WorldSSP – Mackenzie and Norrodin take on the Assen challenge
The TT Circuit Assen is the stage for the third Supersport World Championship round this weekend. In action with riders Tarran Mackenzie and Adam Norrodin, the PETRONAS MIE MS Racing Honda Team has competed in practice sessions at the Dutch round as it makes preparations for tomorrow’s Superpole and first race.
During free practice 1, which ran in dry conditions in the late morning, Mackenzie and Norrodin began the work to setup their bikes to suit the Dutch circuit, very different in layout to the round 1 and 2 tracks of Phillip Island and Mandalika. Making a little progress in the later stages of this first session, a fastest time of 1’41.125 for Mackenzie saw him position twenty-second, followed by Norrodin, twenty-seventh with a 1’42.243.
The second practice played out later in the day and again in dry conditions. Despite a brief interruption to the session following a crash for another rider, British rider Mackenzie was able to lower his time in the second half of the practice, his best time a 1’40.459. This reference meant that he positioned twenty-sixth overall in the day’s combined standings. Malaysian Norrodin soon improved on his best of FP1 before taking another step in the final minutes to round out Friday in twenty-eighth position with a time of 1’41.273.
Tarran Mackenzie P26
“Today has gone quite well. This is my first visit to Assen in three or four years and it’s been fun to ride here again, especially with the 600. We have some updates that help me to feel better on the bike but we still need time to join all the dots together. But everyone’s working hard, and I had good feeling with the bike today so hopefully we can take another step forward tomorrow. We’re getting back into the swing of things after more than a month away.”
Adam Norrodin P28
“Today has been positive, better than the first two rounds in terms of general feeling to be honest, even if we are still lacking something compared to other riders. But we know where we are right now and understand the direction in which we need to head so we keep pushing and working hard. Today I also focused on getting acquainted with my new crew chief. Every time we went out, we improved and so, at the end of the day, I feel like we’re moving in the right direction. Lap times are still far from what we want but we know what we are doing and are confident we will soon make steps forward.”
