New circuit, new challenges: title race heats up as FIM Yamaha R3 BLU CRU World Cup Heads to Hungary
Balaton Park hosts the FIM Yamaha R£ BLU CRU World Cup action for the first time as the Hungarian venue welcomes WorldSBK for the first time
A new circuit awaits the FIM Yamaha R3 BLU CRU World Cup this weekend as the series moves to the Balaton Park circuit in Hungary. The second half of the season is set to get underway as the chasing pack set their sights on series leader Alessandro di Persio, who has stretched a 27-point gap at the top of the standings after taking three wins in the last four races.
Di Persio (Italy) has been on the podium in all but one of the season’s opening six races, finishing either first or second to accrue a healthy championship lead at the mid-way point, but the close-fought nature of the series means he can’t rest upon his laurels.
The challenge of learning a brand-new circuit could blow things wide open this weekend and offer the opportunity for the chasing pack to win back big points on their experienced Italian rival.
Chris Clark (USA), victor of the opening race of the season, leads that pack in second place after only narrowly missing the podium last time out at Donington Park. Mario Salles’ (Brazil) second place in Donington Race 2 saw him move into third into the championship, ahead of Teppei Kugawa (Japan) who sits fourth after securing his first win of the season at the British venue.
Fifth in the championship, Arai Agaska (Indonesia), twice a podium finisher will be looking to end his run of losing out on the final lap as he seeks to take his first victory in the series.
Hoping to take advantage of local knowledge will be one-event rider Kristóf Barta of Hungary, who joins the grid for this weekend’s event.
The weekend’s action gets underway on Friday at 09:00 local time before the Superpole Qualifying session at 13:30. Both races take place at 16:15 local time and will be broadcast live on the Yamaha Racing YouTube channel here.
