Zaidi & Mackenzie: Portimão Bound and Battle-Ready

The Petrons MIE Racing Honda Team returns to Portimão for Round 2 of the 2025 Superbike World Championship.

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The Petronas MIE Racing Honda Team heads to Portugal’s Autódromo Internacional do Algarve (AIA) for the second round of the 2025 WorldSBK season, buoyed by a recent test session at the same circuit. Riders Tarran Mackenzie and Zaqhwan Zaidi used valuable track time to fine-tune their CBR1000RR-R machines ahead of this weekend’s races.

Tarran Mackenzie returns to Portimão with renewed motivation after missing the 2024 event due to injury. The British rider, who enjoys the undulating Portuguese circuit, aims to build on the solutions identified during testing. “We only had limited dry laps at the test, but I already felt better on the bike,” said Mackenzie. “If we can keep progressing, we should be in a position to do well.”

On the other side of the garage, Zaqhwan Zaidi continues his adaptation to the WorldSBK competition. The Malaysian rookie, who made his championship debut in Australia last month, faces the dual challenge of learning new tracks while mastering the CBR1000RR-R and Pirelli tyres. “The test gave me a good feeling with the bike,” Zaidi noted. “I’ll try my best to take another step forward this weekend.”

With Mackenzie seeking to convert testing progress into race results and Zaidi focused on continuous improvement, the Petronas MIE Racing Honda Team approaches Round 2 with measured optimism. The Portuguese event marks an important opportunity to build momentum before the championship moves to Assen later this month.