Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team) put on another strong performance in the European Superstock 1000 Championship at the Motul Italian Round, taking the victory in front of his home fans.

In a disrupted race day at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola, the STK1000 race saw the red flags waved, leading to a restart for the 9 lap race. Starting from pole position, Rinaldi took the lead from the first lap and never looked back – and he puts his pace down to the work himself and his team made through the weekend.  Taking the win by over two seconds, the Italian continues to stamp his dominance on the championship and now leads the way by 16 points.

"It's been a great weekend,” beams Rinaldi. “Where we built our win during practice, starting from pole position. But, the race itself was strange, filled with interruptions, and it wasn't easy to stay focused. We decided to change the clutch before the last re-start. It was a risky, calculated move, which paid off. My strategy was to force the pace and pull away early on, and we managed to do that. We hope to stay at this level at Donington, but we only rode three races and we have to stay focused because our opponents are always ready to strike back."

STK1000 action resumes in over a week’s time at the British circuit of Donington Park, where the enthusiastic riders will be fighting to reduce Rinaldi’s championship lead.