WorldSSP – Step by step for Mackenzie and Norrodin at Imola
The seventh Supersport World Championship round is now in play at the historic Imola racetrack in Italy. After a first free practice in which they worked hard to learn another new track, PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda riders Tarran Mackenzie and Adam Norrodin both made an encouraging step forward in the afternoon’s second practice session.
This is both Mackenzie and Norrodin’s first visit to Imola, which meant that the two riders used the first free practice to build confidence with Imola’s technical layout. Keen to complete as many laps as possible so as to familiarise themselves with the track, the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda pair worked hard with their respective teams during this initial 45-minute session. By the end of the opening phase, British rider Mackenzie had set a fastest time of 1’57.613 to place twenty-seventh, with young Malaysian rider Norrodin placing thirty-first with a 1’58.781.
FP2 ran in hotter conditions, which made for more slippery asphalt and several crashes that saw the session red-flagged twice. Despite the interruptions, the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda duo continued from where they had left off in FP1, both doing their best to make the most of the track time and prepare for the weekend’s races. Improving on his best time of FP1 by almost three seconds, British rider Tarran closed with a 1’54.989 to place twenty-fourth in the day’s combined standings. Norrodin was also able to take a step with respect to the morning’s session, lowering his reference by close to three seconds to set a best of 1’56.057 and finish twenty-eigth.
Tarran Mackenzie P24
“I can relate to this track actually as it feels a little BSB-esque, just a lot hotter than the UK tracks of course! We lost some track time this morning, working on the bike in the garage, but it worked well in FP2. We made a good step and generally improved the bike setup. The track was a little greasier this afternoon, but the heat in itself was not really an issue for me. There’s still work to do of course – we just have to do our best to maximise what we have and see what we can do tomorrow.”
Adam Norrodin P28
“I think the track suits me and my style a little better than Donington and I’m quite happy with the bike setup. But I’m a little disappointed overall as we had to carry out a lot of work on the bike this morning and this prevented me from making much progress. Considering that it’s quite a difficult and narrow track and that I’m riding here for the first time, I really could have done with the track time. But, on a positive note, we’ve taken a step forward each time we’ve gone out so hopefully we can continue in that way again tomorrow.”
