Makoto Tamada and Régis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse Ninja ZX-10R) rode with conviction in the two Miller Motorsports Park races and each rider scored points at this new WSB venue.
In race one, shortened to 20-laps after a startline grid position delay involving backmarkers, Laconi looked set for a strong finish until a crash on lap five stopped him from capitalising further on his seventh place qualifying position. Tamada was a distant 19th in the race, after struggling to find a suitable set-up on his raceday machine.
In the second race, held over a full 21 laps, Laconi was a high as seventh until the pain from his first race crash started to affect his performance, and he had to drop back, finishing ninth. Tamada’s suspension and machine settings were improved a little and the Japanese star worked his way from 21st on lap one to 13th at the finish, scoring three points.
In the overall standings, Tamada leads Laconi by one place and three points. The Kawasaki duo will get a chance to make up more ground at the Nürburgring, on June 15.
Regis Laconi: “I had a big highside crash in race one, at the first corner, and I don’t understand what happened. I was pushing for sure, and the rear started spinning and never came back. I went high and I landed hard on my backside, stretching the tendon inside my thigh, and maybe hurting my sciatic nerve. My back was very sore and stiff after half race distance. It was impossible to do better after that. I did my best and it was a tough race for sure.”
Makoto Tamada: “Race one was very bad for me. Lots of chattering and not a lot of grip from the front or rear. We tried a few small changes to things for today but it was not so good. These settings were not what we needed maybe but we did all we could.”
After Miller the next round - including WSB, WSS and Superstock championships once more - will take place at the Nürburgring, in Germany, on 15 June.
