The Italian was able to claim the second pole position of his World Supersport career after a heavy downpour hit the TT Circuit Assen moments after he set the fastest time of the Supersport Superpole session.
With the session having started in wet conditions Manzi was one of the first riders to switch to slick tyres and almost immediately having set his fastest time the rain came down once again. Manzi claimed the pole position as a result with his Ten Kate teammate, Glenn van Straalen, alongside him on the front row of the grid.
The perfect day for the Dutch team came in stark contrast to the Championship leader, Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team). At the time of the rain shower the Italian had yet to set a time in the session. He would eventually limit the damage to 11th on the grid. Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) rounds out the front row of the grid for Race 1 tomorrow.
1. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) 1’45.203s
2. Glenn van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) +0.990s
3. Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) +1.048s
P1 | Stefano Manzi | Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing
“To have an advantage of one second in Superpole is due to the conditions of the track. Some riders were using rain tyres, others were using dry tyres, some other riders used both tyre. It was a strange session and even on my fast lap the first sector was bad because I had a lot of traffic. At the end of the session riders were improving but my lap time was good enough for the pole position so I’m very happy. I’m happy for my team and my teammate that we were first and second. We have started the team’s home race in a good way.”
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Or visit the official World Superbike website worldsbk.com
©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of www.WorldSBK.com
