Rabat Scores First Point for PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda

Tito Rabat finishes 15th in Race 2 while Zaqhwan Zaidi delivers consistent results with double P17 at WorldSBK’s 1000th race weekend at Balaton Park. 

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The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team wrapped up Round 8 of the FIM Superbike World Championship at Hungary’s Balaton Park with a valuable points-scoring result for Tito Rabat in Race 2, while Malaysian rookie Zaqhwan Zaidi showed steady improvement with two 17th-place finishes on Sunday.

The weekend was a landmark one for WorldSBK, as the grid paused ahead of the Superpole Race for a commemorative photo marking the 1000th race in the series’ history. However, weather conditions created added complexity, with the ten-lap Superpole Race taking place on a damp circuit after heavy morning rain.

Starting from P14 and P19 respectively, Rabat and Zaidi approached the early laps cautiously. Rabat, running in P17, was forced to retire on lap five due to a technical issue. Zaidi kept a steady rhythm throughout the sprint and crossed the finish line in 17th.

Dry conditions returned for the final race of the weekend, with Rabat and Zaidi lining up 16th and 19th on the grid. Rabat maintained a solid pace and closed the gap to the riders ahead, ultimately moving into the points-paying positions and finishing 15th, his first point-scoring result since joining the PETRONAS-backed squad. Meanwhile, Zaidi continued to push, ending the race in P17 for the second time that day.

Tito Rabat #53: “I had good feeling in the wet warm-up this morning but then in the Superpole race I had a small electronic issue with the bike which prevented me from finishing. We hoped to do a bit better in Race 2, but although we didn’t get the result we wanted, we scored a valuable point, which is a good step at what is only my second event with the team. I think we deserved more though, and would have likely done more without the earlier crashes. I want to say a big thank you to the team for all their hard work, and now I’m looking forward to the test at Aragon; I think it will be important to work calmly on the bike before heading to Magny-Cours, as we have a lot to test and there’s never time over a normal race weekend. So that will be really important.”

Zaqhwan Zaidi #21: “The conditions were quite mixed today. I expected rain to be honest and was quietly confident after the wet warm-up as I had a good feeling with the bike. I did my best in both races, as always, but it’s always tricky in mixed conditions. In the Superpole race, we had a small issue with the electronics, without which I think I’d have been able to stick closer to those in front. We tried again in Race 2, which was fully dry. I kept working to try to improve my lap times and finished P17. I want to thank the team for their efforts this weekend and now we look ahead to the next round.”

With this weekend marking only Rabat’s second outing with the team, the point finish signals encouraging progress for the Spaniard and the Honda project. Zaidi’s consistency also underlines growth and adaptation at the world championship level.

WorldSBK now enters a five-week summer break, with the next round set for Magny-Cours, France, on 5–7 September. To prepare, the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team will test at Motorland Aragon on 25–26 August.