Di Sora reflects on "incredible" record-breaking race after fighting from 31st to 1st at Estoril
The French rider started in 31st place after a penalty in Race 2 but battled his way up the field to claim a history-making victory
Race 2 for the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship was a history-making race at the Circuito Estoril as Samuel Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) battled his way up from 31st on the grid to claim an incredible victory to cap off a sensational weekend of WorldSSP300 action at the Estoril Round.
Di Sora had secured a third-place start for Race 2 following a strong Tissot Superpole session performance on Saturday, but he was forced, alongside teammate Sylvain Markarian, to start at the back of the grid due to a tyre pressure infringement. Di Sora line dup 31st with teammate Markarian in 32nd.
By the end of the first lap, Di Sora had already moved up to a points-scoring position as he ended the opening lap in 15th place before finishing the second lap in ninth. Di Sora ended Lap 5 in the lead of the race and from there on he did not drop outside of the top two positions at the end of each lap, before crossing the line on Lap 12 to take the chequered flag by more than three tenths for a record-breaking win.
Di Sora’s comeback from 31st to first meant he became the rider with the lowest starting spot to win a race in WorldSSP300, beating the previous record set by Hugo De Cancellis (Prodina Racing WorldSSP300) at Assen after he won from 19th on the grid. It was Di Sora’s second win in WorldSSP300, and both have come from outside the top ten; his first, at Portimao in 2021, was from 18th on the grid.
Reacting to his record-breaking win, Di Sora said: “An incredible race. I was going lap by lap, turn by turn, passing riders and making my way through the field. It was pretty hard, but I was confident. We had an issue with the tyre pressure which was a bit strange. We’re always leaving some margin over the limit to be sure that this doesn’t happen. When everything seems to turn their back to you is when you have to come back stronger. The bike was incredible to ride and it was possible to make this comeback.”
Estoril proved to be a successful weekend for the French rider after he claimed second place in Race 1, missing out on a double in Portugal by just 0.041s as he lost out to Marc Garcia (Yamaha MS Racing) on the run to the line. Picking up 45 points out of a possible 50 at Estoril, Di Sora hauled himself up the Championship standings to second place, only behind Garcia, after Alvaro Diaz (Arco Motor University Team) did not score points in Race 2.
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