Stefano Manzi qualifies on the front row for his home race in Misano, while Glenn van Straalen is fourteenth.

Stefano Manzi qualified in third place in the World Supersport class at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli on Friday afternoon. In very sunny and warm conditions, the Italian finished third in the Superpole session at his home circuit. Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing teammate Glenn van Straalen qualified in 14^th position.

After a seven-week break, the World Supersport season resumed on Friday at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. It was quite warm at the Italian circuit with plenty of sunshine and temperatures well above 25°C. The morning free practice session was completed by Stefano Manzi with the second fastest lap time while teammate Glenn van Straalen set the tenth fastest lap time.

In the afternoon it was already time for qualifying and as the asphalt temperature had risen considerably compared to the morning, the grip level had also dropped considerably. With a 1’37.489, Manzi managed to qualify in third for his home race, which he will contest with a special livery. Its unveiling is on Friday evening in the paddock of the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Van Straalen finished 14^th in the Superpole session which leaves him with quite a challenge in Race 1 on Saturday afternoon.

Stefano Manzi – P3: “It was a good Friday for me. I started well in the morning and also had a good session in the afternoon. Unfortunately I didn’t get the position that I wanted because I wasn’t able to push to the maximum in Superpole, I also made some mistakes. We need to analyse this with the team and try to make me faster. Montella and Huertas are very fast so it will be a big challenge to follow them around this track. Tonight we will reveal our special livery so maybe this can help us to go a bit faster.”

Glenn van Straalen – P14: “It was quite a tough day today. In the Superpole session I started well but unfortunately in my third run I couldn’t make that step that was needed. In terms of race rhythm we are in good shape so we will have to come forward tomorrow in the race, hopefully things will look different then from today.”

Kervin Bos – Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team manager: “Stefano qualified on the front row of the grid today but was mainly focused on race pace. That is excellent but unfortunately we did not manage to squeeze out the ultimate qualifying lap, even though a place on the front row is solid to start the weekend. Given his pace, he is ready to fight for victory tomorrow. It will be an exciting battle as around three to four riders are very fast.

Glenn had a reasonably okay Friday, after Assen we do see an upward trend. Unfortunately, a small crash prevented him from being further forward in qualifying. Despite that, I still expect him to get a good result tomorrow so overall we can be satisfied with this first day.”

Ten Kate Racing reveals special livery for Stefano Manzi in Misano

Stefano Manzi will race with a special livery this weekend during his home round at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. In collaboration with title sponsor Pata, the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team has also created something special for Stefano Manzi to make his home race even more exciting.

After Glenn van Straalen showed up in Assen with an orange Yamaha YZF-R6, a special livery for Stefano Manzi at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli was of course bound to happen. Together with Italian title sponsor Pata, the Nieuwleusen-based team has decked out Manzi’s R6 in white with the familiar ‘tri-colour’ of the Italian flag. The Italian rider will be lining up on the grid with this livery this weekend in Race 1 on Saturday afternoon and in Race 2 on Sunday afternoon at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

Stefano Manzi: “I am very happy and proud to race in these colours this weekend! As an Italian, it is always very special to race in Italy and with these colours it is of course even more cool. Hopefully it will bring us just that little bit extra we need and we can show something great here in front of the home fans.”

Kervin Bos – Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team manager: “We are very proud of the final result and I think it turned out very nicely. Racing in Italy is always special and we obviously very happily give Stefano this for his home race. Hopefully it will bring him the same prosperity as Glenn in Assen and he can stand on the top step of the podium in front of his own fans.”

Stefano Manzi puts his special liveried R6 on the podium. Glenn van Straalen finishes tenth.

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 14^th 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. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race.”

A challenging Sunday for Ten Kate Racing in WorldSSP at Misano

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 14^th 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 14^th 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.”

The next round of the FIM Supersport World Championship will take place on the weekend of 12-14 July at Donington Park in England.