Van Straalen achieves best dry qualifying result of the season, Manzi starts from the third row.

Glenn van Straalen qualified fifth for the first World Supersport race at Motorland Aragón on Friday afternoon. The Dutchman saved his best lap time for the last moment, achieving his best qualifying result of the season in dry conditions. Stefano Manzi suffered a lot of traffic and eventually finished eighth in the Superpole session.

On Friday, the tenth World Supersport round of 2024 began at Motorland Aragon. It was sunny and dry at the Spanish circuit but there was quite a strong wind. Stefano Manzi started the day well with the fastest time in free practice while Glenn van Straalen ended the first session in eighteenth.

In the afternoon, the forty-minute Superpole session was on the programme and Van Straalen ended up qualifying in fifth place. The Dutchman managed to string together his fastest sector times at the last moment and set his own ideal lap time with a 1’53.339, resulting in his best qualifying result of the season on a dry track.

Manzi started the session strongly and was in the top three for a long time before looking to improve his lap time in the closing stages. However, in that moment the Italian was being held up by traffic which prevented him from riding his personal ideal lap time. With a 1’53.415 he qualified in eighth while being less than half a second away from pole position, showing that the gaps in the World Supersport class are very small.

Glenn van Straalen – P5:“We had a good Superpole. During the session we managed to make strides and on the last lap I managed to tie everything together. It was very nice that it worked out and I’m happy with that, it also felt like a very good lap and I rode it alone. We have the pace and we’ll go into tomorrow’s first race with confidence.”

Stefano Manzi – P8:“We started the day well with the fastest lap time in the free practice session. In the Superpole session we were struggling a bit to find the correct setting, and there were also many riders disturbing my lap as they wanted to follow me. It means that I have to start from eighth position tomorrow, which is quite disappointing. Anyway, I will give my all to get a good result.”

Kervin Bos – Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team manager:“Glenn rode a great qualifying session. He qualified fifth in dry conditions at Motorland Aragon, which is a very good result. He was building up the session and managed to time his lap perfectly, getting the most out of it. On the other side of the pit box, it was a somewhat disappointing qualifying session after Stefano managed to set the fastest lap time in the morning. The expectation was that we could battle it out for pole position, but something went wrong on the lap where it was supposed to happen. He was hampered by traffic so that ultimate lap was not there in the end. The race pace is there though, and he has to come from the third row of the grid so I expect some spectacle from both of them tomorrow.”

Manzi makes magnificent comeback at Motorland Aragon and takes P2, Van Straalen finishes 9th.

Stefano Manzi finished second in the first World Supersport at Motorland Aragon on Saturday afternoon. The Italian came strongly towards the front from eighth on the grid and set the fastest race lap, which means he will start from pole position in Race 2. Glenn van Straalen started strongly in the first race of the weekend but had to drop back slightly, eventually crossing the finish line in ninth place.

Under sunny conditions, the first World Supersport took place at Motorland Aragón on Saturday afternoon. Starting from fifth on the grid, Glenn van Straalen got away well and managed to keep up with the leading group in the early stages. However, the Dutchman eventually had to drop back a little and crossed the finish line in ninth place. Because he rode the ninth fastest lap time in the race, that will also be his starting position for Race 2 on Sunday afternoon.

Stefano Manzi had quite a challenge from eighth on the grid and on the opening lap he even fell back to P10. The Italian then was able to ride a very good pace and he was the fastest rider on track for several laps in a row. Lap after lap, Manzi managed to move up towards the front and by the ninth lap he was in the leading group.

Manzi had to fight hard and in the end he crossed the finish line in second place, giving him his fourteenth podium finish and ninth P2 of the season. Thanks to his fastest lap time in the race, the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing rider will be starting from pole position in Race 2.

Stefano Manzi – P2:“In the end it was a good race, because it wasn’t easy from eighth on the grid and I also didn’t have a good start. Although it didn’t happen quickly, it was quite a good comeback. With three laps to go I still had some work to do, so it wasn’t easy for me. I found it quite difficult to overtake today, but the good thing is I rode the fastest lap today which means I can start from pole position tomorrow. We need to see if we can improve the package a bit, but starting from the first row will make it at least a bit easier.”

Glenn van Straalen – P9:“It was a really good race. I just couldn’t keep up with the first group but the speed is definitely there. If we can find something more tonight, then I think we can go for a top five result tomorrow. We’ll work hard on that with the team and then we’ll see if it works out tomorrow.”

Kervin Bos – Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team manager:“Stefano rode a very strong race and took another podium finish. Due to his average qualifying result, it was a hard-fought podium and with this second position he still managed to recover his race well. At the time of his second-place race there was already a gap towards the leader, but tomorrow he will start from pole position so then the expectation is that he will be able to fight for the victory. The other side of the pit box is also having a very strong weekend so far. Glenn made an excellent start and is showing that he is a regular among the fastest guys in the World Supersport class. Both riders have all the elements in hand to have another good race tomorrow.”

Another podium for Manzi and another solid points finish for Van Straalen at Aragon.

Stefano Manzi once again finished second in the second World Supersport race at Motorland Aragon on Sunday afternoon. The Italian took full advantage of his pole position and took the lead for the first part of the race before eventually achieving his tenth P2 and fifteenth podium finish of the season. Glenn van Straalen was able to keep up with the leading group at the start and eventually crossed the finish line in tenth place.

After eventually finishing second from eighth on the grid in Race 1, Stefano Manzi was in a better starting position in Race 2 from pole position. With a very good start, he immediately took over the lead and did not relinquish it for the first five laps. Then he was put under a lot of pressure by the riders on the Next Generation machines which made it hard to keep up.

After a nice battle with Jorge Navarro, Manzi eventually crossed the line second again: the tenth time in twenty races and in total his fifteenth podium finish of the season. With 324 points, Manzi is third in the championship where his gap to the leader is 46 points and his gap to second is just five points.

Glenn van Straalen rode a good opening phase of the race and was in touch with the leading group. As the race progressed, he had to let this group go after which the Dutchman eventually crossed the finish line in tenth place. With 140 points behind his name, Van Straalen is eighth in the championship.

Stefano Manzi – P2: “It was another good race. I started from pole position, which was a lot better, and I had a really good start. I tried to escape and I was pretty fast in the first three sectors, but not fast enough in the final sector. Therefore it was impossible to escape. I made only one mistake during the race and that was with the shifter while Yari was ahead of me, so this cost me the chance to fight back. I couldn’t stay with him but after that I had a nice battle with Jorge. For the championship this result is not the best, but in the end it was a good race. We had a good weekend in the end but the only session that wasn’t that good was Superpole. This is not one of my favourite tracks so to finish second twice is quite nice. We’re not out of the title fight yet, so we will keep trying until the end.”

Glenn van Straalen – P10: “The opening phase of the race was pretty good but then I couldn’t stay with the group ahead of me. A few battles made me lose the connection with the front group and then I was riding alone in tenth place. The feeling with the bike was better than yesterday though, and I am happy that we really showed our speed this weekend. I think Estoril is a better circuit for us, that’s where we will try again.”

Kervin Bos – Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team manager: “Both riders had a very strong weekend here in Aragon. It is the most difficult circuit of the year for us because of the long straights and the Next Generation bikes. They both gave their all and managed to perform to the maximum. Stefano has finished on the podium twice, has decreased his gap with the championship leader and is very close to second place. You can’t be more than satisfied about that. Glenn had his best qualifying result in dry conditions and also rode two good races with two top ten results. The whole team has performed very well and both riders continue to get the most out of it. I think both riders and the team are very motivated to attack in the last two races which will again be a double with Estoril and Jerez back-to-back. Those are two circuits that suit us well so we will go full attack there.”

The race weekend at Circuito Estoril in Portugal takes place from 11 to 13 October.