At the Schleizer Dreieck, “Spider” Martin Vugrinec will make his racing debut as a Superbike rider for Skach Motors Kawasaki Racing. Team boss Oliver Skach will nevertheless keep a close eye on the team’s previous reserve rider, Federico Caricasulo from Italy.
Martin Vugrinec had been pretty excited during the race weekend in Most, Czech Republic. He would have loved to jump right onto the Kawasaki ZX-10 RR, capable of speeds over 300 km/h, but he’ll have to wait until the next IDM round, which takes place at the Schleizer Dreieck at the end of July. Vugrinec had suffered a broken tibia and fibula in mid-April. Everyone agreed that two grueling races in Most on the Superbike, capable of speeds over 300 km/h, would have been premature for him. So Vugrinec watched as a spectator while substitute rider Federico Caricasulo finished in the points, but as a guest starter, he didn’t earn any championship points. He also witnessed his Italian substitute’s crash in the second race.
“My leg isn’t fully healed yet, but it’s working,” Vugrinec explains regarding his current condition, “I can go for walks and ride a bike. So I can ride a motorcycle, too.” A week ago, the 25-year-old Croatian competed in the PS-Tuner Grand Prix at Hockenheim, though on his practice bike. “The plan was actually for the team to test the IDM Superbike on-site, but that fell through,” Vugrinec reports. The mechanics on the Kawasaki apparently caused more trouble in Most than originally anticipated. “Team boss Oliver Skach explains: ‘We discovered that the timing chain had jumped. The timing chain tensioner was likely defective. This threw off the timing, which also explains why we were missing 20 horsepower.’”
Vugrinec will be going it alone until the Schleizer Dreieck. He’ll be training on a kart track, working as an instructor in Rijeka, traveling to the Slovakiaring, and chasing fast laps in Oschersleben. He wants to live up to his status as a solo rider and the team’s expectations.
Federico Caricasulo will continue to be a key figure on the Skach Motors Kawasaki Racing Team. “After everything that’s happened, finishing 13th in the first race came at just the right time and made up for a lot,” says Oliver Skach, adding: “In terms of riding, we’re already on the right track. If everything comes together, we could even break into the leading group. For example, Federico struggled with launch control because he wasn’t familiar with that detail before. It doesn’t exist in the Supersport World Championship. But if the launch doesn’t work 100%, the field quickly pulls away. Federico has definitely helped us with the bike’s development, though, and he’s fast when he can ride freely. The plan is to expand the team next year.”
