05 Jul 2016 ZIC Superbike 1000cc：A synchronized dance

ZIC Superbike has always been a mainstay of Pan Delta. It is the most participated and highest level road racing series for motorcycles in the country. In the previous years, 600cc and 1000cc bikes raced together. In terms of safety this was a risk for the younger and less experienced riders. So since the Spring Race of 2016, the races on Saturday separated the 600cc and 1000cc bikes. Riders must complete the Saturday race and set a lap time among the 34 quickest riders overall, in order to participate in the combined race on Sunday.

Although only 17 bikes are in this race, a few less than the 600cc race. The big engines still make a huge noise that resonates all around the circuit. According to yesterday s qualifying results, Mark Aitchison is on pole position with 1:34.868. Huang Shi-Zhao is second with Li Zheng-Peng third, half a second behind. Mark seems to have a very clear advantage.

The red lights go off and the race begins. All the riders on the front row make good starts and lead into the first corner. Li Zheng-Peng is ahead of Huang Shi-Zhao and is in second place. Simon Kwan loses control and is in the sand trap of turn 14. Since the position of his bike is dangerous, the race organizers show the yellow flag. On lap 2, Mark leads Li Zheng-Peng by 4 seconds. Huang Shi-Zhao is another second behind.

On lap 4 Huang Shi-Zhao is right behind Li Zheng-Peng. A battle for second place begins for these two teammates. The whole circuit focus on this battle. The gap between them is just 0.3 second. They ride along like synchronized dancing. Riding like this not just require supreme skill but also complete faith in the other rider s abilities.

The battle will only be settled by one of them making a mistake or an external force. On lap 7, they hit traffic and Li Zheng-Peng slightly hesitated, allowing Huang Shi-Zhao to make a move and pass him. Another lap the gap between them is 1.5 seconds. Huang Shi-Zhao is now second but is 15 seconds behind Mark Aitchison. In the end, the 1000cc race was won by Mark Aitchison. Second and third places went to Huang Shi-Zhao and Li Zheng-Peng.

After the race, Mark Aitchison said,”I made a terrible start, maybe because we changed the clutch last night. It seems we have to change it back. This was my first time on the Yamaha R1 motorbike and the balance of the bike is still not good. We are still developing this bike. We will make one or two changes. I am confident we can do it.”

Li Zheng-Peng said,”I made a good start and passed veteran Huang Shi-Zhao for second place. After that I just tried to keep close to Mark. On lap 3, my teammate caught up and we had a very exciting fight. He was really close and I also had good pace. But at the last corner on lap 5, turn 14, I made a little mistake on entry and he passed me. After that he made a mistake, too, allowing me to get back ahead. Then I ran into some backmarkers and he passed me again. From then on I followed him, since we are teammates and there was just two laps left, I decided to just follow him home.”

Huang Shi-Zhao was quite satisfied. “Today I had a problem at the start and dropped to fifth. Fortunately I had the speed to get back up the order. At turn 4 I got back to fourth place and by turn 11 I was up to third. Then I followed my teammate. On lap 4 and 5 we were very closed to each other. But he was very fast and I just had to wait for an opportunity. He made a mistake and I got ahead. But I was too fast and could not brake in time, so he got back ahead. At turn 4 he hit traffic and I passed him again. The last two laps were less eventful. Since we are teammates and it was just the first race, we were more careful. Overall it was a good race with some good action.”

First time entry American female rider Selina Moredo was still very excied after the race. She said, “Everything from the bike to the track are new to me. The bike is very powerful and I am still just getting used to it. In the race I was just trying to keep close to the riders in front of me. Everything else will have to come later. Oh, I love the fans here!”