[Kawasaki] JRR Rd.9 JSB1000, Leon Haslam Got 2nd in Both Races. Kazuki Watanabe Got 3rd in Race-1

• 2016 All-Japan Road Race Championship Rd. 9 MFJGP
• JSB 1000
• Date: November 6, 2016 (Sun)
• Circuit: Suzuka Circuit (5.821 km)

Race Report

The setting for the final round of the season, the MFJ GP, was Suzuka Circuit. After the unexpected heavy rain at Round 8, Round 9 saw perfect, cloudless skies for the entire race weekend from Thursday through to the final race on Sunday.

Qualifying on Saturday was held in a “knockout” format for Q1 and Q2. The results of Q1 would decide the starting grid for Race 2, while the top 10 riders from Q1 would progress to Q2, where the results would decide the starting grid for Race 1.

In free practice the day before Leon Haslam had set the fastest time with a 2’06.261, and he put the rest of the field on notice with a 2’06.611 in the second half of Q1.

But soon after, it was Haslam’s teammate Kazuki Watanabe who surpassed his time with a 2’06.599, placing the two in 5th and 4th on the grid for Race 2.

After a five-minute interval, Q2’s short fifteen-minute session got underway. With five minutes left in the session, Watanabe notched a 2’06.517 to better his time – enough to secure 5th spot on the grid, in the middle of the second row.

Haslam swapped in a fresh set of tyres at the halfway mark and immediately went a second quicker with a 2’05.689, missing out on pole position by a mere 0.15 seconds and captivating fans by putting on a demonstration of the speed he is known for.

Race 1 was unique in that it was a super sprint race comprised of only eight laps. In that short distance, it would become an all-out battle of speed rather than strategy, as the riders went on the attack at full throttle right from the opening lap.

Haslam, who had set a time in the 2’05s in qualifying, wasted no time as he sprung into the lead past Katsuyuki Nakasuga (Yamaha).

Meanwhile, Watanabe launched from the second row, and soon passed Takumi Takahashi (Honda) to take over 4th. On his second lap he set the fastest lap of the race with a 2’06.154 and locked on to the back of Takuya Tsuda (Suzuki) while keeping a high lap time average near the 2’06.6 to 2’06.7 mark.

Watanabe continued to use his speed to put pressure on the leaders as he lapped at nearly the same pace. He made his presence known while reaching nearly 309 km/h down the straight at one point and topping 300 km/h every lap of the race.

He passed Tsuda on lap 5 to put himself in a podium position. With his eye on the two duelling riders in front of him, he ran a calm, collected race while gradually shaving tenths off of the gap.

By the final lap he had closed to within slipstreaming distance, but as it was a super sprint race, he ran out of time to make a move and had to settle for 3rd.

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Original Source [ Kawasaki Global Racing Information ]