26 Jun 2015 Australian Mark Aitchison takes second win - ZIC Superbike Race 2
At 14:15 on 21 June 2015, after the eye-catching Red Bull Drifting Battle, Pan Delta Super Racing Festival ushers the ZIC Superbikes on track for their final race of the weekend. With lap times reaching 1:36, these are now the fastest machines of Pan Delta.
Impeded by his new race suits, 4 times champion Huang Shi-Zhao might now be ready to take on the challenge of both Mark Aitchison and Li Zheng-Peng. Former WSBK rider Mark, on his EBR machine, has an advantage with his slightly larger engine, while Huang and Li are on the latest Yamaha bikes. It will be interesting to see how this race develops.
The weather is just as hot today as it was yesterday. The starting grid is set by the results of race 1. Mark Aitchison starts from the pole position, Li Zheng-Peng and Huang Shi-Zhao start alongside him on the front row. On the second row are Dan Kruger, Karl Roe and Mohd Radzi bin Yusof. Simon Kwan, Huang Zhi-Yu and Ou-Yang Fu are on row three.
At the start, Li Zheng-Peng gets away well and get into the lead. Mark Aitchison did not get enough traction on his bike and is second into T1. But Mark clearly has a speed advantage and Li is unable to shake him off. Half a lap later, Mark is past Li and into the lead. Huang Shi-Zhao is in third place but seems a little wobbly when he brakes for corners. These three riders form the leading trio.
Simon Kwan is showing good speed in his new Ducati, climbing to fifth place by lap 4. He is now not far behind fourth placed Dan Kruger. But a bike suddenly runs off the track into the sand trap, he struggles to get back on track but the bike is stuck too deep in the sand and he has no choice but to retire from the race.
On lap 6, Mark Aitchison is leading by more than 3 seconds from Li Zheng-Peng. The trophy for the second win is in his hands. Huang Shi-Zhao is another 10 seconds behind Li, running solo. Li Zheng-Peng is getting anxious to get back on terms with Mark, but in traffic he is not able to make up ground.
Final lap, Mark leads comfortably and in the end he completes a double win this weekend. Li Zheng-Peng finishes second and Huang Shi-Zhao takes third place.
Mark said, "My start was not good, I did not get enough traction. But the adjustment we made last night to the bike worked well. We lowered it and it is now more stable, allowing me to do better lap times and beat the Yamaha riders. I would like to thank the crazy fans in the grandstand and the team that gave me good support."
Li Zheng-Peng said, "Our rival is very good, I made a good start but our rival uses a V type twin engine which gives better low rev torque. He was very fast in some of the corners. There was no way I could take on him. Anyway I am quite pleased with my own performance."
Huang Shi-Zhao said, "The new bike needs some running-in. I changed to the medium tyre before the race. At T9 on lap 1 I almost lost it. So I had to be careful afterwards. Braking is a slight problem and it is a little wobbly under braking for the first corner. This race suit is also too small, it is so tight my arms were numb. Everything was a little too rushed, hopefully for the next race we will be better prepared."
Class
|
Results
|
No.
|
Rider
|
CL1
|
1
|
116
|
Mark Aitchison
|
2
|
26
|
Li Zheng-Peng
|
|
3
|
9
|
Huang Shi-Zhao
|
|
CL2
|
1
|
2
|
Yuan Ji-Bo
|
2
|
23
|
Deng Yuan-Hong
|
|
3
|
21
|
Ma Sai
|
|
CL3
|
1
|
8
|
Huang Zhi-Yu
|
2
|
99
|
Ou-Yang Fu
|
|
3
|
27
|
Max Lau
|
Time
|
Incident
|
14:19
|
#3 runs on to the grass at T4 and returns to track.
|
14:22
|
#14 runs on to the grass at T12 and is towed inside.
|
14:25
|
#74 runs in to the sand trap at T11, he returns to the track with assistance from the marshals.
|