Lascorz Takes First 2009 Podium For Kawasaki
WSS, Assen, Netherlands, 26 April 2009Joan Lascorz raced his Ninja ZX-6R Kawasaki to a fine podium finish of third today, having led for nine of the 21 race laps at a warm and sunny Assen circuit.
Lascorz was in the lead as the final chicane came into view but he could not stop Eugene Laverty and Cal Crutchlow outbraking him and passing him across the line. Lascorz was only 0.178 seconds from the win.Joan found his machine had an advantage at some parts of the track, less of one at others, but his fully competitive form is a good sign for the team to take into the next race at Monza.
Katsuaki Fujiwara was riding strongly from a 15th place grid start, and even a leaking radiator hose could not stop him from collecting two points for his 14th place finish. He had been as high as 11th before his problems struck, and allied to his strong performances before qualifying it was a positive weekend in general for the experienced rider from Japan.
In the championship standings, Lascorz is eighth on 27 points, while Fujiwara is 14th, on 13 points.
Joan Lascorz: “Our race was good, I was comfortable at the pace but we had a little bit of chatter with the front suspension, so there were some places on the track where I could not really push. The bike is good now, it makes fast laps and strong results, but we need to be able to fight more in some corners. On the final chicane I braked as hard as I could but Laverty passed me inside. I know I braked hard but Laverty could brake harder on his bike, and when he went inside Crutchlow also came through. The finish of the race was good for the show but not so good for me! We have improved a lot since the start of the year but I feel we should have more points than we have.”
Katsuaki Fujiwara: “From lap ten I had a bit of a problem when the temperature went up a little and that lost me a bit of power. I think we lost some water, because there was a small hole in one of the hoses when we came in after the race. The engine was good, because it kept going and I was even able to continue to ride hard and earn some points.”
sumber:Kawasaki Racing team
