Home hero Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) scored his first FIM Supersport World Championship debut during the Prometeon Italian Round as he dented Nicolo Bulega’s (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) Championship lead. The Yamaha rider claimed a maximum 50-point haul at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola while his title rival scored 36 points, cutting the Championship lead considerably as the second half of 2023 kicked off in the scorching Italian sun.

The 24-year-old took third in Saturday’s Tissot Superpole session to secure his first front-row start since the season-opening Australian Round and he used this to the full effect during both races. He made contact with polesitter Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) on Lap 1 as he forcefully moved into the lead, before resisting Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) in the red-flagged encounter. The #11 was in the fight too but unable to pass the rookie ahead of him to take third.

Race 2 was a different story for the #62. He fell behind his Ducati rival as the lights went out and remained in second place for the first few laps; seemingly holding up the riders behind him. By Lap 4, Manzi had released his potential as he closed in on Bulega. The race-winning move came on Lap 7 at the Variante Villeneuve before he pulled away from the Ducati behind, finishing the race with more than seven seconds in hand over his title rival.

Looking back on the weekend, Manzi said: “The whole weekend was amazing from Friday morning. The win in this race was very important because I didn’t expect to win with a big gap. Race 1 was closer. The back-to-back win was fantastic. It was my first time at Imola and doing it in Italy in front of my home crowd, I’m really happy. In the first few laps, I felt like in other races. When we have a full fuel tank, we’re missing a little bit. When the fuel tank gets emptier and lighter, I feel better so I can push more. I have to wait before I can go on the limit.”

The results mean Manzi closed in on Bulega in the standings. Heading into Imola, the Ducati rider held a 55-point advantage over the Yamaha competitor but a 14-point swing in Manzi’s favour means it’s just 41 points heading into the Czech Republic next time out. Crucially, it means Bulega no longer has a round’s advantage in hand as the title race closed up.

Discussing the Championship fight, Manzi added: “It’s not over. Like my team says from the last race, ‘if you win every race from here until the end, you win the Championship’. It was a funny joke, but we will try like always to do our best and when we can have results like this, it’s always amazing.”

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