Will Spain smile on the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team?

The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team and riders Tarran Mackenzie and Adam Norrodin land in Spain for round 2 of the 2024 Superbike World Championship, set to run at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this weekend.

The Barcelona circuit hosted a two-day test session just one week ago, with the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team keen to maximise that opportunity ahead of this race weekend, also considering the team’s limited testing time over the winter. The test was constructive, affording Mackenzie and Norrodin two full days of uninterrupted track time and a better understanding of the 2024 CBR1000RR-R. With a challenging round 1 having concluded just over three weeks ago at the Australian circuit of Phillip Island, the team is now eager to see whether the progress made during the recent test can translate into better performance in the upcoming races.

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has hosted motorcycle championships for many years but is a fairly recent addition to the WorldSBK calendar, appearing on the calendar for the first time in 2020. 4.657 kilometres long, the flowing track comprises fourteen corners (eight right-handers and six left).

Tarran Mackenzie

“The test was very useful as I haven’t ridden much at Barcelona in the past. Other riders tested a lot more than us over the winter, so an extra two days gave us chance to better understand the new bike and reset ahead of the start of the European season. I’m looking forward to the race weekend after such a positive test. It’s a track with low grip so it’s all about understanding the second part of the race. The goal remains the same, to keep pushing and improving and, now that we’ve got a good feeling, maybe try to understand more over race distance. I’m looking forward to it and hope we can improve on how we did in Australia.”

Adam Norrodin

“I’ve been in Spain since the test and have been training here in the run up to the race. The test was definitely beneficial, coming just a week before the race weekend. It allowed me to better understand the bike and build on the work done in Australia. I think we finished quite well so the aim next weekend is to continue in this direction and assess what we can do to improve. I can feel that the potential is there, so we just need to put it all together. I like the track and think we can do a good job if we work hard.”

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 – Bautista (Ducati) 1’40.264 (2023).

2023 SBK RESULTS:

Race 1 – 1. Bautista (Ducati); 2. Razgatlioglu (Yamaha); 3. Rea (Kawasaki)

Superpole race: 1. Bautista (Ducati); 2. Razgatlioglu (Yamaha); 3. Locatelli (Yamaha)

Race 2 – 1. Bautista (Ducati); 2. Razgatlioglu (Yamaha); 3. Rinaldi (Ducati)