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.”
