Despite three wins and a season of scintillating pace, it wasn’t to be for Italian Federico Caricasulo (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team), who fell short of World Championship success by just six points. However, Caricasulo will take heart from the fact that although he didn’t clinch Italy’s elusive first title, he gave it his best shot and moves to the GRT Yamaha WorldSBK outfit for the 2020 season regardless.

Starting from pole position, Caricasulo was bettered into Turn 1 by Jules Cluzel (GMT94 YAMAHA) and by the end of the first lap, he was dropping backwards, down in fifth before dropping as low as seventh. Clearly riding with caution, much like his teammate Randy Krummenacher, the 23-year-old Italian sliced his way back through the field before having a late race duel with Corentin Perolari (GMT94 YAMAHA) and Randy Krummenacher. Crossing the line in fourth place wasn’t enough, as Krummenacher came home in fifth to clinch the crown.

Reviewing his final race of the year, a pragmatic Federico Caricasulo said: “It wasn’t the race I expected, but I’m fine, as I know I gave it my all. I pushed hard right from the start, trying to stay ahead of Randy and put as many riders as possible between me and him, but he did well and kept pace.

Continuing on, the six-time WorldSSP race winner uncovered a technical issue with his Yamaha YZF R6: “In the final stages, I battled with Perolari despite a small technical problem that slowed me. It’s been a great season anyway, one in which we’ve always run up front. I’m sorry I didn’t win the title for my team, after all their hard work, but that’s racing, and we must accept the track’s verdict.”

With a new challenge awaiting Caricasulo in 2020, he becomes the headline Italian on the WorldSBK grid, stepping up as WorldSSP runner-up and joining Garrett Gerloff in the GRT Junior Yamaha team. The all-new looking for the team provides a familiar surrounding for Caricasulo, who raced for the squad in WorldSSP. A new face has a new challenge, but will he be the latest success story from WorldSSP?

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