall best. This meant that Toba qualified sixteenth for tomorrow’s Race 1, his best Superpole result of the season so far, which leaves him quietly confident heading into the weekend. A few issues for team-mate Pawi slowed his progress during the Superpole but the Malaysian nevertheless put in a 1’46.282 mid-session that saw him qualify twenty-third.

Kaito Toba WorldSSP Rider #27

"“This was our first day at Portimão and overall, it’s gone quite well. We made some adjustments to the geometry of the bike between practice and Superpole, as well as some changes to the engine mapping. It felt like we made a step forward and I was comfortable fighting for the top fifteen in qualifying. I lost a little pace when another rider cut me out of the group, but on my last flying lap I still managed to improve. With a clean lap I could have made a 1’44. It’s all very valuable information ahead of tomorrow’s race 1.”"

Khairul Idham Pawi WorldSSP Rider #89

"“We improved in Superpole with respect to practice but we’re still quite a way off. One of the problems is that I haven’t ridden at this track for a long time and it’s one that takes some practice, particularly through the fast sector. I was also dealing with some chattering during the qualifying, which I did my best to manage. We’re gradually improving anyway, so now we’ll see if we can continue to do more tomorrow.”"