Recap 2021 Lombardy Piedmont Liguria Interregional Championship
The April weekend following the first round of the Italian Championship in Ortona marked the beginning of the Interregional Supermoto Lombardy Piedmont Liguria races.
The team, now historic, with 'veterans' Alessandro Lauri #24, Paolo Volpi #10, Fabiano Bartoli #51 and Alessandro Mantia... with the addition of new entry Lorenzo Surace #8.
The first stage took place at the new and challenging track in Borgo Ticino: unfortunately, on Saturday, Alessandro Mantia suffered a shoulder injury and had to withdraw from the race. Sunday was very demanding with a double start in Race 1 of the S4 category and a spectacular pile-up that unfortunately also involved our Lorenzo Surace. Teammates Fabiano Bartoli and Paolo Volpi managed to 'limit the damage' with a third and fifth place respectively, while Alessandro Lauri in S2 finished the day in fourth position.
We then moved to Ottobiano the second week of May, coinciding with the Italian Championship: amidst arrosticini and some good advice from coach Andrea Occhini, Fabiano managed to secure a first place in the Lombardy classification in S4. Paolo and Lorenzo were further back, partly due to the presence of Italian Championship riders in their heat. Alessandro Lauri also had a good race day, being the sole standard-bearer in S2, finishing 4th, just shy of the podium.
The third stage took us to the distant Busca, where a summer thunderstorm somewhat spoiled Sunday's races: Fabiano unfortunately had to settle for fourth place, closely followed by Paolo and Lorenzo in seventh.
In July, it was Ottobiano's turn again: sweltering heat and mosquitoes dominated a scorching weekend. In S2, after missing the Busca race, Alessandro clinched a third place, while in S4, Fabiano secured another third place, keeping him at the top of the category standings. Lorenzo's seventh place was good, but Paolo unfortunately had to withdraw after a fall.
After a long summer break, the regional circuit once again coincided first with the Italian Championship and then with the World and European Championships in Castelletto di Branduzzo.
On the first weekend of October, the race day was characterized by heavy rain and a shared race grid with the Italian riders: in S4, Fabiano managed to navigate a very difficult track, finishing fourth, followed by Lorenzo. In S2, Alessandro also managed the challenging track conditions and finished third overall for the day.
The grand finale on the weekend of October 16th and 17th, coinciding with the European and World Championships, brought back sunshine to the track in Pavia: races were split between Saturday and Sunday. Despite a ruinous crash during race one on Saturday, Fabiano secured a fourth place for the day, which allowed him to finish in an excellent second place in the Championship.
Fifth position for the day and in the Championship for Lorenzo Surace, while his category teammate Paolo Volpi finished in seventh position in the Championship despite some difficulties in the last two races.
In S2, Alessandro Lauri was the protagonist of a beautiful victory on Sunday in race 1 on his home track and finished in third position for the day. An excellent fourth place in the Championship, having missed the Busca race.
Ph. Marco Rimondi
