Freshly healed up from a late April testing crash on his ZX10 Superbike, Dan Kruger enjoyed continued success in the prestigious Pan Delta Superbike Championship in China.
After three days of solid testing, Kruger got down to a blistering 1:383 on race tyres, having perfected the set-up of the completely rebuilt Kawasaki.
Heavy showers were the talk of qualifying– they were so bad that the team opted to sit out of Q1 and hope for better conditions in Q2. However, it was no such luck as the rain continued to fall and they had to put a lap in. Kruger ended up 4th overall.
Race 1 had teams scrambling with last minute tyre changes. In the end, it was a wet track but the rain was reduced to drizzle. The 28-rider grid saw riders on full wets, DOTs, as well as slicks. The team decided to run SC1’s front and rear, and hoped a dry line would form quickly into the race. Their prediction was right and Kruger battled with YES Yamaha’s Factory rider for the entire race with what will likely be the race of the season. Unfortunately, Yamaha’s Zhao crossed the finish line 0.032 seconds ahead of Kruger to take the win, bikes touching bar ends across the line. It was a close one with both riders taking turns in the lead throughout the entire race.
Race 2 was looking to be a dry race as the sighting lap, and even warm up lap had proven. As the lights came on to start the race, the rain started again and by lap 2, at least four riders had gone down. The race was red flagged and pronounced a wet race.
Once the race was re-started, Kruger took a commanding lead and by lap 6 looked to have full control of the race. The rain had stopped and the track was drying up fast. Within one lap, the team realized they went for the wrong rear rain tyre. Kruger shredded the tyre in less than a lap and not only lost the lead but barely hung on to 2nd place at the checkered flag.
As usual, the Chinese fans proved to be full of excitement and support. “I am really glad my wife Holly could make it out for this race,” Kruger said. “I have a lot more fun racing out here when she’s alongside me.”
Dan Kruger Racing Team would like to thank their sponsors – Speed Up Asia, Titanic Kawasaki, Motul, Hindle, Epic, and Pirelli. A very special thanks to Pesh, Sammo, and Jimbo for making the weekend happen. They will be back for the final two rounds of the Pan Delta Championship onSeptember 14-16, 2012.
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