Consistent pace and P13 for Chantra in Misano’s Race 2 as Vickers battles back from a crash
Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”Honda HRC completes an intense and very hot race weekend with a P13 for Chantra in Race 2
The final races of the seventh Superbike World Championship round took place today at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”. Honda HRC rider Somkiat Chantra scored his best result of the season with a P13 in Race 2, while Ryan Vickers showed his grit and commitment by completing both the day’s races despite a crash in the final race.
Saturday’s qualifying meant that the two riders again started from the seventh row for the morning’s Superpole Race, which ran over a distance of 10 laps. Though Chantra lost ground in the very early stages, the Thai rider pushed hard to bounce back, making up six positions over the first half of this short sprint. Passing another rider on the penultimate lap, the Honda HRC rider completed the race in fifteenth position. Replacement rider Vickers made a good start, making up a couple of positions almost immediately. Benefitting also from incidents involving three other riders, Ryan moved up into seventeenth, lying just behind teammate Somkiat. Holding his position in the final stages, the Brit finished P17.
The second and final 21-lap race ran according to schedule in conditions every bit as hot as Saturday’s Race 1. Getting away from the seventh row, Honda HRC rider Chantra was lying seventeenth but soon progressed to P14. Part of a group of six riders, the Thai rider maintained his focus and demonstrated very consistent pace, gaining another position in the latter stages to score his best result of the season, P13.
Positioned just a fraction of a second behind his teammate early on in the race, Vickers did his best to replicate the pace of those immediately ahead. A crash through Turn 4 unfortunately put paid to his efforts, but the Brit was able to rejoin the race, albeit at the back of the field. Separated from the rest of the pack due to the earlier crash, a valiant Ryan nevertheless brought the race to its conclusion, crossing the line in eighteenth place.
The factory team will now prepare for WorldSBK round 8, set to take place over the weekend of 10–12 July at Donington Park.
"Today we had the Superpole Race in the morning and Race 2 in the afternoon. We made some changes and improved the bike’s setup. My feeling was better and I was able to push harder, particularly into the corners. We tested those changes in the Superpole Race and the result was not too bad in terms of feeling. For Race 2, we tried to stay with the group and hold our position. The pace was quite good, and I was able to stay with the riders around me for almost the entire race. In the final laps, I started to struggle a bit with the front because the feeling began to drop. The track was very hot and there are many long corners here, so the front tyre was quite worn, and I couldn’t push any harder. In the end, I decided to keep my position and bring it home. We will now analyse the data, keep working, keep learning and keep improving, both myself and the bike, with the top ten as our next target.”
"Today we had the Superpole Race in the morning and Race 2 in the afternoon. We made some changes and improved the bike’s setup. My feeling was better and I was able to push harder, particularly into the corners. We tested those changes in the Superpole Race and the result was not too bad in terms of feeling. For Race 2, we tried to stay with the group and hold our position. The pace was quite good, and I was able to stay with the riders around me for almost the entire race. In the final laps, I started to struggle a bit with the front because the feeling began to drop. The track was very hot and there are many long corners here, so the front tyre was quite worn, and I couldn’t push any harder. In the end, I decided to keep my position and bring it home. We will now analyse the data, keep working, keep learning and keep improving, both myself and the bike, with the top ten as our next target.”
“We’ve completed the Misano round and, overall, we made some steps with the bike. It’s been a bit of a frustrating weekend because we had a few things thrown our way. The big crash in FP3 didn’t help, especially with the bike change afterwards, and a few issues that we then had to manage for the remainder of the races. That said, I think we learned a lot and collated useful information that can hopefully help improve the project. Unfortunately, I had another small crash in the race, very similar to yesterday’s, but I was able to rejoin and finish the race, and the lap times were quite consistent. We also learned some things about the electronics this weekend, which I hope can help the team to take another step forward. We just need to keep pushing. We are obviously not where we want to be yet, but we will keep working and doing our best to help develop the project. A big thank you to the team for all their hard work throughout the weekend. Let’s see what the future brings.”
“We’ve completed the Misano round and, overall, we made some steps with the bike. It’s been a bit of a frustrating weekend because we had a few things thrown our way. The big crash in FP3 didn’t help, especially with the bike change afterwards, and a few issues that we then had to manage for the remainder of the races. That said, I think we learned a lot and collated useful information that can hopefully help improve the project. Unfortunately, I had another small crash in the race, very similar to yesterday’s, but I was able to rejoin and finish the race, and the lap times were quite consistent. We also learned some things about the electronics this weekend, which I hope can help the team to take another step forward. We just need to keep pushing. We are obviously not where we want to be yet, but we will keep working and doing our best to help develop the project. A big thank you to the team for all their hard work throughout the weekend. Let’s see what the future brings.”
