#MisanoWorldSBK Pre-Event: You Have Been Served!
Beach tennis in Misano Adriatico kicks off Round 8 of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
With surf up and a stiff breeze in the sun-bleached seaside resort of Misano Adriatico, riders gathered on the shore at Piazzale Roma for some beachside competitions ahead of the real challenge of the weekend on track at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. The planned pedalo race was given a test drive by Aprilia’s Alex De Angelis and given the go ahead, before a marauding wave on the third run saw reigning Champion Jonathan Rea get a little carried away, and the wind stopped play for next in line – Honda rider Michael van der Mark.
The riders – including 2011 125 Champion Nico Terol, STK1000 Cup leader Raffaele de Rosa, Aruba.it Junior Team’s Michael Ruben Rinaldi, Go Eleven’s Christian Gamarino, Pata Yamaha replacement Niccolo Canepa and home hero Ducati rider Davide Giugliano – instead headed back up the beach for a tennis tournament, with teams seeing some different pairings taking each other on. Hot favourites were WorldSBK duo Rea and Giugliano, who as well as showing skill early in the tournament, focused on the competition with an intensity that proved hard to match for their contemporaries.
The pure aggression of Giugliano mixed with the good judgement of Rea on when to leave a ball saw the pair immediately become the draw that struck fear into their competitors, with the two Michaels not quite matching the coordination of the Ducati front end and Kawasaki rear and the calmer finesse of Alex de Angelis and Raffaele de Rosa showing glimpses of brilliance sometimes let down by flashes of confusion. After knockout stages that saw each pairing fall before the juggernaut pairing of Rea and Giugliano, it was the reigning Champion and his temporary teammate who came out on top to claim the crown in front of a good crowd of cheers on the beach.
Crowned Champions of the day with a lifebuoy each, the Kawasaki and Ducati riders re-joined their contemporaries to mingle with fans before a buffet lunch, enjoying the sun for a while before readying themselves for the next battle that begins on Friday. After many on the grid recently tested at Misano World Circuit, the weekend is sure to be another tight contest once again as the grandstands of the famous track wait for the fans to pour in.
Make sure to catch Race 1 and Race 2 on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th June respectively, with lights out at 13:00 local time (GMT +2).
