DOUBLE PODIUM FOR MANZI AS TEN KATE RACING BRAVED THE HEAT AT MAGNY-COURS

Stefano Manzi finished third in the second World Supersport race at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours on Sunday afternoon. The Italian could not engage in the battle for victory and had to settle for third position. Jorge Navarro ended a challenging weekend in the very hot Magny-Cours with ninth place.

After a strong race by Stefano Manzi and an early crash by Jorge Navarro on Saturday, Sunday afternoon was the chance for Ten Kate Racing to retaliate. However, the Italian did not get off to a good start and was riding in fifth place on the opening lap which soon allowed the competitors in the lead to create a gap.

On the third lap, Manzi moved up to third place and he would continue to ride there until the end of the race. It was already the Italian’s twelfth podium finish of the season but it did mean a points loss, in the championship he is now sixty points behind compatriot Nicolò Bulega. 

After an early crash in Race 1, Navarro got off to a better start on Sunday afternoon. Halfway through the race the Spaniard had moved up to eighth but was then nudged by another rider. This caused him to drop back to eleventh place but the battle was not over yet. In the closing stages, Navarro managed to make up two more positions to finish ninth.

Stefano Manzi:

“It was not a great race for us because I struggled a lot. I did not have the pace to fight for the win so therefore it was not a good race. I am happy to be on the podium but it is not what we came here for. We have to work hard to be stronger in the next races. The feeling I had with the bike was not similar to what I had yesterday so that is something we need to figure out. It is going to be difficult to think about the championship but we will try for sure, and then we will see what happens.”

Jorge Navarro:

“Today was a better day. In warm-up I already felt quite good with the bike and the pace was decent. I started well in Race 2 and I could make up some positions, I was in the group that was battling for the fifth place. In the middle of the race I made contact with another rider in turn 4 that even set my airbag off. I was very lucky to be able to save it but it meant that I lost contact with the group in front. I had the same pace as them but I wasn’t able to make up the
lost ground anymore. Anyway, we will take the positives and work hard for the next race in Aragón.”

Kervin Bos – Ten Kate Racing Team Manager: 

“We were on the podium again today and of course we are very happy about that, but losing points twice in the battle for the world title obviously is a bit disappointing. Still, we have to be satisfied to have been on the podium twice with Stefano. For the upcoming races we will have to change our approach to see if we can win races and keep the championship open as long as possible.

Jorge rode a solid race but halfway through he made contact with another rider. That caused him to lose a few positions and he suffered some shoulder problems, luckily he was able to finish the race. We are left with mixed feelings from this weekend where on the one hand we can be happy with a second and third place, but on the other hand we feel we didn’t get the most out of it. The next race is at Motorland Aragon and we tested there recently. We have a good base set-up there and look forward to that race weekend with confidence.”