The Pata Yamaha Official STK1000 Team are revved up and ready to return to action after a month’s break for round seven of the 2017 FIM Superstock 1000 European Championship. Florian Marino is currently third in the championship standings and hoping to return to the podium for the first time in three races to reignite his championship hopes. His teammate Roberto Tamburini is only a further eight points behind Marino in fourth and is looking to build on the form that saw him record his third rostrum of the season last time out in Germany.
Marino fought superbly before crossing the line at the Lausitzring in fourth place to stay third in the standings with 80 points, trailing the championship leader by 35 points with three races remaining. The 24-year-old French rider is determined to return to the podium at Portimao, a track he relishes riding, for the first time since his second-place finish at Donington Park.
Tamburini rode a brilliant race in Germany to finish just ahead of his teammate in third and record his third podium of the season and close the gap to Marino in the championship standings to just four points. The 26-year-old Italian is now fourth overall with 82 points and wants to build on his recent form at Portimao to get his championship aspirations back on track.
The Prosecco DOC Portuguese Round takes place at the iconic Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao, as the WorldSBK championship returns to the track after a year’s absence. The circuit is located in the Algarve region in Southern Portugal and is known for its challenging layout, which includes a mix of fast sweeping turns and slower hairpins, incredible elevation changes, and an undulating 970m long start/finish straight. Opened in 2008, it held its first WorldSBK round that year and is 4,592m in length, with six left and eight right-handed corners.
The Pata Yamaha Official STK1000 Team will hit the track at 9am local time on Friday for Free Practice 1, with Saturday’s Qualifying Practice at 4pm and Sunday’s 14-lap race at 1:15pm.
Roberto Tamburini
Pata Yamaha Official STK1000 Team – 4th – 72pts
“We return to the track in Portimao and we need to continue in the direction we have taken in the last few races. I want to improve again because despite the podium at the Lausitzring, I finished too far behind the winner. We must work well from FP1 to make sure we get the best setup for Sunday, to give us the best chance to fight for the podium and recover the points to the championship leader.”
Florian Marino
Pata Yamaha Official STK1000 Team – 3rd – 80pts