Extreme conditions at the Misano World Circuit for the last day of the WorldSBK round.
On Saturday, Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK riders, Michael Ruben Rinaldi, who made his YZF-R1 debut just yesterday, and Bahattin Sofuoglu, completed Race 1. The Italian scored points while the Turkish rider was caught up in a crash in the early stages though was fortunately unhurt.
Late on Sunday morning, the duo returned to the Italian track for the Superpole Race, the sprint race that runs over just ten laps. Sofuoglu crossed the line in fifteenth place, just ahead of teammate Rinaldi.
Race 2 ran in the afternoon. Despite the heat, both Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK riders put together a strong race. Bahattin and Michael fought long and hard as part of the group battling for points. Without making mistakes and lapping with good pace, Sofuoglu finished the race thirteenth, replicating his best result scored in the Portimao races, while Rinaldi scored his second point of the weekend.
The next WorldSBK round is set to take place on 11-13 July at Donington Park in the UK.
"I’m pleased that both riders reached the points zone. We’ve finally demonstrated that the team has reached a good level of competitiveness. With a superior technical package, I think we can fight for even stronger positions".
Michael Ruben Rinaldi - Rider #21
“Undoubtedly a positive weekend in which we scored points in both long races. Unfortunately, I had an electronics problem in Race 2 that made it hard to ride, but we nevertheless reached the points zone. We need to continue on this path to secure more good results, perhaps already at the Donington round. Thanks to the team for their excellent work.”
Bahattin Sofuoglu - Rider #99
“After meeting with Yamaha yesterday to analyse what had gone on, we identified a problem with my bike. My team took prompt action to solve that and from that moment, we saw real improvement, to the extent that today I was able to finish P15 and P13. It was a tough weekend, but I’m pleased with how it ended and can now look forward to the next races, where we need to continue to improve and give it our all.”
