Harry Produces Season’s Best In Spain On ESBK Racing Return At Navarra
The ESBK summer break is over which meant a welcome return to the track for Australian Harry Khouri who was back in Europe and ready to race once more.
Khouri, a former front runner in the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship has been making his Supersport debut in the ultra-competitive Spanish Championship, producing some impressive results with limited racing experience in what is known as the middleweight category.
The Navarra circuit in Spain was the venue for the latest round in the series and after a several week hiatuses the #34 Andotrans Team Torrento Yamaha produced his best qualifying performance of the season to date. Lining up on the fourth row of the grid Harry rode a solid opening race on Saturday afternoon, crossing the line in a well-earned eleventh – close to the top ten.
A spill in morning warm up on Sunday meant a bit of work for the team but come race time Harry was fully ready for lights out for his first wet race. A red flag following a multi rider incident on the opening lap, that unfortunately also included Harry meant a restart which sadly resulted in another crash for the Aussie, his fourth of the day, who now looks ahead to the next round at Jerez in mid-October.
Harry Khouri:
“The weekend started well. We managed to improve in all the sessions, and we were able to take our best position in qualifying – on the fourth row! In the first race I was able to stay in touch with the lead group for a bit. I had a decent rhythm and was quite consistent throughout the race. Obviously as a racer you are never completely satisfied but we are starting to find our feet and I am reasonably happy with the progress. The plan for Sunday was of course to keep improving but, in all honesty, it was a shocker of a day. I had a small crash in warm-up, but the team got everything sorted and I was ready to race. It was raining and it’s safe to say that the first wet race didn’t go to plan. I went down on the opening lap but was able to remount and then there was a red flag, and I had another crash. Overall, I felt good on the bike, and I am looking forward to getting back out there in October at Jerez, a track I know. I want to thank the team for all their hard work and everyone who is supporting me.”