WorldSBK round 8 beckons for the MIE Racing Honda Team
The MIE Racing Honda Team will be back in action this weekend, racing at the Catalunya-Barcelona circuit in Spain less than two weeks after the previous WorldSBK round at Magny-Cours, France.
Riders Leandro ‘Tati’ Mercado and Hafizh Syahrin had something of a tough time on French soil, but both are confident that they can improve on recent performance this weekend in Spain, not least because both have significant experience of the track. Argentinian Mercado scored a top ten finish at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit in 2021, while Syahrin considers it something of a ‘second home’, having previously lived in the area for several years.
As it heads into round eight of twelve, the MIE Racing Honda Team is eager to continue reducing the gap to the front and see its riders finish consistently inside the points zone at what could be a more favourable track for the duo.
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya only featured on the WorldSBK calendar for the first time in 2020 and came as a welcome addition, but the facility has regularly hosted Formula 1 and MotoGP events since its inauguration in 1991. Currently measuring 4657 metres in length, the fast and flowing track was resurfaced in 2018. Its layout includes fourteen corners, eight of which are right-handers and 6 left.
Hafizh Syahrin
“After three consecutive tracks where I’d never raced before, we finally come to one where I have a lot of experience! When I first came to Europe, I had my first ever test at this track and I actually lived around here for almost seven years during my career, so it’s like I have a second home here. I hope the team, the bike and me will get on well this weekend and not suffer from a lack of grip as we did during the winter test. Our package will work well I hope, but at least I won’t need to think about learning the track and will be able to work on the setup to improve the bike over the course of the weekend.”
Leandro Mercado
“Montmeló is a beautiful track that I usually really enjoy. As for the bike setup, it will be very important to find good balance, especially in order to effectively manage the rear tyre, which is crucial at this track. We tested here in August and so we have some recent data to work with and hopefully that will help us to get off to a good start on Friday.”
Track information:
Country: Spain
Name: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
Length: 4.627 km
Pole position: –
Corners: 6 left-hand, 8 right-hand
SBK RECORDS: Best lap – Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) 1’41.493 (2021). Superpole – Sykes (BMW) 1’40.408 (2021).
2021 SBK RESULTS:
Race 1 – 1. Redding (Ducati); 2. Bassani (Ducati); 3. Rinaldi (Ducati)
Superpole race: Rea (Kawasaki); 2. Razgatlioglu (Yamaha); 3. Bautista (Honda)
Race 2 – 1. Rinaldi (Ducati); 2. Razgatlioglu (Yamaha); 3. Redding (Ducati)
