WorldSSP300: Alvaro Diaz (Arco Motor University Team) claimed Race 2 victory to retake the Championship lead.

P1 – Alvaro Diaz (Arco Motor University Team)

• After having missed out the win out by just 0.020s in Race 1, Diaz clinched the victory in Race 2.
• He recovered first place in the Championship standings as he now has a 20-point advantage over Garcia.
• Diaz became only the second rider to win more than one race in 2022, with title rival Garcia the other.

“It’s been an amazing weekend. I’m very happy. The race was very difficult because I had some issues with my front tyre. It was difficult to recover from 13th on the grid. But in the last lap, I thought I could remain in first for the whole lap and create a small gap to the other riders. I’m very happy to move up to first in the Championship standings.”

P2 – Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki)

• After his late move on the final lap, Okaya took second place for his eighth podium in WorldSSP300.
• It was Okaya’s third podium of the season and he is fifth in the Championship standings

“Today’s race was so hot. Also, there were many riders in the leading group. It was a difficult race, but I managed to stay with the front guy. In the last lap, I was a bit lucky with Steeman and de Cancellis’ battle. Finally, I missed the win, but I finish in second and it’s a good result for the team to get a double podium with my teammate.”

P3 – Victor Steeman (MTM Kawasaki)

• Starting from pole position*, Steeman secured a top three finish for his third podium of 2022.

“The race was good. I could start from pole position so it was helpful. I had pretty good first laps but after there were a lot of riders behind me. So for the last laps, I tried to push myself good and it was perfect. But on the last straight, I had to overtake on the left side and I couldn’t do a great overtake and some riders passed me so I had few corners left and could only manage third place. I’m very happy with that.” 

Hugo De Cancellis (Leader Team Flembbo) claimed fourth spot after battling with Steeman for the podium, with the pair separated by just 0.003s at the line. German rider Dirk Geiger (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) equalled the best result of his WorldSSP300 career as he took fifth place, ahead of compatriot Lennox Lehmann (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing); Lehmann had crossed the line in fifth but was demoted one place for exceeding track limits on the last lap. Lehmann completed yet another comeback after battling his way from the middle of the pack.

Second in the Championship standings, Marc Garcia (Yamaha MS Racing) finished in 13th place while third-placed Samuel Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) did not finish the race.

* Race 1 winner Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) did not take part in Race 2 after he was declared unfit with a thoracic trauma and was transported to hospital by helicopter for medical assessments. As he was due to start from pole position, every rider on the grid moved up one position, meaning Steeman started from pole position.

WorldSSP300 Results Race 2 

1. Alvaro Diaz (Arco Motor University Team)
2. Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) +0.408s
3. Victor Steeman (MTM Kawasaki) +0.930s
4. Hugo De Cancellis (Prodina Racing WorldSSP300) +0.933s
5. Dirk Geiger (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) +1.067s
6. Lennox Lehmann (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) +1.100s.

Championship standings (after Race 2 – Round 4)

1. Alvaro Diaz (ESP) Yamaha (125 points)
2. Marc Garcia (ESP) Yamaha (105 points)
3. Samuel Di Sora (FRA) Kawasaki (101 points)

Credits : Photos and content courtesy of Dorna WSBK Organization Srl