World Supersport series leader Stefano Manzi bounced back from a difficult Superpole session to take a sensational victory for Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing in Race 1 at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli today.
A crash mid-way through the Superpole session had left Manzi on the back foot, and while he returned to the track to set a time good enough to qualify fifth, he later lost this lap due to yellow flags meaning he’d start the race tenth on the grid. However, this did not deter the Italian, who got a strong launch off the line to sit fourth into the first turn of the race.
It was an exciting battle, with Manzi joined by fellow R9 rider Can Öncü (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Racing) in the battle for the lead as well as Jaume Masia, Valentin Debise and Tom Booth-Amos. However, it was the R9 duo in control, only losing position when battling with one another.
Öncü looked eager to beat his adversary, but Manzi had the edge to break away in the closing stages to take the win by over half a second. Struggling a little more with rear grip towards the end of the race, Öncü was forced to settle for third.
Manzi’s victory at home sees the Italian extend his lead to an apt 62 points, fully in control as the series nears its halfway point.
Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) recovered from a difficult qualifying to take eighth place, while rookie team-mate Roberto Garcia, making his WorldSSP debut this weekend, narrowly missed out on a points finish in 16th. The second Pata Yamaha Ten Kate machine of Yuki Okamoto crossed the line 23rd, while Aldi Satya Mahendra (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Racing) finished 30th after crashing out of a points-paying position.
Manzi and Öncü line-up second and third respectively for Race 2 on Sunday with Mahias moving up to eighth on the grid.
Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) – 1st
“Fortunately I had a very good start and I moved up many positions, but in turn 2 I had contact with another rider. After that moment I was in fifth positions so I told myself to keep calm, and see how I would be able to go towards the front as soon as possible. After a couple of laps I was already in third position so I tried to manage the race a bit, and after that I started my fight to be in the lead. My pace was good and after I took the lead, I was able to maintain this pace.
“After a while, Can started to battle me but I didn’t want to give up the position. Every time he passed me, I managed to answer straight back. The last couple of laps I was able to be in front, and finally I crossed the finish line first as well. It’s nice that my lead in the championship is now 62 points. I want to enjoy this moment but we have another race tomorrow, so we will focus on that. It was good to win today, but we need to check where we can improve and make sure we’re there again tomorrow.”
