The second day of the sixth Superbike World Championship round – a second home round for the Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team - has concluded at the Misano World Circuit in Italy.
Yesterday, Michael Ruben Rinaldi made his official debut aboard the YZF-R1 and started to build confidence with the bike and his new team during the day’s practices. The sessions proved more challenging for his team-mate Bahattin Sofuoglu, who suffered three crashes but fortunately did not sustain any injury.
This morning the two riders returned to the Italian track for Superpole, which established the grid for Race 1. With a time of 1’34”032, Sofuoglu placed twentieth, just in front of Rinaldi (1’34”234). With these results, both lined up on row seven of the grid for the afternoon’s race.
In the weekend’s first race, which ran in very high temperatures, Sofuoglu was again unlucky, involved in an accident on the very first lap. He was unfortunately unable to rejoin the race following the crash.
Rinaldi put in a positive performance, which proves he has found good feeling with his new bike. The Italian reached the points zone, crossing the line in fifteenth place today.
The Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK riders will be back on track tomorrow for the Superpole race and the second long race making up this sixth championship round.
"I’m pleased with Rinaldi’s performance in his first race with us, and the point he scored repays both his efforts and those of the team. I’m really sorry for what happened to Bahattin, involved in an accident on lap one. I hope both riders are able to express their full potential tomorrow.”
Michael Ruben Rinaldi - Rider #21
“I’m happy with today’s result. The first part of the race was very fast and positive, while in the final part a drop in tyre performance prevented me from scoring a better result. Tomorrow I’d like to reach the top ten or twelve, which is our level right now, as I work to express my potential and that of the bike. I want to thank the team for their great work.”
Bahattin Sofuoglu - Rider #99
“A really complicated day for us today. In Superpole I found good pace but then crashed straight away in race 1. For tomorrow, I hope to regain the feeling with the bike so we can run two good races. I want to thank the team as they’ve worked so hard today.”
