2023.10.05
Race Report
Round 11 of the World Supersport Championship (WSSP) was held in Portugal from September 29 to October 1 at the Autodromo Internacional Algarve. For Yuta Okaya (ProDina Kawasaki Racing/Kawasaki ZX-6R), who has entered the 2023 season as the "World Supersport Challenge," this Portugal round was the last round of the season.
In the first session of the first day, Free Practice 1, Okaya felt good, but in Free Practice 2, he crashed after four laps. The crash cost him time to repair his machine, and his late start was not good for the rest of the day.
The cause of the crash was that the driver went off the record line and banked in the zebra zone while braking. While this was Okaya's own fault, one of the factors behind his fall was the fact that he had been struggling to find a good match with his machine. He was unable to bring the machine to where he wanted it to be, and as a result, this led to his crash.
In Superpole (qualifying), he set a time almost on target and was 28th. In Race 1 on Saturday, he was separated from the group in front of him in the second half of the race and finished 25th. Then, in Race 2 on Sunday, due to a machine setting error, he had no rear tire grip at all, and finished the difficult race in 25th place. Okaya finished the last race of the season in his first year of WSSP step-up with a 25th place result in both races.
Stepping up to WSSP in 2023, he was forced to run with a car that was not adapted to his times. In each round, rivals improved and got faster from the first day for the race. The same is true for the season as a whole, and the accumulation of such results from one race to the next usually leads to maturity by the end of the season, as was the case in the Portugal round. On the other hand, Okaya had a difficult season in which he was unable to improve his machine as he had hoped, and the gap between him and his rivals widened.
Despite these difficulties, we were able to work on improving our riding issues during the summer break, and there is no doubt that we were able to see and ride in a new light as a rider. It was a season of growth, even though we had a lot of problems.
In the 2024 season, Yuta Okaya will continue to challenge on the world stage.
・Comments from Yuta Okaya
I had a good feeling going into Free Practice 1, but I crashed early in Free Practice 2, broke my bike and lost some time. That hurt me this time. I was happy to be able to step up to the WSSP for the 2023 season because I was able to see the scenery that I could see because I was up there. On the other hand, I wanted to achieve results now that I was up there. The more I struggled, the more I grew. It is unfortunate that this did not lead to results, but I think it was a part that we could not reach unless we worked together as a team and took the right steps forward. Next year, in a new environment, I hope to achieve better results."
Result / WorldSBK web site SUPERPOLE RACE1 RACE2
2023.9.28
Race Report
Round 10 of the World Supersport Championship (WSSP) was held at Motorland Aragon in Spain from September 22 to 24. Yuta Okaya (ProDina Kawasaki Racing/Kawasaki ZX-6R), who had one of the best weekends of the 2023 season in the previous round in France, entered Aragon, the last round of the season, with confidence.
In reality, however, he faced an uphill battle from day one. In Superpole (qualifying), Okaya and the team put everything they had into their attack, and although it was not a bad effort, the results did not translate into a positive result.
One of the reasons for the difficulties was the fact that Kawasaki was not well suited to Motorland Aragon. Okaya was unable to get out of corners properly and fell behind his rivals in acceleration. He also suffered from the narrowness of the machine due to the limited number of tires that could function.
In Race 1, he battled in the back group and finished 24th. In addition, during the warm-up on Sunday morning, he experienced clutch trouble, which prevented him from stopping the car under braking. In Race 2, the problem was resolved, but despite his best efforts, he was unable to improve his position as much as he would have liked, finishing 24th again. The team's race weekend was at the mercy of the course layout and the machine's compatibility.
The next round, Round 11 in Portugal, will be a series of Aragon rounds, and will be held at the Autodromo Internacional Algarve in Portugal from September 29 to October 1. is scheduled to be the final round of the 2023 season.
・Comments from Yuta Okaya
It was a tough weekend for Kawasaki cars overall. For me personally, it was very tough because I couldn't get out of the corners and I couldn't keep up with the other cars in terms of acceleration. When other cars passed me, I couldn't keep up with them at all. Even with tires, there were only a limited number of compounds that felt good, and I felt that the range of the bike was very narrow. But to be honest, I don't know if that was the difference between the bikes. Aragon was the round I had hoped for, but it turned out to be the most difficult weekend."
Result / WorldSBK web site SUPERPOLE RACE1 RACE2
2023.9.11
Race Report
Round 9 of the Supersport World Championship (WSSP) was held on September 8-10 at the Circuit de Magny-Cours in France. After a 6-week summer break, the 2023 season will begin its second half from this French round.
Yuta Okaya (ProDina Kawasaki Racing/Kawasaki ZX-6R) started the first day with a good feeling. However, machine trouble occurred in Free Practice 2. The problem was so serious that the throttle body had to be replaced, and he was unable to drive for most of the session. In Superpole (qualifying), he was able to shorten his time by about 2 seconds from Free Practice 2, but the lack of running in Free Practice 2 was a setback, and he had to start the race from 29th on the grid.
Despite these circumstances, Saturday's Race 1 turned out to be his best race of the season. Okaya 's driving and race pace were unaffected by his troubles, and he gradually but surely made his way up the order to finish 18th. This was his best result of the season. In Race 2, he had a collision with another car and crashed. He was able to pick up his machine and rejoin the race, finishing 24th, but Race 1 was a confidence-boosting race for Okaya.
So far this season, Okaya has been forced to battle with a machine that does not match his own speed, and no major changes were made to the machine in this race. The improvement came from the rider's side, namely, Okaya himself. During the summer break, Okaya underwent surgery in Japan to repair an elevated arm, and he also trained to improve his pace. These efforts paid off. The improvement in his physical condition and the improvement in his riding led to a significant improvement in his position in Race 1 and a result of 18th place. The race was more than just a result; it was a race with a lot of substance that will lead to the next round.
The WSSP Round 10 Aragon Round will be held September 22-24 at Motorland Aragon in Spain.
・Comments from Yuta Okaya
I got off to a good start on the first day, but in Free Practice 2 I was only able to do two laps due to machine trouble, and that affected me a lot. However, I was able to improve my time by about 2 seconds in qualifying, and in Race 1 I was able to do my best race of the year. In Race 2, I went hard and crashed after colliding with another car, but I was able to finish the race. I think the surgery I had during the summer break to repair my arm and the training I did in Japan helped me to get a good result this time. The adjustments I made to my riding style worked well, and I did not develop the arm elevation. I feel like I have done almost everything I can do with the bike I have now, and I am confident that as long as the bike is good enough, I can do it. I think this was the best race week of the year for me.
Result / WorldSBK web site SUPERPOLE RACE1 RACE2
2023.8.3
Race Report
Round 8 of the World Supersport Championship (WSSP) was held at Autodrome Most in the Czech Republic from July 28 to 30. Yuta Okaya (ProDina Kawasaki Racing/Kawasaki ZX-6R) brought the machine set-up he had found in the British round to the Czech round.
In Free Practice 2 on the first day, he got a good feeling from the beginning of the session, setting a series of times in the mid 1 min 37 sec range. However, 10 minutes into the session, he crashed at turn 20. The crash at high speed caused severe damage to the bike, and as a result, Okaya was unable to ride for the remainder of Free Practice 2.
The crash set the stage for a difficult race weekend. In Superpole (qualifying) on the repaired machine, he set a 1:38.150, but it was not as fast as his best time of 1:37.567 set in Free Practice 2. Throughout the race weekend, Okaya struggled to improve his times, even though he did not have a terrible feeling.
Race 1 on Saturday was red-flagged on the first lap due to liquid spilled on the course from a crashed car. The race was then shortened to 12 laps and resumed. Okaya was able to digest the long lap penalty he received in Free Practice 2 of the previous round in Italy early in the race, and finished 25th.
Race 2 on Sunday was to be held in difficult conditions. Early in the race, the red cross flags began waving to signal that rain was coming, allowing the teams to pit in and change tires. Predicting the weather to worsen from the cloud cover, Okaya quickly made the decision to pit in. He switched from slick tires to rain tires and continued the race. Following Okaya, many riders made pit stops and changed tires. However, the weather turned out to be better than expected, and combined with the fact that the Autodrome Most track surface tends to dry out easily, the track surface quickly recovered to dry condition. Despite having to drive in dry conditions with rain tires, Okaya took the checkered flag in 21st place.
After the Czech round, the 2023 season will enter the 6-week summer break. The WSSP Round 9 in France, the first round of the second half of the season after the summer break, will be held at Circuit de Magny-Cours in France from September 8 to 10.
・Comments from Yuta Okaya
In Free Practice 2, I was able to attack with a good feeling, but I crashed, and from there I could not get my pace back. Physically, I was affected by an arm pump, so we are looking into how to deal with that. In race 2, the conditions were very difficult, and when I came to the pits, it was so tough that I almost crashed. I was the first to pit, which was a shame because I thought I had a good chance. For the next round, I hope to be more physically prepared and to maintain my position without any symptoms of arm pump, and hopefully score some points.
Result / WorldSBK web site SUPERPOLE RACE1 RACE2
2023.7.19
Report
Round 7 of the World Supersport Championship (WSSP) was held at Imola Circuit in Italy from July 14 to 16. Yuta Okaya (ProDina Kawasaki Racing/Kawasaki ZX-6R), who had improved his feeling with the machine in the previous round in England, was diagnosed with a worsening gastroenteritis after Friday's run, and was forced to miss Saturday and the following days.
Okaya will return to action at the next round, WSSP Round 8 in Czech Republic, to be held at Autodrome Most from July 28 to 30.
2023.7.4
Race Report
The 6th round of the Supersport World Championship (WSSP), the British round, was held at the Donington Park Circuit in England from June 30 to July 2 during the race week leading up to the next round. Donington Park Circuit is located about 60 km northeast of Birmingham, the second largest city in the U.K., and is set amidst a beautiful landscape of lush green grass and hills. It was a chilly weekend.
Yuta Okaya (ProDina Kawasaki Racing/Kawasaki ZX-6R), who had been plagued by a lack of machine set-up and bodywork in the previous round in Emilia Romagna, suffered the same symptoms in Free Practice 1 on Friday morning of the British round.The team's first practice session was held on Friday morning in the UK.However, in Free Practice 2 in the afternoon, when the conditions were wet, a change to the rear shock settings proved to be the key to an improvement.
In Saturday's Superpole (qualifying), the team further refined the car's setting and marked a 1:32.530 to take 25th position.However, after the first few laps of Race 1, the car once again began to exhibit unstable behavior, and the team had to contend with difficult conditions as it was unable to find traction exiting corners.Although the race was so difficult that he was in danger of finishing, Okaya completed 19 laps to finish in 21st place.
In the warm-up session the next morning, he made further changes to the settings to improve the feeling of the machine.In Race 2, he was unable to increase his pace in the first half of the race, but set his best time of 1:31.657 in the last two laps to finish in 25th place.
In previous races, Okaya had been plagued by unstable machine behavior and lack of traction, which prevented him from showing his true driving ability.He focused on improving the feeling of the machine and was able to gain a direction, which proved to be a major benefit.It was a valuable race weekend that will surely lead to the next round.
Round 7 of the WSSP will be held in Italy from July 14 to 16 at the Imola Circuit in Italy.
・Comments from Yuta Okaya
I changed the rear shock setting a lot from the first day for Superpole, which improved the feeling of the bike, but in Race 1, I had a symptom of no traction.It was very difficult to ride, and I wondered why my bike was so violent while other riders' bikes were not. I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to finish the race, so I am glad that I was able to make it to the finish. On Sunday, I had a good feeling in the warm-up, but I knew it would be difficult to maintain that time because I had to push hard to get it. In the beginning of Race 2, my pace was not as fast as I expected, so that was my biggest regret this time. But the bike got better, and the changes I made to the way I rode also made it better. I think I found a base for the future."
Result / WorldSBK web site SUPERPOLE RACE1 RACE2
2023.6.6
Race Report
Round 5 of the Supersport World Championship (WSSP), the Emilia Romagna round, was held at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in Italy from June 2 to 4. Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli is located in the northeastern part of Italy, near the Adriatic Sea. More than 70,000 spectators and Italian riders competing in MotoGP visited the site for this year's event, which was a great success.
Emilia Romagna is the round where Yuta Okaya (ProDina Kawasaki Racing/Kawasaki ZX-6R) finished 2nd in Race 2 in 2022. This was his first Emilia Romagna round with WSSP, and despite a race weekend plagued by chatter and unlucky luck, Okaya was able to finish both races, thus gaining more experience with WSSP.
In Free Practice 1 on the first day, he was plagued by chattering symptoms as the laps went by. This was due to the suspension settings that had been changed for the Emilia Romagna round. There was also a situation where Okaya's pace did not mesh with the settings the team had applied to the bike. However, this discrepancy was caused by the fact that Okaya's lap times on the course were faster than the team had expected.
In Superpole on Saturday, he recorded a 1:39.900, placing 26th. This was about 1 second slower than Okaya's own expected time, and the Free Practice 1, which had to be run on the first day without the right setting, had an effect on the qualifying time.
In Race 1, the team got off to a good start and was in the 24th position, fighting for position in the pack. However, after the 7th lap, he began experiencing chattering symptoms again, making it difficult to stop the bike and forcing him to race patiently. Okaya rode a hard race and finished the race in 20th position.
In Race 2, he was hit by another rider on the fourth corner of the first lap, resulting in an unavoidable crash. Fortunately, Okaya himself was not seriously injured, and after returning to the pits to repair his bike, he was able to return to the race. Despite his misfortune, he finished the race in 27th place.
Round 6 of the WSSP will be held from June 30 to July 2 at Donington Park Circuit in England.
・Comments from Yuta Okaya
In Free Practice 1, I did not feel good at all due to chattering and almost fell down. In Free Practice 2, the chattering improved and I was finally able to attack, but I couldn't do anything in Free Practice 1, so I lost a lot of time this race weekend. In Race 1, I was good from the start until about the 7th lap, but then the chattering started and the bike wouldn't stop. I think I suffered from chattering this weekend. However, despite this, the way I proceeded in the early part of the race was good in this event, and I think I was able to do what I could to improve. After this race, we have the Suzuka 8 Hours test at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan. I will be able to train riding the bike in Japan, so I hope to improve my riding, review the first half of the season, and prepare for the series of races in July."
Result / WorldSBK web site SUPERPOLE RACE1 RACE2
2023.5.8
Race Report
The fourth round of the Supersport World Championship (WSSP), the Catalunya round, was held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain. Yuta Okaya (ProDina Kawasaki Racing/Kawasaki ZX-6R) has won the Supersport 300 World Championship (WSSP300) at this circuit in 2020 and 2022. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is located near Barcelona, the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and is the second home race for Okaya, who is based in Barcelona starting this year. Also at the Catalunya round, many of Okaya's racing colleagues who compete in the World Road Race Championship and many Japanese people came to support him and his race.
This was the second round of the WSSP for Okaya, and he continued to improve his times during the race week as he gained more experience in the WSSP. In Free Practice 1 on the first day, he had to stop his machine near the pitlane exit 10 minutes before the end of the session due to "trouble. However, this was due to Okaya setting better lap times than the team had expected. Although the session ended without running the remaining 10 minutes, the trouble was not all negative factors.
Okaya steadily improved his lap times from Free Practice 1 to Free Practice 2, and on Saturday, he set a 1:46.846 in Superpole (qualifying). This time was 1.5 seconds faster than his best time of 1:48.372 set in Free Practice 1 on the first day. Okaya started the race from the 8th row, 24th on the grid.
In Race 1, he moved up to around 22nd position on the first lap, and set a 1:47.587 on the third lap. After that, it took him some time to find a steady pace as he had to adapt to full braking from the long straight, which was performed under full tank conditions. However, by conserving his tires, he was able to stabilize his pace in the latter half of the race, finishing in 22nd place.
In Race 2, where he gained more experience, he was fighting for position in the pack. Like his rivals, Okaya's race pace in Race 2 was faster than in Race 1. In the first half of the race, his pace was right on target, but in the second half, his tires unexpectedly wore out quickly, making it difficult for him to keep up his pace, and he finished in 21st place. The unexpectedness that came with the race was a hurdle to overcome, as Okaya's riding and race pace continued to evolve. With a solid feeling that he is making progress, Okaya will now head to the next round, Round 5 of the WSSP in Italy.
Round 5 of the WSSP will be held at the Misano World Circuit - Marco Simoncelli in Italy from June 2 to 4.
・Comments from Yuta Okaya
"In qualifying I was able to set my target time and in the race I was able to improve my time with each run, more so in Race 2 than Race 1. I am not satisfied, but it was a positive race weekend. In Catalunya, I have learned more about how to race and I have adapted to the handling of the bike with full tanks. （I was not able to do that at Assen, but this time I discovered things that will help me in the next race, so I feel that I am making good progress. I am based in Barcelona this year, but I was able to relax this time and many of my Japanese friends who are competing around the world came to cheer me on. It was like a home race, so I was very happy."
Result / WorldSBK web site SUPERPOLE RACE1 RACE2
2023.4.25
Race Report
The third round of the World Supersport Championship (WSSP) was held at the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands, and Yuta Okaya (ProDina Kawasaki Racing/Kawasaki ZX-6R), who has stepped up to the WSSP for the 2023 season, entered the "World Supersport Challenge" only for the European round. He entered the "World Supersport Challenge," competing only in the European rounds. The opening round was held in Australia and the second in Indonesia, so the third round in the Netherlands was Okaya 's first race of the 2023 season.
The host circuit, TT Circuit Assen, is located in the northeastern part of the Netherlands and is known as the "Cathedral of Speed. It has a long history, starting with the Dutch TT public road race in 1925, and is the only circuit that has hosted the World Road Racing Championship (MotoGP) from its inaugural season in 1949 to the current season in 2023. In the 2022 season, Okaya, who was competing in the Supersport 300 World Championship (WSSP300), finished 3rd in Race 2 of the Dutch round. He finished on the podium in 3rd place in Race 2 of the Dutch round.
The start of the WSSP challenge was tough for Okaya. One of the major factors that made the situation difficult was engine trouble that occurred during Free Practice 2 on Friday afternoon. This trouble prevented Okaya from running most of Free Practice 2.
WSSP has only two Free Practice sessions on Friday. Free Practice is an important session to mature the car for Superpole (qualifying) and the race to be held the next day. In addition, as a WSSP rookie, Okaya wanted to run as long as possible, even a minute or a second longer. In Free Practice 2, he had a good feeling that he could improve his time, but this was a painful trouble for him.
Okaya was 28th in Superpole and started the race from the 10th row. In Saturday's Race 1, he finished 23rd due to a crash of the rider in front of him. Based on the difficult Race 1, he made major changes to his setup for Race 2 on Sunday.
This worked out well, and Okaya improved on his previous time in the warm-up session on Sunday morning. In Race 2, after further setting refinements, Okaya set his best time of the weekend on the fourth lap, a 1:40.239. He was able to set faster lap times than in Race 1, and was battling for 23rd position. Midway through the race, however, Okaya was struck by a symptom of arm elevation in his right arm. This condition made it difficult for Okaya to turn the fast, flowing corners of Assen, but he was able to complete 18 laps and finish the race in 23rd place.
This was a particularly difficult weekend for Okaya, as it was his first WSSP race and he had engine trouble on the first day. However, although he did not achieve his goal of scoring points (top 15), the fact that he steadily improved his lap times from the first day and finished both races was a major gain for Okaya.
・Comments from Yuta Okaya
"This was my first WSSP race and my first race with the team, so I had a lot of work to do, and at the beginning of the race, my base settings were not yet set. On top of that, I had engine trouble in Free Practice 2, which caused a big delay. We did the best we could, but it was a tough qualifying position because we were not at our best.
Race 1 was tough, but in Race 2 we improved both in terms of setting and driving. Overall, I think it was a very productive race. The next round in Catalunya is a circuit where we can use the experience from Jerez and Valencia, where we have been testing, so I think we can finish in a better position. Our goal is, of course, to score points."
Result / WorldSBK web site SUPERPOLE RACE1 RACE2
2022.10.21
RELEASE
・Comments from Yuta Okaya
“Sono davvero felice di entrare a far parte del Prodina Racing Team e sono entusiasta di passare alla classe superiore e di guidare la Kawasaki ZX-6R. Ho ottenuto molti successi nella classe 300 ed è quindi il momento giusto per fare il passo successivo. In Giappone mi alleno spesso con una 600 e quest’anno ho vinto la classe Superstock 1000 alla guida di una Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR nella 8 Ore di Suzuka. Ho quindi già una certa esperienza su moto di cilindrate maggiori. Sono onorato e contento di continuare a far parte della famiglia Kawasaki e sono grato per il loro supporto”
■Yuta Okaya’s 2023 Season
・Race : FIM SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
・Class : World Supersport
・Team : ProDina Racing Team
・Machine : Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R
SCHEDULE → https://www.worldsbk.com/en/calendar
End of Article
