CIV IMOLA: NANNELLI AND BIMOTA BACK ON TOP. “FIRSTS” FOR THE PANIGALE AND FOR LOCATELLI Imola, 8th April 2012 On an Easter Sunday characterized by bad weather, the seven categories that make up the 2012 Campionato Italiano Velocità took to the “Enzo e Dino Ferrari” circuit at Imola, with over 130 riders lining up across the various race grids. STOCK 600: RUSSO, RECOVERS AND WINS IN THE RAIN it was Riccardo Russo who made the difference in the Italian downpour. Riding for Team Italia FMI, Russo rode a faultless race, despite the difficulties from start to finish. The Yamaha rider laid down the law, taking his second consecutive race win to consolidate his position at the top of the general standings. After crashes, mistakes in braking and a great recovery, it was ‘home’ rider Mattia Cassani who took second place. The Imolese rider stepped on to the CIV podium for the first time, in front of his home crowd. Third position, surprisingly, went to Tuscan rider Federico Monti who, on board the Suzuki, crossed the line a fair distance behind the leading pair but was nevertheless able to take a strong result. The top five was completed by Croatian rider Teddi Basic (Yamaha) and Nicolas Stizza (Yamaha), who both took advantage of the mistakes made by others. STOCK 1000: HISTORIC WIN FOR GOI AND THE DUCATI PANIGALE after setting pole position yesterday, Ivan Goi today gave Ducati another reason to smile when he triumphed on board the 1199 Panigale. This was the first Italian win for the new Ducati bike and, thanks to this result, Goi and Team Barni take the lead in the championship standings. The race was not an easy one, stopped twice due to rain and accidents. The third and final restart saw Goi break away from the pack; he managed his advantage perfectly, without committing mistakes. Second went to Simone Saltarelli, also riding for Team Barni. Saltarelli was able to hold off Alessio Velini to take 20 precious points. Velini returned to the podium with his BMW (2R Antonellini by Bargy Design) while Corradi did well to finish fourth on a track not suited to his Aprilia RSV4 (Nuova M2 Racing). It was a pleasant surprise to see Norino Brignola (Suzuki Falaschi Racing) close in fifth. SUPERBIKE: NANNELLI WINS AT IMOLA AFTER SEVEN YEARS the Superbike highlight arrived at the mid-race point. Up until that moment, the four Ducatis of Baiocco, Nannelli, Lai and, unexpectedly, Caselli were battling it out up front. This leading group had built up a significant advantage over the rest of the pack but at the sixth lap, Lai’s Ducati (Althea Racing by Echo) came to a stop on the start/finish line and Caselli (Grandi Corse) crashed out soon after. This left the track open for Gianluca Nannelli, riding a Ducati with Team Grandi Corse, who celebrated today at Imola seven years after his last win, in 2005 on board a 749. Despite some set-up problems, Matteo Baiocco managed to finish in second place, taking 20 important points. Unexpected third went to Lorenzo Mauri with the Ducati of team M. Motocorsa, who closed ahead of Clementi (BMW) and Conforti (Ducati Team Barni). MOTO3: THE FIRST FOR ANDREA LOCATELLI the protagonist of the Moto3 race was Andrea Locatelli. Winner of the 2011 Moriwaki Trophy, the young rider was able to defeat the competition. The only rider able to keep pace with the 125s at the start, the talented San Carlo Junior (Honda) rode a solitary race before dueling with Riccardo Moretti. He eventually crossed the line in first place and with arms raised, closing over six seconds in front of his closest rival Matteo Ferrari (Honda San Carlo Junior). The latter, scoring a solid result at this, his ‘home round, was able to keep Michael Ruben Rinaldi behind him. Rinaldi, riding the Oral M3 of Team Italia Gabrielli, made a good recovery to finish third. Further behind, Valtulini closed in fourth, ahead of Coletti, fifth. 125 GP: MORETTI AGAIN BUT MANTOVANI THERE TOO Superiority and luck came into play here. Riccardo Moretti and team Mahindra Racing demonstrated their superiority but the Italian-Indian team also had some luck when Andrea Mantovani, who led until mid-race, crashed out. The former Italian champion Moretti therefore took his second consecutive win, closing more than fourteen seconds in front of young Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Aprilia O.R. by 2B Corse-Zack M.), who did well to finish second after Mugello. Third went to the aforementioned Mantovani (Aprilia) who was able to rejoin the race after his fall and make a strong recovery to take another strong result. Another young rider, Carpi, crossed the line in fourth, followed by Mazzola who recorded the fastest lap of the race. SUPERSPORT: RUSSIAN RIDER LEONOV DOMINATES young Russian rider Vladimir Leonov took charge in the Supersport race, which took place in pouring rain. Starting from pole position, the Team Yakhnich MS rider immediately broke away from the chasing pack, building a significant advantage on board his Yamaha. His rivals were unable to keep pace and he secured his first win of the 2012 season. Wildcard Alessandro Gramigni also put in an strong performance. The former world 125 champion rode his Yamaha to final second place, consolidating his previous result at Mugello. Mirko Giansanti (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was back on the podium after several months’ absence, exiting the final corner and snatching third from Alessandro Traversaro (Honda) in the process. MOTO2: BIMOTA RETURNS TO WINNING WAYS WITH HARMS AFTER 12 YEARS The last win, before today, was that of Anthony Gobert in the World Superbike race in Australia. Twelve seasons on, and the latest man to power the Italian Bimoto to the top step of the podium is Danish rider Robbin Harms, who triumphed today in the second Moto2 race of the season. A solitary win for the Edo Racing rider, who finished over eleven seconds ahead of Ferruccio Lamborghini (Quarantaquattro Racing) and Alessandro Andreozzi (reigning champion with Team Andreozzi Reparto Corse), and moves into first place in the general standings. Fourth for Ivano Pigliacelli. The third round of the Campionato Italiano Velocità will take place over the weekend of 29th April at the Monza racetrack. More, from a press release issued by Bimota: Robbin Harms wins out under the flood of Imola and takes BIMOTA back at the top of CIV. For its last victory we got to go back to 1999 in Supersport with a YB9 rode by Norino Brignola. A result coming from the great experience and intelligence game plan enacted by the Danish rider. After a great start at the green light, he placed himself right after the Russian rider Leonov, a protagonist among the Supersport on Yamaha R6. Harms, clever in studying the track’s conditions, gained large gap on his MOTO 2 rivals and kept himself on a third place until a few laps left. When his position was secured, he boost up the pace and ended 1st in MOTO2 with more than 11 seconds of edge over Lamborghini and 16 over Andreozzi. A victory that brings BIMOTA at the top of the ranking, a result that Harms got to preserve even in Monza. Robbin Harms – Bimota HB4 #127 – “I’m really happy about this win and repaid the hard work that the team and the company R&D did until now. During practices we were quite fast but due to the wet track conditions the cards changed. I’ve immediately achieved the first positions at the start and then I decided to carefully manage the race when I knew my position was secured. Eventually, at the end I let myself go for the celebrations. It’s been a great feeling to be able to rise the higher step of the CIV and to receive the championship leader chart which I entended to keep until the end of the season. The MOTO2 are just a few, but Andreozzi and Lamborghini are really strong competitors and I know it won’t be a result easy to achieve”. Ruben Xaus – DS Bimota – “We knew this result wouldn’t end up coming late, but this victory has a particular meaning. Harms was great, winning the race since the first laps and then being able to perfectly manage it. The success doesn’t mean we are done with improvements. It’s just the beginning and we are willing to grow more and more and race after race. I fully trust the company’s staff and the team, to whom we did entrust the development of the project.” Antonio Farina – team owner – “This win is just what we needed. We worked really hard during the last months, facing some unexpected difficulties. But we did it and hitting this result we entered the brand’s history. We did a big step forward compared to the first round of two weeks ago but there’s still lot of work to do. We are sure to be on the right track to improve the bike’s development but now I just want to thank the whole staff, the team and the company for working themselves to death. From tomorrow on, we’ll all go back at work aiming for an encore trying to hit the highest step of the podium in Monza.”