14 Jul Kawasaki WorldSSP Team Chronicle at Donington Park
Report from the Kawasaki Racing Team, ambassador for the ISB Sport bearing brand, at Donington Park
Thirteenth for Alcoba in Superpole at Donington Park
The WorldSSP field enjoyed warm, sunny conditions as the seventh championship round began at Donington Park in the UK today. During the morning, Jeremy Alcoba completed a practice session in which he adapted his ZX-6R 636 machine to the winding British track. The Spaniard placed seventh with a time of 1’30”330.
The afternoon’s Superpole established the grid for Saturday’s race. Though he gave it his all and had the team’s full support, the Spaniard wasn’t able to improve as much as he’d hoped, not least because his best time was twice cancelled due to a yellow flag. At the end of qualifying, his best reference was a 1’30”119, which saw him place thirteenth. With this result, Jeremy will start Saturday’s race from the fifth row of the grid.
“I’m not at all pleased with how things went in Superpole. I expected a lot more of myself and the feeling with my bike. At the start of the session, I was up at the front, but then the others improved and I didn’t have the opportunity to express our full potential, also because my fastest lap was twice cancelled in that I set it while the yellow flag was out. In the final stages, I tried to push but the tyres were worn, and I couldn’t do more than thirteenth. The positive is that we have great pace and so I’ll try to make up as many positions as possible in tomorrow’s race and fight for the podium.”
Incredible Race 1 for Alcoba, seventh after starting thirty-first!
The seventh WorldSSP round continues for the Kawasaki WorldSSP Team and rider Jeremy Alcoba at Donington Park.
The Spaniard was on track yesterday for free practice and Superpole, in which he qualified thirteenth. His result was conditioned by yellow flags in the final stages that prevented him from improving on his fastest time.
As if that were not enough, Race Direction demoted him to the back of today’s race grid, the Spaniard accused of having passed riders in Superpole while the yellow flags were out.
As a result, Alcoba lined up on the eleventh row of the grid, in thirty-first position, for the afternoon’s race.
Jeremy made a very fast start and was already up into fifteenth by the end of lap two. He continued his brilliant comeback over subsequent laps, working his way up through the field to finish an incredible seventh!
The Spaniard places eighth in the championship standings, with 87 points.
Jeremy will return to the track tomorrow for the final race of this British WorldSSP round.
“We went from the last row of the grid to P7, so we made a really big comeback. I want to say thank you to my whole team because from Friday to today they took a really good step with the set-up of my Ninja ZX-6R 636. Even in morning warm-up I felt really fast and strong. We found the grip that we were missing in Friday’s Superpole qualifying session. I am generally happy with the race, because I made my best start and remained calm. I tried to manage the tyres throughout the race. I was telling myself to avoid making any errors that I might pay for later. I’m very happy because I fought hard and enjoyed myself. I hope we can do more tomorrow; it should be easier starting from fourteenth on the grid.”
Alcoba makes another fantastic recovery in Race 2 at Donington
The seventh WorldSSP round concluded today at Donington Park in the UK. Yesterday Jeremy Alcoba ran an incredible Race 1 that saw him climb from the last row of the grid (penalised for having executed passes while the yellow flags were out during Superpole) to final seventh position, having made a fantastic recovery.
This afternoon, the Kawasaki WorldSSP rider lined up for Race 2 on the fifth row of the grid, based on his Race 1 lap times.
He made a very fast start and was lying eleventh through the initial stages. Battling as part of the chasing group and maintaining a strong pace, Alcoba was able to make up placed. Tenth at the mid-race point, the Spaniard was able to pass another two rivals to cross the line eighth and score important championship points. He now lies eighth in the standings, with 105 points.
The next WorldSSP round will run on 25-27 July at the Balaton Park Circuit in Hungary.
“We are finished now in Donington and we took some good points for the championship. I am really happy because it was the first time here for me and for the Ninja ZX-6R 636 Kawasaki. We improved with every lap and every session that we went out on track. I want to say thanks to all my team because we did a really good job. Yesterday, in Race One, we made a really big comeback. Today was a little bit more difficult because everybody improved. We also improved and our pace was really good. I tried to manage the tyre, like yesterday, but it was not enough and the guys in front were a bit faster. I tried to give my all through the whole race and we achieved a eighth position. I am happy and let’s see how we go in the next race.”