IDLE CONTROL VALVE DISQUALIFIES GINO REA FROM 2ND PLACE AT NÃœRBURGRING Feelings of jubilation turned to despair for World Supersport racer Gino Rea when he saw his season-best finish of second place stripped away due to a technical infringement with his Intermoto Honda at Germany’s Nürburgring circuit on Sunday. The initial result had been viewed as a well-deserved reward for overcoming a weekend beset with difficulties for the entire squad. Rea’s tech, Andrew Stone, had to miss Friday’s practice and qualifying sessions due to illness, whilst Saturday saw the team struggling to find a good set-up and the bike leaking oil. All was set to rights when the race began on Sunday with Rea blasting straight into second place and challenging eventual race winner Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) for the lead throughout the 19 laps whilst also contending with a challenge from Ten Kate Honda’s Kenan Sofuoglu at mid-distance. At the finishing line just five-hundredths of a second separated the winner and runner-up. The result saw Rea’s second appearance of the year on the podium. The first had been for third place at the previous round at Silverstone. This time Rea had put his privateer machine in-between two factory-backed outfits piloted by the only riders now capable of taking the overall series title. However, following a strip-down of Rea’s machine after the race the team were shocked to have the result overturned due to an alleged technical infringement concerning the idle control valve. This is a part widely used in both the World and British Supersport Championships and is generally viewed to have no beneficial effect on overall engine performance. The decision saw Intermoto receiving many messages of support from other squads within the paddock and the Czech Republic-based team are now considering legal action to contest the verdict. “The team and I are as shocked as everyone else with this decision for something which other squads have been using for years,” commented Rea afterwards. “Obviously I’m not happy with the decision. This will be a major upset to all teams in FIM-regulated paddocks as the part will have to be removed. “Apart from the disqualification, it has been a good weekend from what started off very negatively. In the race, I made a good start and got behind Eugene Laverty. I had a big moment on the first lap which allowed him to get away slightly but I was able to reel him back in. I didn’t expect to be able to stick with him the whole race but when he went to gap me with a few laps to go, I was able to go with him and put my fastest lap in. There were a few places where I was faster but I couldn’t get a good enough drive off the corners to get close enough for a pass. I squared the final corner off to get a good drive on the final lap but couldn’t quite get past him for the win, although it was pretty close, just five-hundredths of a second off!” The next round of the World Supersport Championship takes place at Imola, Italy, on September 26th.