The Jerez weekend proved to be a productive one, starting with a solid Friday. In the morning’s free practice, we focused on trying out a couple of ideas for the bike’s setup, and the session was mainly dedicated to that. In the afternoon, we worked hard to close the gap with the front riders, and by the end of the session, we managed to get within less than one second of the fastest time on track. This was a clear confirmation that all the work we’ve put in throughout the year is paying off, and I’m incredibly thankful to the team and Honda for their continued support. We still had some questions regarding the engine brake, and there was a bit of sliding that needed to be addressed before the next day. We planned to use the warm-up to review these areas.

Saturday’s warm-up saw us trying a different solution for the bike’s setup, but unfortunately, it didn’t provide the results we were looking for, so we reverted to the setup from Friday. In the race, I did my best to defend my position early on, but I struggled in the tighter corners and had to manage the spinning as best I could. The higher track temperature compared to previous sessions didn’t help us either. Despite these challenges, we gathered useful data to review ahead of Sunday, and we were ready to give it one last push.

Sunday’s warm-up gave us a chance to test a solution for improving the bike’s performance under warmer track conditions. Starting from 15th position in the race, I lost a bit of time in turn 1 as there wasn’t much space to get through. However, I soon managed to move up and stay in the points zone. As the race progressed, the front of the bike was on the limit, and I started to struggle when the tyres began to drop off, so I had to manage carefully to avoid mistakes. Nevertheless, we finished the race in the points again, confirming the progress we’ve made throughout the 2024 season. I’m incredibly grateful to Midori-san, the team, and Honda for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to grow this year.