Team PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda lands on Spanish soil
The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda team is now in Montmeló, Spain, where it is gearing up for the fourth Superbike World Championship round at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Round three at Assen brought some positives, with rider Hafizh Syahrin able to finish race 2 inside the points zone and team-mate Eric Granado making a step on Sunday, although the Brazilian was somewhat limited over the weekend due to arm pump. The duo will be looking to make further progress over the course of the Spanish weekend, which is also a home round for Granado, who resides in Barcelona.
The team completed a solid two-day test at the Spanish circuit just last month and is therefore confident that this recent experience of the track will prove beneficial this weekend. Both riders know the Barcelona track well and enjoy racing there, another positive heading into the event.
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has hosted motorcycle championships for many years but is a recent addition to the WorldSBK calendar, having staged the racing for the first time in 2020. Measuring 4.657 kilometres in length, the track features fourteen corners, eight of which right-handers and six left. The Montmeló facility is ideally located, lying just a few kilometres from Barcelona city centre.
Hafizh Syahrin
“Before this round, I spent some time back in Malaysia with my wife and baby son – he’s one now and always makes me smile, even when I’m going through tough times. As for the Catalunya track, it’s actually my favourite. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy of course! If the bike is working well, I know I can do well but we’ll need to take things step by step and avoid any setbacks or mistakes during the sessions. We’ve tested at Barcelona and so with what we learned there, and also at Assen, I’m keen to see what we can do this weekend.”
Eric Granado
“I’m really eager to begin the Catalunya round not least because we completed a positive test there not long ago. It’s also my home circuit because I actually live in Barcelona, so that’s added motivation going into the weekend. I want to be 100% fit and hope to find a good setting for the bike so that I can score a solid result for the team. I’m confident we can have a good weekend.”
Track information:
Country: Spain
Name: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
Length: 4.657 km
Corners: 6 left-hand, 8 right-hand
SBK RECORDS: Best lap – Bautista (Ducati) 1’41.135 (2022). Superpole – Sykes (BMW) 1’40.408 (2021).
2022 SBK RESULTS:
Race 1 – 1. Bautista (Ducati); 2. Rea (Kawasaki); 3. Gerloff (Yamaha)
Superpole race: 1. Bautista (Ducati); 2. Rea (Kawasaki); 3. Lowes (Kawasaki)
Race 2 – 1. Bautista (Ducati); 2. Rinaldi (Ducati); 3. Razgatlioglu (Yamaha)
