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8 Červenec 2018

Bastianelli Wins As Carrasco Keeps Points Lead

Local wild card rider Manuel Bastianelli (Prodina Ircos Team Kawasaki) swept to a narrow victory in a typically dramatic and incident packed WorldSSP300 championship race at Misano. Spanish rider Ana Carrasco (DS Junior Team Kawasaki) was unable to challenge for a podium after 13-laps today but in finishing tenth – and only 1.730 seconds from the race winning Ninja 400 - she was still in the leading group to the end.

Carrasco remains in the lead of the championship, predominantly thanks to her two race wins in Imola and Donington. Another Kawasaki championship challenger, Scott Deroue (Motoport Kawasaki) led the race on numerous occasions in Italy until a technical issue showed up and the Dutch rider entered the pits to retire, not scoring any points.
 
Ninja riders Bastianelli and Mika Perez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) ended up 1-2 today, with just 0.036 seconds separating them. Perez was riding in his comeback race after injury.
 
Dorren Loureiro (DS Junior Team Kawasaki) won a personal duel with his team-mate Carrasco, finishing ninth, and the first Kawasaki rider behind the two podium finishers Bastianelli and Perez.
 
Enzo De La Vega (GP Project Team) scored points in 12th place, leading the second group of riders, and still only just under 2.5 seconds from the race win.
 
Deroue’s team-mate Tom Toparis finished his Misano weekend 19th, with his fellow Australian Tom Edwards (Nutec - Benjan Kawasaki) 26th.
 
Walid Khan (Nutec Benjan Kawasaki) a podium finisher at the most recent round in Brno crashed out of contention today. Borja Sanchez (ETG Racing Kawasaki) also fell out at this superheated and super-tough round.
 
After another healthy points score, Carrasco leads the championship by 16 points, from Luca Grunwald, by 84 points to 68. Sanchez is third on 58, Deroue fifth on 55, two points ahead of Loureiro.
 
Two rounds remain in the championship, the next at Portimao between the 14th and the 16th of September.

Ana Carrasco, stated: “We’ve had many problems which have not allowed us to work as we wanted this weekend. To start from so far back on the grid is complicated for the first laps. I tried to overtake as many positions as soon possible and get into the front group. I think the end result could have been better if I hadn’t had a knock with Hendra on the last lap. I’m still happy, as we’re still ahead in the championship. The holidays start now and we will try to improve all aspects for the last two races of the season.”
 
Scott Deroue, stated: “I was leading the race today until my bike had a clutch problem and I needed to stop. Winning the World Championship is gonna be really difficult now. Thanks to my team and Kawasaki for working so hard. We don’t give up!”
 
Dorren Loureiro, stated: ”The race didn’t go as expected by ending in P9 after starting on the front row, but we can walk away with a big positive, and that is that we are only five points away from 3rd in the championship. Thank you to Kawasaki for all the hard work and effort this weekend and my team for all they do.”



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