After five consecutive second place finishes, Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) returned to the top step of the podium in emphatic style with victory at home in Race 1 of the fourth round of the FIM Supersport World Championship Championship in Cremona.
Having qualified on the front row with his best Superpole performance of the year, Manzi was hopeful of breaking the streak that has seen him finish second in the last five races although it wasn’t straightforward for the Italian. A strong launch saw him lead in the early stages, but former Moto3 World Champion Jaume Masia and Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Racing’s Can Öncü also looked strong.
Öncü, who won last time out on Assen, was ruled out of contention after an incident involving another rider on lap three, leaving a four-way scrap for the lead featuring Manzi, Masia and Valentin Debise, with the leading trio later joined by Tom Booth-Amos.
Manzi was challenged by all three riders, but whatever they threw at the twice WorldSSP runner-up he had an answer – usually with his demon braking at the end of the back straight. Pulling clear on the final lap to protect his position, Manzi crossed the line to take his second win of the year by 0.344 seconds, extending his lead atop of the championship standings to a sizeable 30 points. The win marks Manzi’s 16th consecutive podium – equalling Kenan Sofuoğlu’s record for the longest consecutive podium streak in WorldSSP history.
Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) crossed the line fifth in a strong showing for the French team, while class rookie Aldi Satya Mahendra (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Racing) took ninth as he continues to impress.
A strong weekend for VFT Racing’s Niccolo Antonelli saw the Italian 11th, while reigning Japanese Superbike Champion Yuki Okamoto (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) narrowly missed out on a point in 16th. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (GMT94 Yamaha) retired from the race.
Manzi will start Race 2 on Sunday from second on the grid with Lucas Mahias fourth. Öncü, who re-joined the race initially before retiring, was able to set a time good enough to secure a second row start for Sunday’s race, which gets underway at 15:15 local time.
Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) – Race 1: 1st
“I am happy, as it is a good day when you win at home! I thought at the beginning I might have the pace to get away, but I could not do the pace I wanted so I had to fight for it but the fight paid off in the end and I am happy to grab the win. We have some work to do tomorrow, as we had some area which I believe we can improve and if we do it should make it a bit easier. It is important for us to be consistent and this year we are doing that, I have finished no lower than second and this is the key if you want to be in the fight for the title, but of course, I want to win races too!”
