WorldSSP – Norrodin impresses with his fighting spirit, Mackenzie top 20 in race 2 at Portimão

The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team is at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve where it has now concluded the penultimate Supersport World Championship round with Tarran Mackenzie, replacement rider Andrea Migno and wildcard entry Ibrahim Norrodin.

The three riders made use of a short morning warm-up before making their final preparations for the afternoon’s race. The second and final 17-lap Supersport race ran according to schedule at 12.30pm local time (CET-1). Mackenzie got away well from twenty-fourth, placing twenty-third through lap one, while Norrodin was lying twenty-fourth through the first turns. The Malaysian rider gradually picked up the pace and gained ground as the race went on, closing in on Mackenzie and eventually passing him on lap five. Ibrahim put together a very good race, progressing as far as nineteenth before being re-passed by team-mate Tarran on the final lap, and crossing the line twenty-first. Mackenzie closed the race twentieth, also setting his fastest time on the very last lap. Conditioned by his starting position at the back of the grid, Migno was only able to gain so much ground. Unable to reach his team-mates who were in the group ahead, Andrea finished the race twenty-third.

With just one WorldSSP still to play out, Mackenzie lies seventeenth in the standings with 40 points, while Adam Norrodin places twenty-fifth with 20. The final Supersport round of the season will take place at the Circuito de Jerez over the weekend of 27-29 October.

Tarran Mackenzie P20

“In today’s race, I didn’t feel quite as comfortable as I did yesterday perhaps, in that I was finding it harder to make passes. My pace was good towards the end, in fact the last lap was my quickest, but like yesterday, I can set the times when I have a clear track but have more trouble when part of a group. I felt good towards the end anyway, which is positive, and now we look ahead to the final round.”

Ibrahim Norrodin P21

“First, I want to thank my whole team for doing such a good job for me this weekend. Today we were able to see a big improvement with respect to Friday. I tried to keep fighting with Tarran and the rest of the group in race 2 and was able to make up some positions. I made a little mistake on the last lap though, and that put a bit of a gap between me and my team-mate. But anyway, this weekend has been a great experience for me, and I thank Midori Moriwaki and PETRONAS for the opportunity.”

Andrea Migno P23

“It hasn’t been easy to adapt, to be honest. I hoped to improve more than I did over the course of the weekend, but it’s nevertheless been a new experience for me, one that I wished to try so in the end a positive one! I thank Midori (Moriwaki), Honda and everyone in the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team for giving me this chance and I hope that in the future there might be more occasions like this one.”

Full Results *Courtesy of WorldSBK