WorldSSP300: Manuel Bastianelli (PRODINA IRCOS Team) claims fantastic maiden WorldSSP300 victory.

Manuel Bastianelli (PRODINA IRCOS Team) has scored a stunning first win in the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, finding his way to the front near the end and just defending the top spot from a last-lap blitz by Mika Pérez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team). Just 0.036 seconds separated the pair, with Manuel González (Pertamina Almería BCD Junior Team by MS) taking his first podium finish in third.

After three races dominated from lights to flag by the respective pole sitters, the WorldSSP300 championship returned to a trademark last lap scrap at Misano, with the top fifteen riders separated by just three seconds. Several riders pushed amidst the chaos around the 4.226 kilometre track, but it was ultimately the wildcard who prevailed, to the enjoyment of the Misano crowds.

Bastianelli rode full-time in WorldSSP300 last season, taking just four points across nine races, but here at the Riviera di Rimini Round the Italian turned up spectacularly for his home fans.

Mika Pérez had not taken a podium since the opening round of the season, but he overcame the huge group of riders in the mix as well as a six-place grid penalty to rise to the rostrum in second. Pérez chose to attack in the final lap, gaining several places and coming just metres away from making it to the top.

Fifteen-year-old González joined the two Kawasaki bikes on the podium with his best WorldSSP300 result, beating Luca Bernardi (Team Trasimeno) to the line for third.

Luca Grunwald (Freudenberg KTM WorldSSP Team) did more than damage limitation in his climb from eighteenth on the grid, making it to the flag in fifth after even managing to lead the race. A spectacular fightback from the German, who now moves to second in the championship, 16 points behind Ana Carrasco (DS Junior Team). The Spaniard was tenth on Sunday, but her lead remains nearly intact after both Borja Sánchez (ETG Racing) and Scott Deroue (Motoport Kawasaki) retired from the race.

Maria Herrera (BCD Yamaha MS Racing) managed her best WorldSSP300 result with sixth place, with pole-sitter Galang Hendra Pratama (BIBILION YAMAHA MOTOXRACING) falling to seventh despite making a phenomenal start.

P1 – Manuel Bastianelli (PRODINA IRCOS Team)
“It was a fantastic race, even though the start was a bit difficult. We seemed to have a good rhythm and I was able to be quite aggressive with some of the riders and we did it little by little every lap. Then on the last lap we managed to bring home the victory. I want to say thank you to all of my team.”

#RiminiWorldSBK WorldSSP300 at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli – Race
1. Manuel Bastianelli (PRODINA IRCOS Team)
2. Mika Perez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) +0.036
3. Manuel Gonzalez (Pertamina Almeria BCD Junior Team by MS) +0.112

WorldSSP300 Championship Standings after Round 6
1. Ana Carrasco (ESP) Kawasaki (84 points)
2. Luca Grunwald (GER) KTM (68 points)
3. Borja Sanchez (ESP) Kawasaki (58 points)

Credits : Photos and content courtesy of worldSBK.com