The story of the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship at the Prometeon Italian Round was the weekend-long duel between Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) and Dirk Geiger (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) in the sweltering conditions. The duo split the wins at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola as they both surged up the Championship standings, with Geiger leading the way after five rounds.
The #91 Yamaha was the quickest rider on Friday, but he was beaten to pole position by Geiger in the Tissot Superpole session by four tenths as the German took KTM’s first pole since the late Victor Steeman at Most in 2021. In Race 1, the pair quickly broke away from the chasing pack and had more than two seconds in hand over third placed Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) at the end of Lap 1. From there, the pair fought it out for victory although passing was limited; the duo opting to keep pulling out a gap. Vannucci was able to lead every lap despite Geiger’s late-race efforts to overtake him, giving him his third win in WorldSSP300.
Discussing his Race 1 win, the Italian said: “It’s a fantastic win. The race was difficult due to the hot conditions. The asphalt was so hot. The bike was sliding in the corners, but I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the race. I had a big fight with Dirk Geiger. In the last corner, I went in sliding. I said ‘f**k, he could pass me!’. I crossed the line in first place so I’m very happy about this.”
Race 2 was a similar story as the pair broke away, although this time they were joined by Humberto Maier (Yamaha MS Racing/AD78 Latin America Team). He dropped off Vannucci and Geiger in the closing stages, allowing them to fight hard for victory. The three-time race winner had crossed the line first and thought he’d done the double, but a post-race investigation found he’d exceeded track limits at Turn 13 on the final lap. This demoted him to P2 with Geiger winning; KTM’s first win since the same weekend Steeman claimed pole.
Looking back on Race 2, the #60 KTM rider said: “On Sunday morning we found something in the Warm Up by trying out something on the gearbox and changing it. It worked wonderfully. The second race was an incredible challenge because of the temperatures. It wasn’t easy to stay focused in this heat. It was another great race at the end. In the last few laps, I gave everything to prevent Vannucci from taking his second win at his home race. The FIM Stewards changed the result. The trophy and the cap for second place had been stowed away; they will only be exchanged at Most.”
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Source: WorldSBK.com