Misano WorldSBK: Home race one glory for Rinaldi, risks for Redding
Without even a podium during the opening six races, Michael 🦩Rinaldi celebrated his first victory as an Aruba.it Ducati World Superbike rider in front of his home fans at Misano on Saturday.
Quickest in free practice, Rin☂aldi was relegated to the second row in Superpole but made his intensions clear by going 'bar-to-'bar with Jonathan Rea through the opening chicane at the start of the race.
The duel briefly allowed Toprak Razgatlioglu into the 🌳lead, but Rinaldi was leading from Rea by the end of the opening lap.
Rea then kept pressure on the Ducati rider until lap 10 of 21, when a major front-end mom𒊎ent allowed Rinaldi to escape and put Razgatlioglu into second.
Making the moment especially spe🐬cial for Rinaldi was the chance to celebrate in front of his ho🥀me fans.
"Winning the home grand prix is a unique emotion. Today it was even mo🉐re exciting due to the fans back in the stands after a long time: they are always able to give an extra motivation," he said.
"T🤡he race was long and difficult and I tried to find my pace. Then Rea’s mistake while I was pushing hard allowed me to have less pressure. The smell of victory m🍃ade the last two laps incredible for me. Now, however, maximum concentration on the two races tomorrow."
Rinaldi's team-mate Scott Redding qualified on the outside of the front row, but dropped out of a rostrum p✨osition on lap 5 and spent the rest of the race in fourth.
"Itꦅ was a very difficult race for me right from the start. The feeling with the bike was not ideal and I had to take a lot of risks to push in an attempt to stay with the leading group," Redding said.
"At a certain point I preferred to think about taking some points rather than making a mistake. For tomorrow we definitely need to find more grip. We will work this evening with the team to unders🍎tand which is the best direction to take".
The Englishman, who has taken two victories so far this season, will start Sunday's r♏aces 10 points behind Razgatlioglu and 41 from Rea. Rinaඣldi rises to fifth place, 35 points adrift of Redding.
Peter has been in꧟ the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is🅷 at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.