The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team announces its plans for the 2025 Superbike and Supersport World Championship season.
After admirably representing the team over the last two years, Tarran Mackenzie will continue to fly the flag for Midori Moriwaki’s squad on the WorldSBK grid in 2025. Mackenzie will be joined in the garage by Malaysian rider Zaqhwan Zaidi, who will make his debut in the category. In WorldSSP, the squad will field Kaito Toba, who is reconfirmed after an encouraging 2024 season, and Malaysian Syarifuddin Azman, who will compete in the category for the first time.
With its 2025 line-up, the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team emphasises its commitment to supporting talented young riders and providing them with an international stage on which to grow and develop. Reconfirmed entries Tarran Mackenzie and Kaito Toba will be flanked, in WorldSBK and WorldSSP respectively, by rookies Zaqhwan Zaidi and Syarifuddin Azman, both from Malaysia.
Crowned British Superbike champion in 2021, Tarran Mackenzie joined the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team in 2023, making his debut in the Supersport World Championship. The Brit wasted no time in making an impression, scoring a top five finish in the Philip Island season-opener. But the highlight of his season came at Autodrom Most, when Mackenzie secured a stunning race win in complex conditions. That same year, Tarran contributed to Honda’s podium success in the Suzuka 8 Hours, crossing the line third with his team-mates. Mackenzie moved up to WorldSBK with the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team for 2024. The season was not without its challenges, but 29-year-old Tarran never lost heart and gained a wealth of experience and knowledge aboard the CBR1000RR-R which he will use to his advantage in 2025.
New to the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team for the 2025 season is Zaqhwan Zaidi. Set to flank Mackenzie in the Superbike garage, the 29-year-old Malaysian has gained significant experience with Honda machinery in the Asia Road Race Championship. Crowned Asia Superbike Champion in 2022, Zaidi rounded out the 2023 season as runner-up in the same category. Placing sixth in that series in 2024, his squad secured the Team Champions title at the end of the year. Zaidi also has endurance experience, having reached the podium in the 2019 Sepang 8 Hours and placing eleventh in the 2022 edition of the Suzuka 8 Hours. Zaidi is excited about the challenge that awaits him in WorldSBK, the Malaysian keen to make his debut in what is a very competitive championship.
Reconfirmed World Supersport rider Kaito Toba has a wealth of international experience. The winner of the 2014 Asia Talent Cup, the Japanese rider went on to compete in the Red Bull Rookies Cup and the CEV Moto3 Junior world championship before progressing to Moto3, where he competed for seven seasons. In 2023 Toba placed eleventh overall in the Moto3 standings, reaching the podium at the Indian GP. For the 2024 season, Kaito switched to the Supersport World Championship, competing for the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team with the CBR600RR. The Japanese rider scored points across five rounds and achieved a best result of sixth in Race 2 at Assen, but the determined 24-year-old is hungry for more as he heads into his second consecutive season with the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team.
Toba will be joined in 2025 by rookie Syarifuddin Azman. The 23-year-old Malaysian has competed in CEV Moto3, the JuniorGP World Championship and the Moto3 World Championship in recent years. A regular points scorer aboard Honda machinery in CEV Moto3 in 2021, the young rider moved to the JuniorGP in 2022 where he amassed several podiums to round out the year in fourth place overall. These results saw Azman take a step up to the Moto3 World Championship as a permanent entry in 2023, an opportunity that allowed the rider to gain valuable experience. In 2024 the Malaysian competed in the ARRC Asia Production 250 Championship, scoring two podiums during the year to place sixth come the end of the season. Azman now turns his attention to World Supersport, with the upcoming season marking his debut in the production-derived championship.
With its 2025 line-up now confirmed, the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team prepares to build on the experience gained during the 2024 season. Testing will resume later this month, at the tracks of Jerez and Portimão, before the 2025 Superbike World Championship gets underway at the Phillip Island Circuit in Australia in February.
Tarran Mackenzie #95
“I’m excited to get going and be back in the garage with the team. I had a tough season last year, for various reasons, but we had a positive test at Jerez after the final race where some upgrades helped me to feel more comfortable on the bike. So that was definitely a good way to head into the off-season. Further improvements have been made to the package since then, so hopefully I can be more competitive and closer to the guys in front. Our first test will see us back out at Jerez, so that will be relevant after our most recent test there. I feel strong in myself and have had a good off-season so I’m excited and motivated to get back to work and prepare for the start of the season.”
Zaqhwan Zaidi #21
“I am definitely excited to announce that I’ll be racing in WorldSBK this season. My goal is to make the most of the experience and push to my limits. It won’t be easy, as the category is very competitive, but I happily accept the challenge and can hopefully achieve my targets and gradually build results. I have no knowledge of the European circuits or of the bike, so I will need to work hard to understand everything as quickly as possible. I want to say a big thank you to everyone who supports me and to all those who have helped make this opportunity possible.”
Kaito Toba #27
“I’d like to thank Midori Moriwaki for trusting in me and extending our collaboration into 2025. I’m really looking forward to another season with the team and the aim is to build on what we learned in 2024 and score consistent, solid results. We will make the most of each round as we work to fine tune the CBR and prove our competitiveness. I’m counting down the days to the first test at Jerez!”
Syarifuddin Azman #63
“I am really happy to debut in World Supersport with the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team. My target for the season will be to gain a lot of valuable experience, considering this is my first year in the category. I will try to understand where and how to improve, race by race, and will work as hard as I can. I feel ready and am super excited about the prospect of jumping on the bike. It’s a great opportunity for me, and I want to thank the team, Honda and PETRONAS for making it possible.”
Midori Moriwaki – Team Owner
“I am very happy to announce our new rider line-up for 2025. Each rider brings their own specific experience, and, with this line-up, we continue to develop our talent program. We are confident that we can achieve good results as we move into this new stage and ready ourselves for a fresh challenge. I also take this opportunity to thank all the sponsors for their ongoing support. Rest assured that we will keep going and continue to work hard!”
