WorldSBK – An unfortunate end to the Portimão weekend for the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team

The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team and riders Hafizh Syahrin and Eric Granado have completed the eleventh Superbike World Championship round at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.

Granado unfortunately suffered a crash during morning warm-up and was taken to the circuit medical centre to be checked. Although it appears that he has no serious injuries, the Brazilian rider sustained a wrist contusion and facial abrasion in the crash and was therefore deemed unfit to compete today.

The Superpole race got going at 11am local time, with PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda rider Syahrin starting from twenty-first on the grid. The Malaysian quickly made up two places and ran a consistent sprint, but was unable to improve further on his position in the latter stages, which meant he crossed the line in nineteenth place. Later in the day Hafizh returned to the track with the rest of the Superbike field for the final 20-lap race. Lining up once again in nineteenth place, Syahrin’s race was unfortunately over almost as soon as it began, when he suffered a technical problem on lap two that forced him back to the pits.

Hafizh Syahrin

“Not a good weekend for me unfortunately. We had the kind of rhythm that should have allowed us to fight more with the group and try to reach the points in race 2, but it wasn’t to be. I realized already on lap one that the bike had problems and sadly, that was that, as I couldn’t continue. We now have three weeks to work and prepare for the final round of the season, where I hope we can close on a positive note.”

Eric Granado

“I’m already on my way home and will immediately go to be checked by the doctors. I’m really sorry about today’s crash as we were having a good weekend and I was confident we could have run a good second race and continue to make progress. I found myself at the limit in the Superpole race and a movement of the bike after I braked into turn one caused me to run off track and unfortunately crash out of the race. I’m in a bit of pain but for now it seems like there’s nothing broken, although that needs to be confirmed once I’m home in Spain. I’m just really sorry about how it went and hope I can be fit for the Jerez round. “

Full Results *Courtesy of WorldSBK