Régis Laconi rode hard for a fine top ten finish on his PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse Ninja ZX-10R at Vallelunga and improved his championship position in the process.
In the first race Laconi just missed out on a point, while Tamada’s lowly starting position stopped him from making progress early on, and he secured 20th place.
Laconi and Tamada made changes to their machines for race two, with Laconi softening his rear suspension settings, then pushing himself to ninth despite being run off the track at one stage.
From a lowly grid position, Tamada rode with determination in each 24-lap race at the dual-character 4.110km Vallelunga circuit near Rome, and he just missed points in race two. He was particularly unfortunate to get caught up in the aftermath of a high-speed crash between two other riders, or he could have joined Laconi in the points.
The end result of Laconi’s seven points from Vallelunga is that he has now overtaken Tamada in the championship table, with 44 points to Tamada’s 41.
The next round is Laconi’s home event, Magny-Cours, on Sunday October 5.
Régis Laconi: “In race one I made a quite good start but after few laps I found the chatter that we thought we had got rid of yesterday. Because of that I found it hard to keep on the proper line. Between race one and race two the whole team worked really well to solve the problem by making the rear shock less stiff and it helped a lot, making easier to manage the bike and I scored a 9th position. I’m really glad about this result as the team deserved it after the great job they did.”
Makoto Tamada:
“I just want to forget this weekend as it has been really difficult to accept the results. I still don’t have a good feeling with the bike, especially with the front. We tried to reduce this problem by changing the pressure of the tyres but it didn’t help so I just tried to finish the race. In the second race I made quite a good start but after the crash between Biaggi and Sofuoglu, I was covered in oil and I lost control for a while, losing positions which I was not able to regain during the race. It’s a pity, because the feeling with the bike was better than in race one.”
