Editorial Note: Scroll down to see the video presentation.
PETRONAS TO REV UP THE MIE RACING HONDA TEAM IN THE 2023 FIM SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
The MIE Racing Honda Team today announced its new title sponsor, PETRONAS, ahead of the 2023 FIM Superbike World Championship, which is set to begin this coming weekend at the Australian circuit of Phillip Island.
The agreement with PETRONAS will enable Midori Moriwaki’s team to expand upon its projects and set itself some ambitious goals for 2023 and beyond.
The FIM Superbike World Championship is one of the world’s leading championships and allows riders from all over the world to compete at the highest level with production-derived motorcycles. While the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team will continue to compete in World Superbike with riders Hafizh Syahrin and Eric Granado, the 2023 season will also see it field a Supersport team for the first time with the formation of the new PETRONAS MIE MS Racing Honda Team counting on younger and skilled riders Tarran Mackenzie and Adam Norrodin, as they carve their professional path.
All four riders, together with Midori Moriwaki and representatives from PETRONAS unveiled the Honda CBR1000RR-R and Honda CBR600RR with which they will compete in this season’s Superbike and Supersport World Championship classes during a virtual presentation. The beautiful new livery, which stands out for its distinctive PETRONAS colour scheme, makes an unmistakeable impact both on and off track.
With the arrival of PETRONAS, MIE Racing will also focus on wider-ranging, long-term projects as well as the development of an ‘academy program’ that will see the partners join forces to harness WorldSBK and WorldSSP as the platforms and catalyst for a Malaysian talent development program that seeks to promote and develop the talents of up-and-coming riders. This venture will enable PETRONAS to exhibit its expertise and conduct product testing and development with the team, which will help amplify the energy company’s premium products for the high-performance production Superbikes.
Midori Moriwaki
(Owner of MIE Racing )
“It is a real source of pride and satisfaction for the MIE Racing Honda Team to be able to announce a multi-year partnership with PETRONAS and hope to expand our presence in the production-derived championship with our Supersport team together.”
Datin Anita Azrina Abdul Aziz
(PETRONAS Senior General Manager of Group Strategic Communications)
“PETRONAS is extremely honoured to team up with Midori and we are very excited to embark on this new project. We have worked with Midori in the past and we look forward to a successful partnership with the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team, as the FIM Superbike World Championship will provide the opportunity to push our advancement of fluid technology in motorsports and to commercially position the PETRONAS brand. We are eager to see the riders perform, both in WorldSBK and WorldSSP. We will also have the opportunity to develop the skills of Malaysian talents in the two-wheel segment, something we very much look forward to.”
PETRONAS MIE RACING HONDA TEAM RIDERS COMMENTS
With the 2023 Superbike World Championship set to begin this coming weekend at the Australian circuit of Phillip Island, the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team and new title partner PETRONAS have presented the teams with which they will compete in this season’s Superbike and Supersport World Championship classes.
Hafizh Syahrin
(PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team)
“I’m very happy to be heading into my second WorldSBK season with the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda team. The first year was tough but I’ve gained so much experience, thanks to both the team and other riders, and it will be interesting to see where we are this year. Our package is improved and there have been a few changes in terms of technical staff too. I am also more used to the electronics and tyres, which were new to me last year, and so I’ll be better prepared in that respect going into 2023. I’m very confident in continuing with the same team, and both they and I will do our best to support each other, trust the process and continue to learn race by race. The minimum aim is to finish every race inside the points. As for my team-mate, I shared the track with him a few times in the past, and then last year we started training and cycling together so I can say that we share a good relationship and similar goals, in that we both want to work hard and score strong results for the team.”
Eric Granado
(PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team)
“First I want to thank Midori and Honda for this opportunity. It’s also great to represent Brazil on the WorldSBK grid, following in the footsteps of Alex Barros. This next season will be an important one for me and the team, and I’m excited to get started. I know the Honda already, but the SBK spec is very different, so I’ll need to get used to this, the electronics in particular, but I’m ready to learn. Everything will be new to me, after many years in the GP paddock, and I’ll need to be physically prepared considering the intense weekend schedule, but I feel ready. I’ll be facing some new tracks, but the team has data of course, so we’ll do our best to be as prepared as we can be. It’s good that Hafizh already has experience of the bike and team, and I hope we can work well together to achieve our goals. I might need a little time to get used to the bike, tyres, tracks and everything but I intend to do my best from start to finish – I’m excited to see what we can do.”
Adam Norrodin
(PETRONAS MIE MS Racing Honda Team)
“I’m excited to be part of WorldSSP this season. I’ve raced in various international series including Moto2 and Moto3, but World Supersport is a brand-new challenge for me. I’m nervous of course but also excited, and this is my first time riding the bike, so I know I have a lot of work to do. I have high expectations to be honest. Honda hasn’t competed in the 600 class over the last couple of years, but it has been very successful in this championship in the past, so we have a lot to live up to. PETRONAS is also a big name in racing and with their support, I think we can have a great season. I know that everything has been going well back at base, so I’m keen to see how we line up against the competition. I will fight as hard as I can and the aim is to be competitive, hopefully fighting on the front row.”
Tarran Mackenzie
(PETRONAS MIE MS Racing Honda Team)
“I’ve had a great off-season and am looking forward to getting started. There’s a lot of history behind Midori and the Moriwaki family. She is passionate about racing and has put in a lot of effort to take another step up again this year. And we have PETRONAS on board too, a massive name in motorsport, which is great. As for me, the goal was always to return to world championship level and Midori and her team are now giving me that opportunity. It’s not going to be easy because there’s a lot of fast guys there, but I think starting in WorldSSP is a good move for me. I’ve been on the Superbike in BSB for five seasons now, but I think it’ll be good for me to ride the smaller and nimbler Supersport bike. I think this new Honda has great potential – we just need to take things one step at a time. On paper, I think it can be one of the strongest packages; I just need to get used to it after a few years on a Superbike. I can’t wait to get going to be honest.”
