The third and final day of the fifth Superbike World Championship at the Misano World Circuit played out under the hot Italian sun. This was a first home round for Kawasaki Puccetti Racing, the ideal opportunity for staff to meet with sponsors and supporters and field a special livery dedicated to historic sponsor ELF.
Tito Rabat was back on the Italian team’s Ninja and worked with his technical staff to regain confidence with the bike. Yesterday, having qualified twenty-second in Superpole, the Spaniard finished race 1 in nineteenth position.
This morning he was back out for the Superpole Race, which runs over a distance of just ten laps. Unfortunately, Tito did not make the best start and found himself at the back of the field through the early stages. The Spaniard then got into a good rhythm and climbed back up to sixteenth place, at which point the race was brought to a premature end with the red flag, following a crash.
Race 2 ran in the afternoon but unfortunately did not last long for the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider, who was forced to retire after his bike chain broke. A rather unusual setback, and one that the Italian team has never experienced with its bikes until now.
The sixth WorldSBK round will take place on 30 June-2 July at Donington Park in the UK.
Misano World Circuit – Italy – Superbike World Championship
Superpole Race: 1) Bautista (Ducati) – 2) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 3) Rinaldi (Ducati) – 4) Bassani (Ducati) – 5) Rea (Kawasaki) – 6) Lowes (Kawasaki) ……. 16) Rabat (Kawasaki)
Race 2: 1) Bautista (Ducati) – 2) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 3) Bassani (Ducati) – 4) Rea (Kawasaki) – 5) Vierge (Honda) – 6) Locatelli (Yamaha) ………. n.c.) Rabat (Kawasaki)
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“We were unlucky today because it’s really strange for the chain to break on the first lap. Aside from the negative result in race 2, it was a positive weekend overall because I felt increasingly comfortable on the bike, made three good starts, and am sure that without this problem this afternoon, we could have reached the podium, also because my pace in the sprint race was already stronger than in yesterday’s race. Now we turn the page and focus on the next round at Donington, which will undoubtedly go better.”
