The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team makes progress at Jerez

The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team is on track at Jerez in Spain for the 2024 WorldSBK season finale. With Adam Norrodin unfit to return for this final round, Tarran Mackenzie is again joined in the garage by substitute Ivo Lopes.

On track in cool but dry conditions for the first free practice on Friday morning, Tarran and Ivo got straight down to work, working to adapt the setup of their CBR1000RR-R bikes to the Spanish track. A best of 1’42.428 for Lopes and a 1’42.570 for Mackenzie saw them place twenty-fourth and twenty-sixth at the end of FP1.

The weather stayed dry for the afternoon session, despite some threatening grey clouds. Mackenzie almost immediately improved on his earlier reference and continued to make progress throughout this second phase. A time of 1’41.623 saw him position twenty-third in the day’s combined standings. Lopes was also able to shave valuable tenths of his best of FP1, rounding out day one in twenty-fifth position with a time of 1’42.053.

Tomorrow will see Mackenzie and Lopes back on track for the Superpole qualifying and the weekend’s first race.

Tarran Mackenzie P23

“This morning was a little difficult as we had some electronics things to sort out, which meant I needed to come in and out of the garage a few times. A little frustrating, but we fixed it for this afternoon, and I went out to do a ten-lap run which was a lot better than this morning. And then we put in a fresh tyre for the final part, and I again improved on my lap time, despite not being totally happy with the setting. I feel there’s still more in the bike; nothing big but lots of little areas where we can improve. We’ll see what we can find tomorrow…”

Ivo Lopes P25

“I didn’t improve too much today because we were basically starting from zero in terms of the electronics. But not so bad overall, we just need more track time. I’m losing too much time along the straight and need to understand why, but the feeling is OK and the pace is not bad. Our performance improved in FP2, and I was able to complete a run of about fourteen laps and set my fastest time on lap twelve, I think. The group is not far off either, so we just need to keep working in practice tomorrow to find a little more.”

A tricky Race One leaves Mackenzie and Lopes hungry for more at Jerez

The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team crosses the line twentieth with substitute rider Ivo Lopes, while a tenacious Tarran Mackenzie places P24 after rejoining the race following a lap 1 crash.

Saturday kicked off with the third and final practice, which ran in dry conditions. Substitute rider Ivo Lopes put together a solid session, finding a solution that allowed him to take a good eighth tenths off his best of Friday to set a 1’41.284. Tarran Mackenzie used the session to make a few further adjustments, taking a step at the end of the session to set a best of 1’41.893.

Next up for the SBK riders was the Superpole qualifying phase. After making a brief first exit, Tarran returned to the garage to switch tyres. Back on track and pushing hard to set a fast lap time, the British rider improved on his best time of the weekend by well over a second, putting in a best of 1’40.488 to place twenty-third. On the other side of the garage, a small technical problem unfortunately caused Ivo to lose time mid-session. Returning to the track with just enough time to complete one fast lap, the Portuguese rider qualified twenty-sixth (in 1’41.164).

The first of the weekend’s 20-lap races got underway at 2pm, with the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda riders lining up on the eighth and ninth rows of the grid. Tarran made up several positions off the line but unfortunately suffered a crash during the very first lap. Able to rejoin the race, the Brit returned to the track in twenty-fifth position. Knowing there was little he could do in terms of closing the gap to those immediately ahead and riding with a damaged handlebar, Tarran focused on completing the race and collecting more important data, ultimately crossing the line P24. Incidents for other riders meant that Lopes climbed from twenty-sixth to twenty-second over the course of lap one. Making up another position early, the Portuguese rider was able to maintain a consistent pace and hold twentieth for the best of the race. Though unable to stick with his closest rivals, Ivo focused on managing his race and crossed the line twentieth. With the data collected today, the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team is confident that it can do more in Sunday’s races, the last of this 2024 WorldSBK season.

Tarran Mackenzie P24

“Qualifying went a bit better this morning, I’d say. As for the race, I made a good start and was quick through the first couple of corners but then I got caught up in a bit of a melee and went down on lap one. I was able to pick the bike back up and then just rode for the rest of the race as well as I could. The handlebar was a bit bent, but I decided to stay out and clock up some more miles and understanding ahead of tomorrow’s race and next week’s test. So not the best race but at least we can carry something forward into tomorrow’s races.”

Ivo Lopes P20

“I felt that FP3 was useful as I was able to understand more about the bike, so definitely a constructive session. Superpole was more difficult because the bike stopped on lap one and then we only had time to make one fast lap at the end. I was pushing but could only do so much. In the race I was short on grip, and this made it difficult for me to stick with those ahead. I did my best and completed the race but now I want to work with the team to see if we can improve the setting for tomorrow races. I understand the bike more now that I’ve done a few races in a row, but we need to find another half a second a lap at least to be more competitive.”

A challenging finale for the team at Jerez

The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team has completed the twelfth and final WorldSBK round at Jerez with a P18 for Lopes in Race 2; twenty-first in the Superpole race, Mackenzie’s season came to an untimely end after a crash in the final race of the season.

After a short morning warm-up, which the riders used to make final preparation for the final races of the year, the team turned its attention to the ten-lap Superpole race. From twenty-third on the grid, Tarran lost a position off the line but quickly regained ground in the early stages of this sprint. With limited laps in which to make inroads, the Brit got past Öttl on lap six before setting his fastest time on lap eight of ten. Mackenzie crossed the line in twenty-first position. Somewhat conditioned by his starting position, Lopes immediately made up two places before settling into a rhythm as part of a small group of riders. The Portuguese rider worked hard to stick with his rivals, holding twenty-third position all the way to the line.

Sunday afternoon brought the final Superbike race of the 2024 season, but it unfortunately did not bring a positive outcome for Tarran, whose 2024 campaign came to an end on lap four when he crashed at turn 2. Lying twenty-first early on in the race, Ivo again did his best to keep contact with the riders immediately ahead of him. Making up two positions over the final laps, the Portuguese rider finished the weekend inside the top twenty, with a P18.

As for the championship standings, Mackenzie completes this 2024 WorldSBK season in twenty-third place with a total of 7 points, while Lopes has collected 2 points. The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team will remain at the Jerez Circuit with Mackenzie, who was fortunately unhurt in the race 2 incident today, to take part in tests taking place on Tuesday 22 and Wednesday 23 October.

Tarran Mackenzie

“This morning, I had a good run of lap times in the Superpole race, close to my qualifying times, which allowed me to stick with the group. We had a very similar bike for Race 2 and my goal was to start the race in the 1’41s so that I could keep with the group again. I was able to do that early on, but at a certain point the group moved away from me, and I had a small crash through turn 2, similar to other crashes I’ve had this season to be honest. And that was the end of my race. So, a frustrating way to end but there have been some positives that put us in better direction for Tuesday’s test.”

Ivo Lopes

“In today’s races I was able to push a bit more and our pace was better than yesterday but when you try to do too much, the spinning becomes a problem, and you find yourself fighting with the bike. In general, I think we’ve made some good progress over the rounds I’ve competed in though, as I’ve gradually moved closer to the riders in front and become a bit more competitive. And I want to say thank you to the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team for giving me the great opportunity I’ve had to race in this championship – it’s been a very valuable experience for me. I would like to stay in WorldSBK, but let’s see what the future brings.”