Friday

A positive day for Mahias at Mandalika in Indonesia

The eleventh and penultimate round of the Superbike World Championship got underway today at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit on Lombok, Indonesia. Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Lucas Mahias completed the day’s practice sessions with two goals, to build confidence at what is a brand-new track for him, and to adapt his Ninja ZX-10RR to the Indonesian circuit.

Unfortunately, the track surface was very dirty and offered little grip this morning, which made things difficult for the French rider and his technicians. With a time of 1’38”697, Lucas finished the session twelfth.

The track conditions had improved by the afternoon and in second practice, the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider was able to pick up the pace, improving on his best lap (1’35”414) and rounding out the day in twelfth place overall.

Tomorrow will see Mahias head out for the final practice, followed by Superpole and Race 1.

Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit – Indonesia
Superbike World Championship
Combined free practice results: 1) Bautista (Ducati) – 2) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 3) Rinaldi (Ducati) – 4) Rea (Kawasaki) – 5) Gerloff (Yamaha) ……. 12) Mahias (Kawasaki)

Lucas Mahias: “Today I got a first taste of this track and I have to say I really like it. Unfortunately, the asphalt is new and very slippery, and so you have to stick to the line that offers more grip, otherwise you risk crashing. I tried to avoid making mistakes as a crash could have compromised the entire weekend. I worked hard with my team to find a good setup for my bike and understand which tyre might be best for the race, but we need to wait and see what the track conditions are like tomorrow.”

Montella fourth and Oncu tenth in free practice at Mandalika

The first two free practice sessions taking place today at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit in Indonesia have marked the start of the eleventh and penultimate round of the Supersport World Championship.

The track, located on the island of Lombok, has just been fully resurfaced and was dirty for the opening session, the asphalt offering very little grip. In these difficult conditions,
Kawasaki Puccetti Racing riders Can Oncu and Yari Montella nevertheless worked effectively with their respective teams to find a good setup for their bikes. The Italian finished in fourth place (1’42”658) followed by his team-mate (1’42”962).

Track conditions had improved by the afternoon’s session, and this allowed both riders to lower their lap times. Despite this being his first visit to the track, and despite an innocuous crash, Montella stopped the clock on 1’38”295, while Oncu set a best of 1’39”321. This meant that the Italian placed fourth and the Turk tenth in the day’s combined standings.

Tomorrow will see Oncu and Montella compete in Superpole before they line up for the first of the weekend’s races.

Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit – Indonesia
Supersport World Championship
Combined free practice results: 1) Bulega (Ducati) – 2) De Rosa (Ducati) – 3) Caricasulo (Ducati) – 4) Montella (Kawasaki)………10) Oncu (Kawasaki)

Can Oncu: “It wasn’t easy to find good feeling with my bike with the track in this condition. In the afternoon, there was already more rubber on the track and better grip, but some points were still slippery and I tried to avoid making any mistakes. We still need to find a setup that can allow us to be quicker, and we hope to find that in Superpole tomorrow, so that we can run a good race. Thanks to my team for all their help today.”

Yari Montella: “All in all, a positive day. This is the first time I’m racing at this track, and I have to say I really like it. Unfortunately, the asphalt was very slippery and I even suffered a small crash, but was luckily unhurt. We’ve worked well and fourth position reassures me as we think ahead to tomorrow’s Superpole and first race. Thanks to the team for their great work.”

Saturday

Sixth podium of the season for Oncu and a brilliant fifth place for Montella. Mahias ruled out due to crash in FP3.

The second day making up round eleven of the Supersport World Championship played out today at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit on Lombok in Indonesia.

Yesterday, Yari Montella and Can Oncu took part in the two free practices, in which the Italian classified fourth (1’38”295) and the Turk tenth (1’39”321). Despite the precarious track conditions, the asphalt not offering the necessary grip, the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing riders looked comfortable on the Indonesian track, and well able to exploit the potential of the Ninja ZX-6R.

The Superpole session, valid for establishing grid positions for the weekend’s races, ran in hot and humid conditions this morning. Putting in a very strong performance, Can Oncu (1’36”000) scored second place and, hence, a spot on the front row. Yari Montella also did very well, closing sixth with a time of 1’36”263, which meant a second row start for the afternoon’s19-lap race.

Oncu and Montella made a solid start, which saw both move up into the leading group, the Turk lying fourth and the Italian sixth. During the course of lap three, Can took the lead, while Yari remained sixth. At around the mid-race point, Oncu was in second, a consistent frontrunner, while Montella formed part of those chasing, in fourth. In the final stages, the Turkish rider was slowed by a drop in tyre performance, but he nevertheless crossed the line third to score his sixth podium of the season, the ninth of his career! Montella just missed out on fourth place by a few thousandths of a second, concluding the race fifth.

In the championship standings, Oncu lies third with 232 points. Montella is eighth with 125 points.
Tomorrow the two Kawasaki Puccetti Racing riders will be back out for the second and final race of this eleventh WorldSSP round.

In Superbike, Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Lucas Mahias suffered a crash in this morning’s FP3 and sustained injury to the ligaments in his right ankle. He was therefore stopped from riding by the doctors, and was unable to compete aboard his Kawasaki today. The French rider will undergo another check-up tomorrow morning, to understand whether he can take part in the weekend’s last two races.

Superpole: 1) Tuuli (MV Agusta) – 2) Oncu (Kawasaki) – 3) Aegerter (Yamaha) – 4) Bulega (Ducati) – 5) Caricasulo (Ducati) – 6) Montella (Kawasaki)

Race 1) 1) Tuuli (MV Agusta) – 2) Caricasulo (Ducati) – 3) Oncu (Kawasaki) – 4) Aegerter (Yamaha) – 5) Montella (Kawasaki)

Can Oncu: “I think we are improving every time and I am proud of my team. I tried my best but made a small mistake on the back straight with a near-highside, so I did not want any more risks. I tried to finish second after that but in the end I had another slide and Caricasulo passed me. I could not do better but it was a good podium. Our dream is, of course, to finish in first position, so let’s target it, hope for it and try to do it.”

Yari Montella: “I ran a good race, but perhaps we could have done a little more. I perhaps made a mistake in managing the initial phase, and lost contact with the leaders. From then on, it was an uphill climb but in the end I brought home a solid fifth place, just missing out on fourth. We need to continue like this because we’ve again shown that we have the potential to reach the podium, so that’s my goal for tomorrow’s race.”

Sunday

Another podium for Oncu and Montella finishes strong in sixth

Kawasaki Puccetti Racing has today concluded the third and final day making up the eleventh Supersport World Championship round at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit on Lombok in Indonesia.

Yestersay saw riders Can Oncu and Yari Montella obtain strong results in race 1. The Turk reached the third step of the podium, having just missed out on the win due to a drop a tyre performance, while the Italian scored a solid fifth place finish, losing out on fourth by just a few tenths of a second.

Both were back out at the Indonesian track today for Race 2. Like yesterday, and based on the Superbike results of yesterday morning, Oncu started from the front row and Montella from the second in a race that ran in hot and humid conditions.

Oncu got away very well and was immediately up into the lead, with Montella just behind in fourth. In the space of just a few laps, the leading group, which included both Kawasaki Puccetti Racing riders and comprised six in all, had gained a good lead over the chasing group. On lap seven, Oncu lost first but remained very much in the fight for the win, as did Montella, sixth. Six laps from the end and with Oncu in third and Montella fifth, the race was brought to an end with a red flag after a crash for another rider meant a bike was lying very close to the track. Can Oncu today scored his second consecutive podium, his seventh of the season and ninth WorldSSP podium in all, while Yari Montella was classified sixth, as he was in the process of passing the rider ahead of him when the red flag was waved but had not yet completed the manouevre.

In the championship standings the Turk remains third with 248 points, while the Italian is eighth with 136.The next and final Supersport World Championship round will run from 18 to 20 November at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia.

In Superbike Lucas Mahias crashed during yesterday’s FP3, sustaining injury to the ligaments in his right ankle that prevented him from participating in Race 1. The French rider was examined by doctors again this morning, but they did not give him the OK to resume racing, and so he had to sit out today’s action too. Mahias will be on track for the next Phillip Island round though.

Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit – Indonesia
Supersport World Championship
Race 2 – 1) Aegerter (Yamaha) – 2) Manzi (Triumph) – 3) Oncu (Kawasaki) – 4) De Rosa (Ducati) – 5) Bulega (Ducati) – 6) Montella (Kawasaki)

Can Oncu: “I am happy to be on the podium but also not happy because I want to win races. We have had a lot of podiums but no wins yet. We are working hard for this and we have two races still to go at the final round in Australia. My dream is only to win, but a double podium at Mandalika, in such hot conditions, is very good for all in the team.”

Yari Montella: “I couldn’t have done more than I did today. I pushed hard from lap one but was often on the limit and couldn’t stick with the frontrunners all the way to the end. I’m pleased with sixth anyway, as we gave it everything and have again shown to be among the fastest in the category. Thanks to the team for their amazing support and we’ll be back in just seven days when we’ll do our best to round out the season on a high in Australia.”