Race 1 saw everyone get off with a clean start and Kruger simply could not hang with the Yamaha rider after 3 laps. He gradually fell back but at the same time pulled steadily away from the rest of the 22 riders. With less than 2 laps to go heading into turn one at about 265km per hour, Kruger was the 2nd of 5 to fall victim to oil on the track. The first being the Japanese rider that was dropping oil. Sliding over 200 feet on pavement before hitting the rumble strip and sliding another 80 feet, Kruger’s lowside damaged his bike badly, destroyed his new leathers and badly injuring his right hand/fingers/knuckles. 3 other riders crashed into the same corner and they immediately red flagged the race. Final positions were calculated from a lap earlier and Kruger still got 2nd putting him 3rd overall in the Championship.
Race 2 was not so easy… With broken bones in his hand, Kruger was sceptical of even finishing a lap. With the full grandstands behind his every move, he managed to hold of the 2nd factory YES Yamaha Rider and nab another 2nd place. “It was a really tough race and my hand kept sliding off the throttle body. It was definitely not a smooth race or very much fun but I knew I had a lot to prove with the new bike and a lot of support in the paddock and in the grandstands. The new Kawasaki ZX-10 is amazing and we barely had time to fit it with any factory parts. 2012 will be a very good year for us, that is for sure!”
The two 2nd place finishes gave Kruger the 3rd overall in the Elite Superbike Class 1 Championship results. The end of season banquet was held that night and Kruger proudly took 3rd overall with his broken hand in tow.
"We are leading the Chengdu Superbike Championship at the moment with 1 event left in November. Things are looking good there and I plan to ride a consistent race and take that inaugural #1 plate for 2011. We also have been confirmed to ride the prestigious 8 hour Endurance race at Phillips Island in Australia Dec 2-4 and then straight to China for an end of season 2 hour Endurance event at Zhuhai Dec.
