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WorldSBK riders Mackenzie and Norrodin hard at work at Donington

SBK Practice

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WorldSBK free practice at Donington Park sees local rider Tarran Mackenzie place nineteenth - just half a second from the top ten - and Adam Norrodin twenty-third, with both keen to do more on Saturday in preparation for the weekend’s races

The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team and riders Tarran Mackenzie and Adam Norrodin are at the Donington Park circuit in the UK for round six of the 2024 Superbike World Championship.

First up was FP1, which saw the SBK field head out on a track that was still slightly damp in parts after light rain earlier in the day. Mackenzie made a determined start at his home track, one that he knows particularly well. Making a series of modifications to his CBR1000RR-R, the British rider ultimately set a fastest time of 1’28.615, with which he placed twenty-first. With limited experience of the tricky Donington circuit, Norrodin also made setup changes with his technicians throughout this opening phase, putting in a time of 1’30.623 to position twenty-third at the session’s end.

Free practice 2 also ran in dry conditions mid-afternoon. It was another intense session for the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda riders, during which both were able to lower their FP1 times, with Tarran putting in a 1’27.353 in the final stages and Adam closing with a 1’29.694. With these results, local hero Mackenzie rounded out Friday in nineteenth position in the combined standings, only half a second from the top ten, followed by Norrodin, twenty-third.

Tarran Mackenzie WorldSBK Rider #95

"Although I have a lot of experience here with different bikes, this is my first time here with a Honda Superbike. My initial feeling was quite good, although we had a small issue in FP1 that we had to work out. Then FP2 went really well; I actually set my quickest ever time around this track, so that was good. Times are really tight too, so just half a second quicker and I’d have been ninth, which is very positive. I’m a little frustrated as I feel I can do more, but we’ll keep working and I feel generally quite confident. Tomorrow we’ll try to string together more laps to have a better understanding of our pace, but the tyre doesn’t drop too much here, so it should be OK. It’s nice that I know this track so well and have some useful Superbike references too. I feel we’re ready and the feeling I’ve had today is pretty much the best I’ve had to date riding-wise."

Adam Norrodin WorldSBK Rider #27

"Not an easy day to be honest, as this is my first time here with a Superbike – I think I’m the only rider who’s not ridden the Superbike here before actually. We did improve from FP1 to FP2 but of course everyone else did too. We have closed the gap slightly to the front and have found something that works quite well this afternoon, so need to continue in this direction tomorrow. The feeling on the bike is a bit better but we still have work to do to be ready for the races. I just need more laps basically."