Take a trip down memory lane to a historic Round 5 at Imola
Rea matches Foggy, Sofuoglu bows out from WorldSSP and Carrasco flies to the top
After a three-week break, the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship was back in action after Assen for Round Five of the 2018 season, with the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola the next destination on the calendar. There was a sense right from the get-go that the Pata Italian Round would be more memorable than usual, with every team giving that extra 1% to have everything in optimal condition for the weekend.
The iconic Imola has been a fixture on the WorldSBK calendar since the turn of the millennium as well as one of the riders’ favourites. One man with decades of experience at the track is Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) – check out what he’s learnt from his home track as the Italian takes us for a spin.
At Imola, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) turned his form up a notch, putting in two quality performances and taking the first double of the year. It was a lights-to-flag victory in Race One for the Northern Irishman, the full highlights of which you can find here.
The call of history beckoned in Race Two, as Rea matched Carl Fogarty’s WorldSBK race win record with an extraordinary second win around the Italian track. Rea clawed his way through the field, eventually passing Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) after several laps of scuffling for the lead. Relive the best bits of Race Two here.
Tears were shed and applause rang out long and loud at the start of the FIM Supersport World Championship race, as Kenan Sofuoglu grabbed his helmet one last time. The Turkish rider qualified in third place, took an honorary lap around Imola and entered the pit lane, writing the final chapter of a fifteen-year-long career. With the five-time WorldSSP champion out of the picture, Jules Cluzel (NRT) claimed a second consecutive win and confirmed his place in the championship picture.
To top off a historic weekend, Ana Carrasco (DS Junior Team) dominated the third round of the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship and became the first female rider to lead a world motorcycling championship. Catch the highlights of her stunning victory here.
After two ruthless wins by Markus Reiterberger (alpha-Van Zon-BMW), the third date on the European Superstock 1000 Championship calendar threw up an unpredictable grid and a wild race, with wild card Matteo Ferrari (Barni Racing Team) stunning everyone to win his first STK1000 race, ahead of a relentless Roberto Tamburini (Berclaz Racing Team SA).
All of that and much, much more amazing content is available thanks to WorldSBK VideoPass.
