Determined Start in Donington for Mahias

GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team rider Lucas Mahias made a determined start to the UK round at Donington Park  

Below is the full report from Yamaha

GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team rider Lucas Mahias made a determined start to the UK round of the 2017 Supersport World Championship today in sweltering sunshine at the Donington Park circuit.

Mahias completed the day in fourth in the combined times. Championship leader Mahias was quick to find his pace in the first morning practice, working through some set up changes on the flowing Donington circuit to finish in third, just 0.258s from top.

The afternoon saw track temperatures rise even further, in a session interrupted with a red flag at the halfway point. Mahias remained consistent, continuing his form from the morning to finish in fourth on the overall times with a 131.451 best lap. The combined times mean Mahias will go straight to Superpole 2 at 12:25pm GMT tomorrow.

Lucas Mahias GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team: It was a very good day and great weather here at Donington. It's almost like a new track to me, I have only ridden it once before in 2015, but then I only did 20 laps. Therefore, this morning was tricky as I got used to the track, but after five laps I came back to the box and I was third. That was nice. I have been working a lot with the team to improve the bike, especially for the race. This afternoon I focused on a long run to work on my race pace and my rhythm was very good. I am very happy as the R6 is very good and I am confident for tomorrow.

Filippo Conti GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team Manager: I am very happy, because today has worked out very well. Lucas was once again very consistent and everything went to plan. This morning his aim was to finish in the top three and in the afternoon focus on race pace and long runs. He stuck to this plan perfectly, and we are very happy with his fastest lap time, but also his consistency. He is always very happy, because he has a great feeling with the R6, and we managed to make a few small adjustments this morning to make it even better. Tomorrow I think Lucas is in a very good position.

Images from Yamaha