Mika Perez interview: disappointed over Imola, but confident for Jerez

Hailing from Altea in Spain, Mika Perez currently races in WolrdSSP300, having been in the WorldSBK paddock since riding in the European Junior Cup in 2013 – switching to Supersport 300 in 2017.

Riding a Kawasaki Ninja 400 for the Scuderia Maranga Racing team, he was looking forward to what he reckoned would be a great race at Imola, his early weekend performances suggesting great pace and confidence. Sadly, come Sunday, it was not to be – with the severe rain calling for the WSSP300 race to be cancelled (along with WorldSBK race 2). As the weekend drew to its disappointing close, Mika explained to us how things had been going and why the cancellation was such a blow, though probably inevitable…

“I think this weekend at Imola has been the best weekend so far this season,” he says, “We were very confident with how things went in Free Practice, and of course we were really happy with taking pole position yesterday (Saturday). Today I was feeling very confident on the bike – in the dry I was pretty fast, and I’ve always been good in the wet conditions too, so I was really encouraged by this and looking forward to the race.”

The feelings he’s left with are bittersweet – the mix of disappointment at not being able to capitalise on his Imola weekend, but with the prospect of being able to build on his performance to achieve something great at the next round at Jerez…

“I’m not happy that the race was called off. I felt we had a really good chance to win it. Obviously I understand that safety concerns come first, but I’m pretty disappointed because I really think we could have added some points for the championship. But if nothing else, it leaves me very motivated for Jerez where I think we can be very fast and again where I think we can get a really good result.”