17 Mar 2018 Speed Hero 1000cc Race 1 Ducati official test rider wins overall

Speed Hero 1000cc Race 1 is held at 12:40 on 17 March. CER Ducati HK #8 Italian rider Alessandro Valia is on pole position, alongside him are #9 Chinese rider Huang Shi-Zhao and #7 Japanese rider Shinjo Masahiro.

The lights went off and the race began. #8 Alessandro Valia and #9 Huang Shi-Zhao went into the first corner almost side by side. Alessandro used his inside line advantage to prevent #9 Huang Shi-Zhao from taking the lead. #7 Shinjo Masahiro had a mechanical problem soon after the start and he went to the pits for repairs.

After 1 lap, the top 3 are #8 Alessandro Valia, #9 Huang Shi-Zhao and #71 Canadian rider Dan Kruger.

At half way point, #8 Alessandro Valia and #9 Huang Shi-Zhao were safely running in first and second positions. #71 Dan Kruger, #62 Simon Kwan and #21 Ma Sai were fighting fiercely over third place overall.

On lap 6, #21 Ma Sai overtook #71 Dan Kruger for third place on the main straight. #7 Shinjo Masahiro returned to the track after going through repairs. But the race is already half over and his main aim must be to test his repaired bike and get it ready for race 2.

In the end, #8 Alessandro Valia wins the race by 11 seconds from #9 Huang Shi-Zhao. Huang Shi-Zhao finished second overall and wins Open B class. #21 Ma Sai crossed the line in third place and takes second place in Open B class.

After the race, Ducati official test rider Alessandro Valia said he felt pressure at the support of the Chinese spectators and the atmosphere. This was unexpected. He thanks the team and mechanics for providingn him with a very good bike. It has enough advantage for a good result. Hopefully this situation will continue tomorrow.

Huang Shi-Zhao said, "I am riding last year's old bike. In this race my biggest experience is the change in tyres. After using standard tyres we are still working on the bike's set-up. Although we achieved a good result today, we will still work with the team on finding a better set-up. Hopefully we can go one better tomorrow."

CER Ducati HK alsoc claimed Open A class win and Open B class third place. It was certainly a good outing for them. Team manager and rider Simon Kwan said he is very satisfied with today's results and hopefully tomorrow they can continue the good condition.