Podium for Lascorz as Fujiwara battles to Sixth

2010-05-31 23:13
Front row starters Joan Lascorz and Katsuaki Fujiwara each made strong points scores at Miller in the USA, after 18-laps of high-speed action in the Memorial Day holiday Monday race.

The 4.907km Miller Motorsport Park suited both riders and machinery better than the previous round at Kyalami and each rider saw that in their final results, with Joan third in the race and Katsuaki sixth.

Joan was not able to stay with the front running pace of eventual winner Kenan Sofuoglu and second place rider Eugene Laverty but his late pace made him a threat to Laverty right until the flag. Joan finished only 1.673 seconds from the lead. Joan has now scored six podium finishes from seven races, and is third on points, 14 from the lead.

Katsuaki was happy to be able to battle for a top four finish after qualifying fourth on the grid, but he had to settle for sixth and ten valuable championship points. 'Kats' has moved up one ranking place to ninth overall after seven rounds of a 13 round season. He he is now only ten points from a top five placing.

Joan Lascorz: “The start was difficult for me, with a full fuel tank. When the fuel load reduced in the middle of the race the bike was simply easier to ride. Another podium today and we are in not such a bad place in the championship. Sofuoglu and Laverty were also very fast today.”

Katsuaki Fujiwara: “We worked well, very well, and I had good self-control in the race. I had a good fight with Davies and Pirro and I passed Pirro on the last lap, only for him to get by me again at the flag. I am quite happy about today’s race, there was lots of tough fighting. My bike was working consistently and well. My target now is to finish the championship fourth or fifth.”

Source: Kawasaki Racing Team

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