First round of the Italian Championship in Ortona
Last Sunday, April 10, the first round of the Italian Supermoto Championship was held at the International Circuit of Abruzzo in Ortona (CH). The weekend was characterized by very variable weather conditions: rain on Sunday morning and very strong gusts of wind throughout the day.
In the S4 category qualifiers on a wet track, local rider Marco Malone #52 took fourth place in qualifying behind Sciarretta, Morosi, and Vandi. Guido Cilla #173 qualified eleventh on the starting grid.
The weather improved, and the sun returned for Race 1 in the afternoon: Malone finished second in a photo finish right behind Sciarretta. Cilla was further back, finishing 21st after some difficulties at the start.
In Race 2, Guido Cilla had a good start, eventually finishing thirteenth. Malone was more unlucky, crashing while fighting for first place with Vandi, and he finished in fifth place.
In the overall standings for the day, Malone finished fourth, while Cilla finished fifteenth.
In the S Junior category, an unleashed Andrea Benvenuti #263 achieved a double victory: after the fourth fastest time in qualifying, the off-road section was reopened for the afternoon races, and Andrea managed to win both heats with determination. Benvenuti thus secured the red plate as the current leader of the Championship.
Gilda Benazzi, Team Principal, comments on the season opener as follows: "It was a very demanding weekend; the weather conditions were a big unknown. A big well done to Andrea Benvenuti, who has shown consistent growth in the journey we started last year. In S4, it's a shame about Race 2, where Malone could have reached the podium. A round of applause also for Cilla, making his debut with the team in this race."
But we're not stopping here: we're keeping our engines warm for Busca, where Marco Malone will compete in the S4 European Championship, and Paolo Volpi, Fabiano Bartoli, Lorenzo Surace, and Guido Cilla will compete in the Interregional Championship.
See you soon, and Full Gas!
FRT RACING 2
