Top twenty for Toba in WorldSSP race 1 at Donington
Despite the challenges, the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team can be encouraged by the outcome of the first World Supersport race at Donington Park, in which rider Kaito Toba fought hard to place twentieth
After a brief warm-up session, during which both Toba and Pawi worked to confirm the setup of their CBR600RR machines, the WorldSSP riders prepared for the first of the weekend’s races, which ran over a distance of 19 laps.
Despite very black skies, WorldSSP Race 1 got underway in dry conditions at 3.15pm. From twenty-first on the grid, Toba was lying twenty-second through the initial stages. Part of a group of four riders, Kaito defended his position for the best part of the race. Demonstrating consistent lap times throughout, the Japanese rider was able to make up a little more ground in the closing laps to cross the line twentieth. Thirty-first off the line, team-mate Khairul was quickly able to make up a few positions, placing twenty-eighth through the opening laps. The Malaysian rider continued to work hard throughout the nineteen laps, making gradual progress and finishing the race in twenty-fifth place.
The final race of this fifth WorldSSP round will play out tomorrow afternoon at the Donington Park track.
Kaito Toba WorldSSP Rider #27
"At least today’s race was dry, which meant valuable time on track in which to gather data and continue working on the bike. My choice to stay on the outside line at the start of the race made me lose quite a few positions. I had to work hard to come back from that, and so I lost the faster group just ahead of me as a result. This is a lesson learned for tomorrow; we’ll try again in race two and aim for the points zone"
Syarifuddin Azman WorldSSP Rider #63
"In the warm-up we tried to raise the front of the bike slightly and that improved things a little, but I was still lacking pace. In the race I was lapping in the high 31s and once the tyre performance dropped, I struggled to manage the rear. Hopefully we can improve something there for tomorrow, but it’s an issue I’ve had all season. Let’s see what we can do in Race 2 anyway."
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