WorldSSP – Mandalika a steep learning curve for Mackenzie and Norrodin
The PETRONAS MIE MS Racing Honda Team is at Indonesia’s Mandalika International Street Circuit for this weekend second Supersport World Championship round.
Riders Tarran Mackenzie and Adam Norrodin are not only category rookies, but they also have no prior knowledge of the Mandalika track, which meant that they made precious use of the day’s free practices, working hard to learn the secrets of the circuit as they started to adapt their CBR600RR machinery to it. FP1 saw the British rider place fourteenth with a time of 1’43.138 and the Malaysian twentieth with a 1’47.557.
The lap times of the entire Supersport field dropped dramatically during the second practice, which was held in the early afternoon and in hotter conditions (air temp. 32°C, track temp. 53°C). Both PETRONAS MIE MS Racing Honda riders were able to make progress during this second 45-minute session, particularly Mackenzie who picked up the pace in the final ten minutes and set a fastest time of 1’39.371 to position sixteenth. Improving by several seconds on his earlier reference, Norrodin set a best of 1’41.383, with which he rounded out day one in nineteenth position.
Tarran Mackenzie P16
“Today was a very positive day, the best I’ve felt on the bike so far in fact. It’s my first time at this track but I have to say I’m really enjoying it. We made a good step between FP1 and FP2 and both the feeling and setting is very positive. We still need to be patient and have work ahead of us of course, but I’m looking forward to making more laps tomorrow.”
Adam Norrodin P19
“We had a little trouble at the start of FP1 and were not able to complete many laps. It doesn’t help that this is my first time at Mandalika, as I have no references and really need track time in order to be able to learn. Things went a bit better in FP2 but it’s not easy because I’m still working to understand the line. We must stay positive anyway, and will continue to work hard and prepare as best we can for tomorrow’s Superpole and first race.”
Location Information
KAWASAN EKONOMI KHUSUS MANDALIKA, Kuta, Central Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia - View in Google Maps
