This weekend marks the sixth round of the FIM Supersport World Championship at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Located on the Adriatic coast, the circuit is a home track for Stefano Manzi, who is eager to perform in front of his home crowd after a difficult weekend in Most. For Yuki Okamoto, the Italian circuit is also familiar territory.

Almost a month after the race weekend at Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic, the World Superbike Championship is back in action at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. On the calendar since 1991, Misano is often one of the most attended WorldSBK race weekends of the year.

Despite a challenging weekend in Most, Stefano Manzi still leads the World Supersport Championship standings with a total of 185 points—40 more than his closest rival. As in previous rounds, the primary goal will be to extend that lead. For Manzi, who hails from nearby Rimini, this will be a special weekend, with many family members and friends cheering him on from the stands.

Yuki Okamoto also had a tough time in Most, partly due to the changing weather conditions. However, the Japanese rider has shown clear progress and will aim to bring home points again at a circuit he has visited before.

Stefano Manzi:
“Finally it is time to race again. The last round in Most definitely wasn’t the best one for us, it was a shame to end the weekend with a sixth place. However, this is racing and sometimes things like this can happen. Now we reset ourselves and go to the next race in Misano fully focused. In this break I had a test with the Yamaha Superbike and I enjoyed it a lot, but now I’m really looking forward to ride the R9 again at my home track.”

Yuki Okamoto:
“I am looking forward to the Misano round. It will not be my first visit as I raced there previously in 2019. I have done a lot work to prepare myself for this race weekend, so I am looking forward to join the team again and get back to work with the R9.”

Kervin Bos – Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team manager:
“After Assen, Misano is almost like our second home race of the year with Stefano as one of our riders. A lot is happening this weekend, and we’re set to welcome many sponsors and partners once again. Yuki has spent a lot of time training in Spain over the last few weeks, which helped him maintain his rhythm well. Stefano has also been very active on different bikes in the past few weeks. The team has prepared everything down to the finest detail, and we’re excited to get back to racing this weekend.”

The race weekend at Misano begins on Friday morning with a free practice session, followed by Superpole at 13:55 in the afternoon. Saturday kicks off with a warm-up session, and Race 1 over 18 laps will start at 12:35. Sunday follows the same schedule, with a morning warm-up and Race 2 again at 12:35 in the afternoon.