MIKKEL HAARUP RETURNS TO THE PODIUM

To the delight of a large group of fans who had travelled down from Denmark to cheer on their hero Mikkel quickly converted his initial seventh place into fifth with a stunning second-lap outside-pass on one of his immediate rivals in the series points-chase and four laps later he took over fourth with a decisive inside-move. With a clear track ahead of him he was immediately able to drop his lap-times yet further but the front-three had already made good their escape so he had to be satisfied with fourth at the finish.

Again making decisive moves to take over fifth after just a few turns the Dane temporarily surrendered one position on the following lap as track development was significantly different to race one but within ten minutes he was making moves again, culminating his advance with a smart inside-pass for third before half-distance. Once more the leaders were out-of-sight but the Kawasaki rider never gave up, reducing the time-deficit lap-by-lap; his efforts came up less than five seconds short, but 4-3 motos were more than sufficient to claim third on the podium and, although still fifth in the standings, he has closed significantly the rider who is currently third on points.
 
Mikkel Haarup: “That was so good for my confidence to come back onto the podium. I didn’t actually realise until the last lap that I was up there but I felt good all weekend and the entire team worked well; a big shout-out for them. I love this track and I was having fun out there; it has high speed, a good flow and I could charge through the pack both motos. And there were so many Danish fans out there; they were the best, making so much noise. I could hear them every lap; they were just great support so it was a real bonus to be able to give them a podium. Now I’m ready for more in Indonesia.“
 
Words & Photos - Kawasaki EU