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Unstoppable Steeman doubles up on Friday at Misano in WorldSSP300

Friday, 10 June 2022 13:02 GMT

    • The Dutch rider topped both FP1 and FP2 to lay down a marker ahead of Superpole and racing at Misano

    Dutch rider Victor Steeman (MTM Kawasaki) doubled up by topping both of Friday’s FIM Supersport 300 World Championship practice sessions ahead of the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round. After going fastest in the morning 30-minute Free Practice 1 session at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, Steeman made it two from two by topping Free Practice 2 by more than three tenths.

    STEEMAN ON TOP: a three-tenth advantage at the top

    Steeman, like every rider on the grid, improved their lap time in the afternoon and posted a 1’49.098s in FP2 to top both that session and the combined classification, with a 0.349s margin of Italian rider Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) in second place. Vannucci impressed last year in the Yamaha R3 Cup with a podium and pole position in a wildcard appearance and has started his first visit to Misano in WorldSSP300 strongly. Alex Millan (SMW Racing) also had a strong start to the weekend as he claimed third place after posting a 1’49.615s.

    HIGH HOPES FOR ITALIANS: strong showing from home heroes

    Two Italian riders finished in fourth and fifth place with wildcard Alfonso Coppola (VM Racing Team), returning to the Championship, in fourth place and Bruno Ieraci (Prodina Racing WorldSSP300) in fifth. Championship leader Marc Garcia (Yamaha MS Racing) rounded out the top six as he posted a 1’49.813s, moving up the order compared to FP1.

    ROUNDING OUT THE TOP TEN: looking to challenge for a podium

    Spanish rider Inigo Iglesias (SMW Racing) claimed seventh spot, just 0.020s away from Garcia but fending off the challenge from Italian wildcard Mattia Martella (Prodina Racing WorldSSP300) in eighth and Kevin Sabatucci (Kawasaki GP Project) in ninth, with the trio separated by less than a tenth of a second. German rider Dirk Geiger (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) rounded out the top ten.

    HOUSEKEEPING: to note from Friday

    It was a mixed day for Australian rider Harry Khouri (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki). After a strong start to Friday, Khouri had a crash at Turn 3 in the closing stages of FP2 and he was left finishing 25th in the combined classification. Samuel Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) finished 13th in the combined standings but had a late FP2 crash at Turn 16.

    The top six following WorldSSP300 action on Friday, full results here:

    1. Victor Steeman (MTM Kawasaki) 1’49.098s

    2. Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) +0.349s

    3. Alex Millan (SMW Racing) +0.517s

    4. Alfonso Coppola (VM Racing Team) +0.679s

    5. Bruno Ieraci (Prodina Racing WorldSSP300) 0.694s

    6. Marc Garcia (Yamaha MS Racing) +0.715s

    Watch WorldSSP300 Tissot Superpole on Saturday LIVE and UNINTERRUPTED from 09:45 Local Time (GMT+2) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!