Saturday – Race One

Ten Kate Racing braves the heat at Magny-Cours with Manzi on the podium in Race 1

Stefano Manzi finished second in the first World Supersport race at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours on Saturday afternoon. The Italian came strongly towards the front in the second half of the race but just did not get close enough to the leader to launch an attack, as a result the second position was the maximum result. Jorge Navarro did not make it to the finish due to a crash on the third lap.

The weekend at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours started well for Ten Kate Racing on Friday with Stefano Manzi and Jorge Navarro finishing the first day with a respective fourth and seventh time. With an outside temperature of over 35°C, conditions were tough for the riders, team and machines. In the Superpole session on Saturday morning, Manzi managed to qualify in fourth place while Navarro struggled more and finished 12th. In the afternoon during Race 1 it was again very hot which meant the 18 laps on the French circuit would be challenging.

Manzi started well and immediately moved up a place before taking second place on the second lap. At that point, his gap to Nicolò Bulega grew to over two seconds midway through the race. However, the Italian did not let himself off the hook and would come back strongly in the second half of the race. Every effort was made to get as close as possible to his compatriot but in the end, second place proved to be the maximum result.

For Jorge Navarro the race came to an early end after a good start. The Spaniard was riding in a group but was nudged on the third lap after which a crash followed.

Stefano Manzi – P2: “It was a good race and I had a good feeling with the bike. It felt better than at the start of the weekend so the team did a great job of improving it for me. We will have another race tomorrow but first we will try some changes during the warm-up session in the morning. Then we’ll try to fight because today unfortunately we just weren’t quite close enough. I tried everything but the gap was just a little bit too big.”

Jorge Navarro – DNF: “It was a very difficult day today. This morning in Superpole I managed to improve my lap time but the feeling with the bike wasn’t great. It was difficult for me to improve my lap further because I was struggling in some corners. We tried to improve our bike for the race and I started quite well as I tried to recover some positions. I was fighting with another rider and he forced me a bit wide, as a result I crashed. I didn’t expect to lose the front at that point but it is what it is. We have to learn from today and look forward to tomorrow.”

Kervin Bos – Ten Kate Racing team manager: “I am very happy with what Stefano showed today in the race, he managed to get everything out of the Yamaha again. Unfortunately we came up just a bit short so we need to improve a few more details, then I think we can put even more pressure on Bulega tomorrow. It’s small margins that make the difference, hopefully we can manage that tomorrow.

For Jorge it was a disappointing day that ended with a crash in the race. We are trying to give him as good a package as possible but it is clear that we have yet to regain the good feeling of Most. We have ideas and will keep working to make a step up with him tomorrow.

It was incredibly hot here again today and we got on the podium again so we can be happy with that. We know we are fighting for the world title and we have to make up points, but anyone who has seen the race cannot deny that everyone gave the maximum today.”

Sunday – Race Two

Manzi finishes on the podium again in hot Magny-Cours. Navarro finishes tricky weekend in ninth place.

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 – P3: “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 – P9: “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.”

The next race weekend for Ten Kate Racing will take place at Motorland Aragón on the weekend of 22-24 September where the tenth round of the world championship will be held.