First Round Italian Championship in Ottobiano
The Italian Supermoto Championship also kicked off on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 April from the Lombard track of Ottobiano (PV): a new format with qualifying and Race One on Saturday, while Sunday featured the Sprint Race and Race Three.
The SM4 category riders were immediately among the protagonists: in qualifying, Antonino Navarria #36 stopped the clock in third place, followed in fifth by Iacopo Arduini #05, just a few hundredths behind. Tenth place on the starting grid for Samuele Gaspari #47.
In Race One on Saturday, Navarria finished with an excellent third position, followed by Arduini, who climbed to fourth. It was a shame for Gaspari, who finished fifteenth after a fall.
On Sunday, the cards were reshuffled: in the Sprint Race, Navarria nailed the start and took the lead for a few laps but then finished second. Arduini regained fourth position and held it until the end of the race, while Gaspari managed to recover to sixth position.
In Race Three, Navarria crashed while in second position and finished sixth after a long comeback. Arduini managed to secure a well-deserved third place, and Gaspari recovered positions, finishing in eighth place.
In the final SM4 standings, Navarria took third place on the podium, Arduini finished fourth, and Gaspari eighth.
In the Honda Red Moto Trophy, FRT2 dominated with Michael Diodato #2 winning both Sunday races.
Teammate Renato Cuomo #469 finished second.
"We started on the right foot, the Championship is still very long, but we have shown that we are there. Well done to all the SM4 guys, Arduini is a confirmation, a shame about Navarria's slide in Race Three, and Gaspari is constantly improving. In the Honda Red Moto Trophy, the very young Michael Diodato put in an excellent performance," commented Team Principal Gilda Benazzi.
Next appointments:
May 2 Triveneto Championship Pomposa Circuit (FE) racetrack
May 23/24 Italian Championship Pomposa Circuit (FE) racetrack
See you soon and ... Full throttle!
