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.”
