Albacete welcomed the first Japanese endurance team to travel to Europe for many years. The FCC TSR squad - who took pole position and the race win at Suzuka last year - put in a brilliant performance to finish sixth at Albacete.

Anyone who has seen how out-of-depth the best European teams can appear at Suzuka will understand how impressive that result is. Travelling halfway round the world to race on an unfamiliar circuit, in uncertain weather and with limited resources, while struggling with jet-lag and an alien culture is never going to be easy first time round. To qualify fourth and finish sixth is a real achievement.

We've since found out that the mother of FCC TSR's lead rider Takeshi Tsujimura was taken seriously ill and passed away during the race. He was informed of her condition by the hospital in Japan during the race but chose not to share his grief with the team until the race was over. Our thoughts are with him and his family.