Mahias: "It was a very difficult race for me"
French title contender reviews tough Jerez race
With just one round remaining of the FIM Supersport World Championship, Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) was able to secure a top five finish despite struggling with his feeling with the front end of his YZF-R6.
With his title rival Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) sat at home with a broken hip, Mahias could have taken the title with a first or second position finish, however a top five was all he could secure without crashing. Keeping a smart head going into the penultimate round, the 28 year old knew if he took fifth position he would keep the title alive, as he now has a 20 point advantage in the standings.
“It was a very difficult race for me”, begins Mahias. “I had a big problem with my front tyre after three or four laps, and I suffered a lot with that. I didn’t have great confidence on the breaks, and to push in the whole race was really difficult, but for the championship it’s good. I didn’t crash but I hoped to finish first or second, but for the moment it’s ok.”
Heading to Qatar for the final round of the season, the French rider is prepared for a hard fight and to take on a lot of stress in the final race: “I have gained a lot of stress for Qatar but I finished the race and thanks to Yamaha for this job. For Qatar it will be very different, if Kenan is back and wins the race and for sure it won’t be easy. I am ready to start a hard weekend again, the objective is to finish the race in the top ten and to take the title.”
As the build up for the finale of the WorldSSP title decider continues, you can relive all of the stunning action from 2017 all with the WorldSBK VideoPass.
