Busca (Italy) – June 6th – Great show on this first day of the Piemonte GP. Julen Avila Cortes (KTM MTR Racing) takes home both pole position and the victory in race one. Second position goes to Steve Bonnal (TSV Racing), while third place is claimed by Mattia Rato (TSV Racing), who also takes home the victory in the Rookies Cup.
Time practice & Superpole S1GP
Q1 opens just as the previous practice session concluded, with Marc Reiner Schmidt (Team 11) setting the fastest time. The German rider once again reaffirmed his speed and tenacity aboard his Ducati. In second position was an excellent Julen Avila Cortes (KTM MTR Racing); after a less-than-perfect round in Sardinia, the Spanish rider bounced back immediately by setting a great time. Third position went to Milan Sitniansky (Honda). There was also an outstanding performance from S1GP rookie Mattia Rato (TSV Racing), who set the seventh fastest time overall. The last of the riders to qualify for Q2 was the Frenchman Malvin Viola (Gazza Racing).
In Q2, the tables turned: Steve Bonnal (TSV Racing) clocked an exceptional time, breaking through the one-minute and seventeen-second barrier. Julen Avila Cortes secured the second fastest time again, while Marc Reiner Schmidt—who was only able to complete 2 laps due to a technical issue—still managed to claim the third fastest time. Another massive performance came from Mattia Rato, who finished in fourth place. Elia Sammartin (Honda BRT Team), a major protagonist of the Sardinia GP, could not manage anything beyond the seventh fastest time.
The Superpole crowned a superb Julen Avila Cortes, who took home the pole position ahead of Bonnal and Schmidt. The latter took to the track on his second bike and was unable to perform exactly as he would have liked.
S1GP Time Practice Q1:
SCHMIDT Marc Reiner (GER, Ducati) 1:17.563; 2. AVILA CORTES Julen (ESP, KTM) 1:17.591; 3. SITNIANSKY Milan (CZE, Honda) 1:17.627; 4. SAMMARTIN Elia (ITA, Honda) 1:17.666; 5. BONNAL Steve (FRA, TM) 1:17.696; 6. KRASNIQI Mitja (SUI, Honda) 1:17.703; 7. RATO Mattia (ITA, TM) 1:17.730; 8. NEGRI Kevin (FRA, Honda) 1:18.176; 9. VIOLA Melvin (FRA, Honda) 1:18.274; 10. PAYET Raphael (FRA, KTM) 1:18.372
S1GP Time Practice Q2:
BONNAL Steve (FRA, TM) 1:16.957; 2. AVILA CORTES Julen (ESP, KTM) 1:17.057; 3. SCHMIDT Marc Reiner (GER, Ducati) 1:17.103; 4. RATO Mattia (ITA, TM) 1:17.247; 5. SITNIANSKY Milan (CZE, Honda) 1:17.513; 6. KRASNIQI Mitja (SUI, Honda) 1:17.765; 7. SAMMARTIN Elia (ITA, Honda) 1:17.773; 8. NEGRI Kevin (FRA, Honda) 1:17.984; 9. VIOLA Melvin (FRA, Honda) 1:18.097
S1GP Superpole:
AVILA CORTES Julen (ESP, KTM) 1:16.744; 2. BONNAL Steve (FRA, TM) 1:17.068; 3. SCHMIDT Marc Reiner (GER, Ducati) 1:17.534
Race One
As the lights went out, Steve Bonnal took the lead of the race, followed by Marc Reiner Schmidt. The pole-sitter, who didn’t get a good launch, had to slot into third position. Elia Sammartin, starting from the third row, suffered a problem during the warm-up lap and had to pull into the pit lane to fix it, throwing away any chance of a comeback race.
During the second lap, the German rider immediately launched a decisive overtake on the Frenchman to take the lead. Schmidt instantly set an incredible pace, allowing him to open up a decent gap over his rivals. However, at the halfway point of the heat, a technical issue forced him to slow down, causing him to drop several positions before ultimately retiring from the race.
The battle for the victory then shifted to Bonnal and Avila Cortes. The two put on a massive show, and on the final lap, the Spanish rider executed an exceptional late-braking maneuver at the end of the straightaway to pass the TM rider and claim the win. An excellent third place went to Mattia Rato, who thanks to this result took home the victory in the Rookies Cup.
S1GP Race 1 Top Ten:
AVILA CORTES Julen (ESP, KTM) 15 laps in 19:24.190; 2. BONNAL Steve (FRA, TM) +02.867; 3. RATO Mattia (ITA, TM) +13.252; 4. SITNIANSKY Milan (CZE, Honda) +21.608; 5. VIOLA Melvin (FRA, Honda) +29.919; 6. PERNAT Gabin (FRA, Suzuki) +33.501; 7. NEDVED Jonas (CZE, Honda) +47.233; 8. BEISCHROTH Colin (GER, Honda) +49.384; 9. NEGRI Kevin (FRA, Honda) +49.385; 10. KARLSSON Kevin (SWE, Honda) +50.269
Time Table: 09:30 Warm Up – 12:25 Fast Race – 16:30 Super Final
Complete results available HERE.
SUPERMOTO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – GP of PIEMONTE – QUICK FACTS
Circuit length: 1.750 Mt. (Tarmac 1.562 Mt. – Sky Section 188 Mt.)
Temperature: 25°
Weather: Sun
The FIM Supermoto Worldchampionship will be broadcasted delayed, by clicking HERE you will obtain the full tv list.
In the photo: Julen Avila Cortes
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