DOUBLE PODIUM PUTS DAN KRUGER IN 2ND OVERALL IN 2018 CHINA CHAMPIONSHIP
March 18, 2018-Zhuhai International Circuit, China
24c, Humid, Foggy
Canadian Dan Kruger picked up where he left off over 2 years ago before he was seriously injured in qualifying at the Suzuka 8-hour World Endurance Championship. Riding a 2018 Kawasaki ZX-10RR, Kruger faced tough competition as Ducati China pulled out all the stops by bringing over Italian Ducati Factory Test Rider Alessandro Valia to help secure a win for the red brand. Valia is the guy behind the new V4 development and is now putting the finishing touches on the new 1000cc race version.
“I had nothing for Valia this weekend. I just focused on my race program, building back my confidence and basically getting back my rhythm over a race distance. In the end, we managed a 2nd and 3rd in the doubleheader which puts me 2nd overall in the Championship. We will do some more testing and see if we can find that extra bit in the next round to challenge for the win.” Kruger said.
With over 20,000 spectators each day taking in the various forms of motorsport racing, energy was high and racing in China continues to grow exponentially each year. New tracks are opening, Motorcycle Dealerships are opening throughout China as the Government loosens restrictions for “
Kruger has been training hard and has dropped 8 kilos over the winter break. He still lacks the necessary bike fitness to compete at these high levels for race distance but with a 3 day test planned in a month, the team is confident he will get there. The team is enjoying more support than in previous years with the Japanese sending technicians over to help with the electronics and Motul also planning to send over a technician for the test next month to try out some new products with them and review data.
The race bikes are 90% there so it is really just tweaking a few things but the main focus is getting Dan comfortable on the bike again and getting his consistency back. He can put in a quick lap as proven in qualifying on a Q tyre but still needs to work on full race distance and managing the tyre wear.
Kruger also had his long-time agent by his side the entire weekend and they are in discussions to rejoin German based BMW Penz13 to make his Road racing return this July at the IRRC Championship in Finland for the Imatra round as a wild-card entry. He would be teaming up with former Moto3 Rider and good friend Danny Webb, BSB regular Martin Jessop, and Roads regular Jamie Coward. The Penz13 Team currently sits 2nd overall in the WEC and will be at all IRRC Rounds along with the Isle of Man TT for yet another year.
Titanic Kawasaki and Dan Kruger Racing would like to thank all of their sponsors for stepping up their support for 2018 in the highly competitive China Championship. Thanks to Kawasaki, Motul, Pirelli, Dainese, X-Lite, Brembo, BG, Hindle, EBC, Sprint Filters, Moto-Tron, Ktech, RK, Kinetik Batteries, Nature Power, and the entire Team.
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