Round five of the World Superbike Championships at Miller Motorsport Park, Utah, marked a difficult day for Aussie Mark Aitchison.
After starting on the fifth row of the grid, the Team Pedercini Kawasaki rider battled rear tyre issues in both races, finishing up with a 16-17 place finishes.
“Today seemed to be quite a difficult day for us. We were fortunate enough to get some dry weather during both our races, but overall we had major problems with rear tyre degredation in both races,” commented Aitchison.
Although feeling strong on the bike and battling through the field from his low grid position, there was only so much he could do once he began to lose traction.
“In the first race after around six laps, our rear tyre performance dropped quite considerably and as a result my lap times were not so fast and I closed in 16th place,” he reflected.
“During the second race I managed to get a good start and battle with a few of the others riders in the beginning which I enjoyed, but again after around 10-12 laps my level of rear grip dropped quickly and I could not maintain the same lap times, finishing 17th.”
Despite the disappointing result, Aitchison remains positive as himself and the team learn more about the bike.
“In any case I believe we have had a good weekend, we are learning more about the bike all the time and I really believe once we resolve a few small issues regarding tyre wear and improve the bike’s balance a little, we can be a lot more competitive in future races,” he concluded.