The eighth WorldSBK round concluded in cloudy conditions at the Balaton Park Circuit in Hungary today.
The Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team were on track yesterday for Superpole and Race 1. In qualifying, Bahattin Sofuoglu placed fifteenth and Michael Ruben Rinaldi twenty-second.
In the weekend’s first race, the Turkish rider reached the points zone, finishing fifteenth right ahead of his team-mate.
This morning, on a damp track after earlier rain, the two teammates were back out for the ten-lap Superpole sprint race.Once again, Bahattin put together a good race, placing P14, while Michael crossed the line in sixteenth place.
For Race 2 the track was completely dry and both Sofuoglu and Rinaldi were able to exploit the work completed during practice. The young Turkish rider put in his best performance of the season, finishing thirteenth, just ahead of Rinaldi. Two good results then, with both riders scoring points.
The next WorldSBK round will take place on 5-7 September at the Nevers Magny Cours Circuit in France.
“At a totally new track, we struggled this morning but already this afternoon the lap times improved, and this bodes well for tomorrow’s Superpole and first race.”
Michael Ruben Rinaldi - Rider #21
“Considering this was my first experience of the track, it’s been a positive day. This morning I worked carefully to learn the track and collect data that would allow us to find a good setup. In the afternoon, thanks to the team’s hard work, my lap times dropped and the situation improved. We need to continue like this and put together a good Superpole so that we can aim for points in the race.”
Bahattin Sofuoglu - Rider #99
“I like this track even if it’s very technical and difficult to interpret. We made a good start but have a lot of room to improve. We improved a lot in FP2 but I’m sure we can more in tomorrow’s Superpole. A big thanks to the team for their important support.”
