Friday

Stefano Manzi qualified in third place on Friday afternoon for the first World Supersport race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Glenn van Straalen finished 21^st on the timesheet after some bad luck during the Superpole session.

The second round of the World Supersport championship started on Friday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with a free practice and qualifying session. After the morning session, which counted for nothing, it was straight away time for the Superpole session in the afternoon in which the starting grid for Race 1 on Saturday afternoon would be determined.

Stefano Manzi managed to set the third fastest lap time in this Superpole session – which was interrupted due to a red flag situation – and thus secured himself a place on the front row of the grid. The Italian rode his laps alone and finished third despite some traffic in his fastest lap.

Glenn van Straalen finished 21^st in qualifying after the aforementioned red flag situation came at exactly the wrong time. The 23-year-old Dutchman did show during the two sessions on Friday that the speed is there, which will enable him to make steps forward in the first race on Saturday.

Stefano Manzi – P3:“This morning was difficult for us. We did not have a good FP1 but the team and I were able to work a lot between FP1 and FP2 to improve the bike a lot, so in the end I am very happy with the first row. It was a tricky qualifying for us, because when I went out with the new tyre we had the red flag situation. Then when we restarted there was still somefluid on the track so we had to take a couple of laps to understand turn one. I then hit quite a bit of traffic but fortunately I was able to set a lap time, good enough for third. Tyre life is tricky here so it is difficult to predict for the race. It will be interesting to see what the different strategies are, as always we will do our very best tomorrow.”

Glenn van Straalen – P21:“Free practice in the morning went fine but in qualifying we didn’t manage to squeeze out the ultimate lap time. We wanted to wait for a while with the new tyre but as a result we ended up in traffic. That ultimately resulted in not an ideal starting position but I think with our race pace we can still have a good race. We will have to play catch-up but together with the team we will do everything we can to get the best possible result.”

Kervin Bos – Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team manager:“Stefano had an excellent qualifying session and ended up on the first row of the grid. It still takes quite a bit of getting used to the new schedule to go qualifying already on Friday. After one free practice session you have to be there for qualifying straight away in the afternoon. Stefano built it up well and eventually managed to put his machine on the first row of the grid. He has a very good race pace and can manage his tyres well over long distances, he is definitely ready to attack tomorrow.

Glenn was a bit unlucky with the red flag, the session was interrupted just as he was entering the track with a new set of tyres. That timing was a bit unfortunate and 21st place on the grid is therefore disappointing. He has shown that he is faster than what this position reflects so we will have to make up places during the race with him. I am confident he can make a big step tomorrow. We are looking forward to go racing tomorrow.”

Saturday

Stefano Manzi finished second in the first World Supersport race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Saturday afternoon. The Italian did everything he could to go for victory but had to settle for second in the end. Glenn van Straalen scored his first points for Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing by crossing the finish line in fourteenth place.

A sunny and warm Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya hosted the first World Supersport race on Saturday afternoon. Stefano Manzi got off to a good start and was immediately at the front of the field. After having a gap of over a second to the race leader halfway through, the Italian came out strongly in the closing stages. The Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing rider did everything he could to stay with his Spanish rival but eventually had to settle for second position. With his second podium finish (twice a second place) out of three races, Manzi is now fourth in the championship.

For Glenn van Straalen, given his 21^st starting position, it was going to be a challenging race anyway. Because of a strong opening phase, the Dutchman quickly moved up into the top 15. Van Straalen had to work hard for it and eventually crossed the line in 14^th place, scoring his first points for Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing.

Stefano Manzi – P2:“I am very happy with this result after the Sunday in Australia, it was good to start the weekend in this way. We didn’t really know what to expect regarding tyre choice after qualifying yesterday and even the warm-up this morning. I ended up riding alone for the biggest part of the race and I fought until the end to catch Adrián. I came very close but in the end I didn’t have any grip left in the rear tyre, so I had to slow down a bit. It was a bit frustrating to see the differences between the different generation Supersport bikes but it is what it is. It is too early to think about the championship and we need to make a step forward.”

Glenn van Straalen – P14:“For now, this is a good result. In the beginning I felt strong and I was able to make up some positions. Then I just couldn’t keep up with the group in front of me and I was stuck in the same position. We have gained eighteen laps of experience and created some confidence so if we can build on this tomorrow I hope to score points again.”

Kervin Bos – Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team manager:“We finished the first race in Barcelona with a podium finish for Stefano and points for Glenn. Stefano came very close to victory but he just couldn’t quite pull it off. We knew beforehand that tyre management in particular was going to be very important and I think he got the maximum out of it. Unfortunately, it was just not enough so we have to see if we can improve the package a little bit for tomorrow so we can again attack for the win.

Glenn recovered well and after a difficult qualifying session we were able to find the right rhythm with him. He rode a good race and he was consistent, which shows what he is capable of as he had to come from a long way back. In the end, I am happy with this podium finish and these points, we are already looking forward to tomorrow.”

Sunday

Stefano Manzi has won the second World Supersport race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Sunday afternoon. After the race was restarted due to a red flag, the Italian was flawless and took the first win of 2024 for Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing. Glenn van Straalen managed to finish the second race weekend of the year well with 10^th place after having to come from 21^st on the grid.

After finishing second in Race 1 on Saturday afternoon, Stefano Manzi and Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing were hungry for a first win on Sunday. Due to a still partly wet track, it was decided not to ride in the warm-up leaving only Race 2 on the programme. The Italian started well but knew his moment would come later in the race due to the choice of a harder rear tyre.

It would not come that far as, due to an incident, the red flag was waved and the race would be restarted over six laps. With soft tyres, Manzi was untouchable and struck at the right time on the last lap. He gave his rivals no chance to mount another attack after which he crossed the line in first place. It is his fifth win for Ten Kate Racing and with it he has moved up to third in the championship, eleven points behind the leader.

Glenn van Straalen had the same strategy for the race and had already moved up to 17^th position in the first part of the race, coming from P21 on the grid. In the remaining six laps, the Dutchman made a very good start and made up many positions. In the end, the 23-year-old rider crossed the finish line in tenth place, scoring points again for Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing.

Stefano Manzi – P1: “I feel fantastic. After working all winter to go as fast as possible on track, it’s great to have a weekend like this where you can finish on the podium twice and win a race. It was a strange Sunday because we weren’t able to ride in warm up this morning. I already woke up at 6:30 and we raced at 15:15 so I had to wait quite long. In the first part of the race, before the red flag, I was managing my tyres because yesterday I had quite a big drop with the rear tyre. Then when the red flag was shown I already thought it would be a very short race, fortunately my team had a great strategy in place and I could use a new soft rear tyre for the restart. It was like qualifying for 6 laps and I gave everything I had. Everyone was more aggressive which made it very difficult but finally we were able to win the race. It was a great weekend and we showed what we are capable of, I’m very happy and proud and look forward to go to Assen next.”

Glenn van Straalen – P10: “It was a very good race, I think the red flag was in our favour. It allowed me to make up more places and be in a position where we belong. After the red flag I made a good start and managed to move further forward on the first lap. I am happy that we are going in the right direction now and of course I am looking forward to riding in Assen in a few weeks’ time. Congratulations to Stefano and the team, they did a fantastic job.”

Kervin Bos – Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team manager: “This was a very good Sunday for the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team with the first win of the year for Stefano Manzi and Glenn van Straalen finishing tenth from P21 on the grid. With Stefano we had a strategy with the hard rear tyre and we were just at the breaking point that the race would come to us a bit more. It didn’t get that far because of the red flag, the result was a sprint over six laps which meant we sent both riders onto the track with the soft rear tyre. Stefano was ruthless and eventually crossed the line first. A fantastic result and I am extremely proud of the team.

We already saw on Friday that Glenn’s speed is improving every day and he keeps growing, we were just unlucky that it just didn’t go in the right way during qualifying. He kept his cool, withstood the pressure and recovered step by step according to plan. He did very well and I am very happy and proud of that. It was nice to see so many partners of the team present and now we are going to Assen next. We are going to organise wonderful things there and before that we also have two test days so we are looking forward to that with confidence.”

The next round of the World Supersport championship takes place on the weekend of 19-21 April at the TT Circuit Assen, Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing’s home race.