The first racing day for the Pirelli French Round ended with a splendid podium for Michael Rinaldi (P2) and tenth place for Alvaro Bautista, who made a sensational comeback after a technical problem forced him to stop on lap three when he was leading.
The two riders from the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team were first protagonists of a brilliant Superpole (P2 Bautista, P3 Rinaldi) and then of a fantastic start that saw them lead the race from the first corner. On Lap 3, however, Bautista was forced to stop due to a technical problem, but he was able to restart. From the last position, the reigning World Champion overtook 10 riders to finish in the Top 10 and pick up valuable points for the classification.
Rinaldi held the lead until lap 14 in a thrilling duel with Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) before finishing second by a wide margin over Rea (Kawasaki).
Michael Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #21)
“I am very happy with this race. I really gave my best, I tried to stay in front of Toprak until the end but in the last laps, he had a better pace. I am also happy because I see this as a way to thank the team for what we have done together over the years. My promise is that I will continue to defend these colors with all my strength until the end of the season”.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #1)
“It’s a real shame because the feeling with the bike has been very positive since the morning. I got a good start but suddenly I felt that I couldn’t get the maximum power. Then I realized that the engine shut down but when I stopped I read on the dashboard that I could restart. I got back to the track and the bike was working as well as it could. So instead of going back to the pits I stayed on the track. I must say I also had a lot of fun. It’s a shame, I repeat, but these things can happen. We will try again tomorrow.
- WorldSSP
A perfect Saturday for Nicolò Bulega and the Ducati Panigale V2 of the Aruba.it Racing WSSP team. The Italian rider started from pole position and remained in the lead from the first to the last lap, defending himself brilliantly from the final attack by Manzi (Yamaha).
Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WSSP #11)
“It was a good win after a really tough race also because of the very high temperatures. I took a good margin in the early laps but Manzi was able to close the gap. In the last two laps, though, I really gave it my all and the bike responded great. We are the only Ducati on the podium and that means that together with the team we did an extraordinary job”.
