MANZI TAKES SPECIAL LIVERIED PATA YAMAHA TEN KATE RACING MACHINE TO THE PODIUM IN MISANO

Stefano Manzi finished third in the first World Supersport race of the weekend at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli on Saturday afternoon. The Italian rode a very strong race, securing his fifth podium of the season from seven races. Teammate Glenn van Straalen managed to cross the finish line in tenth place from 14th on the grid.

After qualifying third behind Yari Montella and Adrián Huertas on Friday afternoon, Manzi would keep these two Next Generation Supersport riders in sight for a long time on Saturday as well. The Italian started the race strongly and managed to keep up with the pace in the early stages. Later it became clear that third place would be the maximum result allowing Manzi to bring his machine to the podium for the fifth time this season.

After a difficult qualifying session, Van Straalen had to start from fourteenth position. Thanks to a good opening lap, he soon moved up to eleventh place before taking over tenth position on lap six. This the Dutchman held until the finish, scoring six valuable points for Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing.

Stefano Manzi – P3: 

“It was a solid race but for sure we cannot be very happy with this third place, because my two main title contenders finished ahead of me. So far it has not been an easy weekend. After qualifying I thought it would be hard to follow them but unfortunately today I wasn’t able to. I am not happy about the gap I had to them. We need to see where we can improve ourselves but I am not sure if it will be enough to close the gap completely. As always the team and I will do everything we can.”

Glenn van Straalen – P10: 

“My start was good but the first few laps were messy. After that, I struggled to get into the rhythm in terms of lap times which I was able to do earlier in the weekend. That was a bit disappointing but hopefully tomorrow I can be a bit further forward and be in a good group because we need the points badly.”

Kervin Bos – Ten Kate Racing Team Manager: 

“Stefano finished on the podium at his home race in Misano with the special livery but unfortunately we fell came up a little short compared to our competitors. We will leave no stones unturned tonight to see if we can give him something extra. It won’t be easy but hopefully it will be enough to enable him to battle Huertas and Montella. Glenn achieved a neat tenth position after a difficult Friday with two crashes, he has come back well from that.

The second race day at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli was a difficult one for the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team. Home rider Stefano Manzi could not get involved in the battle for the podium and finished fourth, Glenn van Straalen lost a lot of ground in the opening lap and eventually crossed the finish line in 14th place.

A warm and sun-drenched Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli hosted the second World Supersport race of the weekend on Sunday afternoon. Stefano Manzi was fourth on the grid but despite a good start he dropped back to fifth position on the opening lap. In the second half of the race the Italian managed to move up to fourth and prepared for a final attack. However, three laps before the end of the race the red flag was waved, preventing him from achieving a double podium finish in front of his home fans. With 114 points, Manzi is third in the championship, 22 points behind the leader.

Glenn van Straalen made a good start from 14th on the grid but after contact with another rider he fell far back. This made it a catch-up race for the Dutchman in which he eventually managed to climb to fourteenth position. With a total of 54 points, Van Straalen is ninth in the championship.

Stefano Manzi – P4

“It was a very difficult race and I didn’t have the right feeling with the bike to push to the maximum. It was going to be a tough race anyway but unfortunately I wasn’t fast enough to get a second podium here in Misano. We will work hard to be better in the coming races, next week we have a test in Cremona to start with that. Despite everything, I did enjoy my home race, which always remains special.”

Glenn van Straalen – P14: 

“In terms of lap times it was a good race but not in terms of position on the track. This was mainly due to the first few corners where I was in the melee and lost some places. After that I was able to set good lap times so that gives a positive feeling for the next races. We will first test in Cremona and then Donington Park is next on the calendar, which I am really looking forward to. I hope I can show my real speed then.”

Kervin Bos – Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team manager: 

“For Stefano, this was not the result we had hoped for. We were not fast enough and we will have to work hard. Glenn had a difficult start to the race but rode a very good pace in the second half. He came forward strongly and made a decent step compared to yesterday. We now need to get him further forward on the grid so that he can take advantage of his good race pace. It was not the weekend we had hoped for and we will not give up. We will be testing in Cremona on
Wednesday and Thursday and will also work there to find more speed for the next race weekend.”