The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team travelled straight from the seventh Portimão round to the Circuito Estoril for a two-day test on 13-14 August.

On the back of the latest WorldSBK round, which concluded just three days ago at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, the team was keen to make the most of these tests, fielding Adam Norrodin and Ivo Lopes, the Portuguese rider who substituted for Tarran Mackenzie during the Portimão round. Unfortunately, Norrodin was unable to race on Sunday at Portimão; feeling better by Tuesday, the Malaysian felt able to take to the track this week at Estoril.

Norrodin, Lopes and their respective teams got to work on Tuesday morning, systematically making their way through the pre-determined test schedule. Favourable conditions on day one allowed the riders to maximise the track time. Lisbon native Lopes, for whom Estoril is his home track, was able to exploit his extensive knowledge of the circuit to record some interesting lap times over the course of Tuesday. Strong winds on day two conditioned the work somewhat, but the two riders nevertheless did their best to supply the team with further feedback and data, with a view to the rest of the 2024 season and particularly the penultimate WorldSBK round, which will be staged at Estoril on 11-13 October. Unfortunately, Norrodin suffered a crash later in the afternoon. Taken to hospital in Lisbon, the Malaysian has been diagnosed with a small fracture of his right big toe.

The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team now has roughly three weeks of preparation and recovery time ahead of the eighth WorldSBK championship round, taking place at the Nevers Magny-Cours circuit in France on 6-8 September. It is hoped that both Adam Norrodin and Tarran Mackenzie will be able to rejoin the team for the next French round.

Adam Norrodin

“It was good to have the chance to test at Estoril, as I haven’t ridden here for about four years when I was racing in the CEV. The weather was nice on Tuesday and so we were able to try a few different things that helped to improve my feeling with the bike. Conditions were a lot windier on Wednesday, but we were still able make some more laps. Sadly I crashed later on in the day and have fractured my toe but hopefully, with three weeks before the next round, I can recover soon.”

Ivo Lopes

“Day one was very interesting as my understanding of the bike grew with every exit. I was able to push hard, and the technicians worked really hard to support me. I showed good pace and felt like it was becoming increasingly easy to ride the bike. The team had prepared a different chassis set-up for me to test on day two, but conditions on Wednesday morning were not great, as it had rained earlier on and there was a lot of wind. When I did finally get out on track, my feeling was better and so I finished the day very happy. My times were better on Tuesday, but my feeling was good today and I know I could have done more if the conditions had allowed. A big thankyou to the team for giving me another opportunity to ride and show what I can do, I really appreciate it and have really enjoyed my time with the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team.”