The fifth round of this World Supersport Championship in Imola did not to plan for Orelac Racing VerdNatura today. The race was red-flagged after just three laps and then restarted as an eleven lapper. The team made a bit of a gamble with the tyres for the restart for Fahmi Khairuddin and Nacho Calero but things didn’t work out in their favour. Nacho finished 23rd and Fahmi 26th after a five second penalty for cutting one of the chicanes.
Nacho Calero – 23rd
“We made quite a few changes to the bike in this morning’s warm up and it was definitely better. After the red flag we began the restart with a softer tyre and didn’t quite work as we expected – maybe because the track temperature was a little too cool for it to work properly. I was 25th at the end of the first lap and worked my way to 22nd after six laps. After that I found it hard to make up any further ground. I couldn’t push the bike as hard as I wanted to do and then lost a position in the closing stages. Although the result wasn’t great, I am happy that we made the bike better and maybe we have to be more aggressive with any changes we make in the future.”
Fahmi Khairuddin – 26th
“I am not happy with the result today because I know that it should’ve been much better. I didn’t make a good start to the first race, so maybe it wasn’t bad for me that it was red-flagged and we all had to go again. The race was restarted as an eleven lapper and, once again, I didn’t make a good start. We opted to use a softer tyre but it didn’t work out to be the right choice and my situation got worse when I made a mistake at the chicane and had to stop for a five second penalty. The positive is that I have a really good feeling with my bike. We now have a good base to work from and that gives me confidence for the next race in Sepang. It is my home race and I am determined to do well there.”
Giulio Bardi (Team Manager)
“Thinking positively, I am happy with the superb lap that Fahmi put in during yesterday’s Superpole. It shows that both he and the bike have potential. Today was just one of those days when things don’t work out as you think. We’ll re-group and I’m sure that the next race will see a big improvement. We made some steps forward with Nacho’s bike and I believe further progress is possible. Fahmi has his home race up next and he is very determined to get a good result in front of all his fans.”
Results
1 Sofuoglu, 2 Cluzel, 3 Jacobsen, 23 Nacho Calero (ESP-Orelac Racing VerdNatura, 26 Fahmi Khairuddin (MAS-Orelac Racing VerdNatura)
