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The official race report service of Kawasaki Racing Team.

22 April 2018

Deroue Leads Championship On Ninja 400

After an incredibly hectic last lap in the Assen race of the WorldSSP300 championship race a third place finish for local rider Scott Deroue (Motoport Kawasaki) saw him take the championship lead after two rounds.

Having started from tenth place Deroue was third in the race, by just 0.421 seconds after 12 laps of incredibly close action. He was part of a five-rider finishing group that contained three Kawasaki runners.
 
Added to his second place finish in round one at Motorland Aragon last weekend, Deroue has a four point championship advantage despite recent balancing rule changes that have affected the on-track performance of all the Kawasaki Ninja 400s in this class.
 
Ana Carrasco (DS Junior Team Kawasaki) was fourth, and Walid Khan (Nutec - Benjan Kawasaki) was fifth, the latter 0.814 seconds from the winner as the final lap unfolded and multiple passing manoeuvres were made.
 
Mika Perez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) and Tom Edwards (Nutec - Benjan Kawasaki) both fell in pursuit of glory in the final lap, but Darren Loureiro (DS Junior Team Kawasaki) was seventh, 1.7 seconds down after an incredible race held in outstandingly sunny conditions. Deroue’s Dutch team-mate Robert Schotman (Motoport Kawasaki) had to retire from his home race.
 
After two intense rounds in which the Ninja 400 has proven itself so well already the next race will take place at Imola, Italy, with raceday on Sunday 13th May.
 
Scott Deroue, stated: “Of course I knew there would be a big front pack in this race and because of my bad grid position I was eager to be with the leaders. I succeeded and showed them that I was feeling strong this weekend. Staying out of trouble was my main objective, and that's not an easy task in this class. Although I couldn't take the victory I'm glad that I took a rostrum in front of my home crowd. I know the season just begun, but it's nice to be the leader of the championship after two rounds.”



                                    #NinjaSpirit