WorldSPB: Artigas claims the win amid post race penalties
WorldSPB: Xavi Artigas (MTM Kawasaki) claimed his first victory in the Sportbike World Championship.
In a nine rider lead group the Spaniard never dropped lower than sixth position as he jostled for position with Antonio Torres (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) for much of the race. The fight at the front started to thin out due to incidents but the final lap saw a dash for the line with Artigas third to the flag.
Carter Thompson (Team BrCorse) finished in second position having been as low as eighth position with just over two laps remaining. Harrison Dessoy (PHR Performance Triumph) delivered a second podium of the weekend to his team. The British rider’s first career podium came at the expense of his teammate Fenton Seabright following a very strong weekend for the team.
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Penalties changed the results in the Sportbike class. Elia Bartolini (CM Triumph Factory Racing) crossed the finish line first but the Triumph rider was given a Long Lap Penalty for irresponsible riding and causing an accident that saw David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI), the championship leader, crash at Turn 2 on the penultimate lap.
Torres was also penalised having finished in second position, just 0.013s behind Bartolini but causing a crash with Matteo Vannucci (Revo-M2) at Turn 14. With Vannucci sidelined the FIM Race Stewards penalised Torres and he dropped to eighth position in the classification.
Championship Highlights
- Salvador’s non-score sees his title advantage reduced to 13 points from his teammate Torres. Following his race win Artigas moves up to third in the standings and just 17 points adrift.
- Kawasaki, with five wins from eight races, lead the Manufacturer Standings by 58 points from Suzuki. The Japanese manufacturer scored just 14 points this weekend while Triumph, with two podium finishes are a further 15 points adrift.
P1 – Xavi Artigas (MTM Kawasaki)
“The feeling is amazing and I’m super happy because I think we deserved this result from previous races. Unlike at Most we were able to see the results here of the work we’ve been doing. I’m super happy with the team and with everything they have done. We crossed the line third but a win is a win. It was a difficult race because on track with long straights the Aprilia has an advantage and you could see that during the race. I felt that I was really strong in the corners and on the brakes. I want to dedicate this victory to Pau because I’m sure he helped me today.”
Race 2 Results
1. Xavi Artigas (MTM Kawasaki)
2. Carter Thompson (Team BrCorse) +0.038s
3. Harrison Dessoy (PHR Performance Triumph) +0.110s
4. Fenton Seabright (PHR Performance Triumph) +0.232s
5. Alvaro Fuertes (Deza-Box 77 Racing Team) +0.290s
6. Elia Bartolini (CM Triumph Factory Racing) +2.913s
Championship standings
1. David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) 126 points
2. Antonio Torres (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) 113
3. Xavi Artigas (MTM Kawasaki) 109
4. Jeffrey Buis (Track&Trades Wixx Racing) 90
5. Matteo Vannucci (Revo-M2) 90
6. Ferre Fleerackers (Track&Trades Wixx Racing) 80
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