Italian Wild Card rider Fabrizio Pirovano won the third round of the Suzuki GSX-R European Cup at Misano today in front of 52,000 enthusiastic World Superbike fans. The 45-year-old former World Championship rider grabbed the lead on his GSX-R750 Suzuki in the closing stages from 26-year-old Spaniard Carmelo Morales to take the flag by two seconds, but was not eligible for points under the series rules. Morales led the opening lap; Pirovano took over for four laps before Morales once again hit the front. Pirovano – who hasn’t ridden competitively for four years – then shadowed the Spaniard for six laps before overtaking him with two laps remaining. By then, every rider had been experiencing tyre problems – due to the heat and high humidity at the San Marino circuit – and Morales decided to settle for second place as knew Pirovano would not earn any points. Third today was South African Hudson Kennaugh, ahead of David Salom, Andrea Masoni and Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra’s teenage Superstock 600 rider Xavier Simeon. Despite brake problems and an early collision in the race, which saw 14th at the end of the first lap, the Belgian fought back to take sixth place. Said Simeon: “I got hit early on and so I was only 14th at the end of lap one. I put my head down and just rode as hard as I could, but brake problems prevented me pushing even harder. Considering the start, I am pretty happy with my result today.” Top UK rider was Mike Edwards in eighth position with Magnus Houston 21st and Robert Barber a non finisher after crashing. Fast Bikes Magazine representative Edwards, who now holds eighth in the series with two rounds to go, said: “It was an excellent result for me and I had a great race in the group of riders I was with although I couldn’t match the pace of the leaders. The bike was running really well and this was the first time I’d raced on the new Pirelli tyres as I missed the last round where they changed. However, my school report to myself says ‘I must try harder’ ” Houston, who is 18th in the series, said: “I really enjoyed the race. It was interesting learning a new circuit like Misano but I need to go faster.” Barber, who still lies 14th despite his no-points score, said: “I was pleased with the way the race was going. My lap times were improving and I was really comfortable on the bike. But it was extremely hot out there and I ended up losing the front end and crashing. I suspect that I had the rebound damping set too hard for the track.” Misano Suzuki GSX-R Cup Results: 1 Fabrizio Pirovano (Italy) 21: 53.102, 2 Carmelo Morales (Spain) 21:55.213, 3 Hudson Kennaugh (South Africa) 22:05.698, 4 David Salom (Spain) 22:05.698, 5 Andrea Masoni (Italy) 22.12.171, 6 Xavier Simeon (Belgium) 22:24.603, 7 Joshua Noel Forster (Australia) 22: 25.022, 8 Mike Edwards (UK) 22:25.272, 9 Ron Van Steenbergen (Holland) 22:26.376, 10 Oliver Skatch (Germany) 22:28.652. Championship Points (after 3 of 5 Rounds): 1 Kennaugh 65, 2 Morales 58, 3 Salom 54, 4 Fouloi 32, 5 Forster 27, 6 Ortega 25, 7 Simeon 24, 8 Edwards 21, 9 Lammert 20, 10 Skach 16, 11 Mahr 16, 12 Steenbergen 15, 13 Dell’Omo 14, 14 Barber 13, 15 Taipale 10, 16 Pasini 3, 17 Brivio 3, 18 Houston 3, 19 Rodrigues 1.