Having undergone a private test at Misano ahead of the Pirelli Italian Round, it was a mixed weekend for Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team). The Italian suffered a big crash and engine blow up on Saturday morning, consequently causing a red flag, with his bike in flames.

Managing to get out for one flying lap, a 17^th place start was not what Rinaldi was hoping for. However, a brilliant fightback through the field to finish in eighth place showed how determined he was to put on a show in front of his home crowd. In the Tissot Superpole Race however, Rinaldi could only manage 15^th, making for a bittersweet home round.

With Race 2 cancelled, Rinaldi evaluated his weekend: “About the decision that has been made, I accept it. There are older riders with more experience than me, they say we can’t race, and this is OK for me. Of course, it is my home race and I will always try to race, but if the conditions are not OK, it is good not to race. Apart from that, it has not been the perfect weekend for us.”

Rinaldi’s eighth position in Race 1 is his fourth eighth-place finish of the 2019 season, of which three of them have come from outside the top ten. There is no question about Rinaldi’s pace and he will be hoping that he can fight inside the top six at Jerez. The 23-year-old from Rimini hasn’t rode a WorldSBK machine at Jerez but he was sixth in the European FIM Superstock 1000 race in 2017.

Watch the WorldSBK riders take to the track at Jerez from 7^th June with the WorldSBK VideoPass!