Alpe Adria: Emiliano Ercolani takes the win, Filla emulates Bulega

Cremona hosts the Alpe Adria for the first time: it’s the fourth of six events in the continental series centered in Eastern Europe. Saturday’s races were scorching, both because of the heat and the fierce on-track battles.

For Italian colors, the most thrilling race was the Sportbike, dominated by three registered riders who took advantage of the Alpe Adria setting to stay sharp ahead of upcoming national events. Victory for Emiliano Ercolani, increasingly at ease with the Aprilia 660 of the Gradara Corse team. He finished ahead of teammate Loris Pedrotti and the up-and-coming Alessandro Zanca. In Junior Sportbike, the best was Gianmaria Ibidi.

The Czech rider continues to dominate Alpe Adria Superbike, perfectly supported by the Ducati Panigale V4 R prepared by the Barni team. The multi-time series champion currently has no rivals capable of troubling him, although in Race 1 the wild card Enej Krsevan, arriving from the Moto2 European Championship, did cause him a few headaches. In Stock 1000, with a dedicated grid, it was the Greek Dimitrios Karakostas who climbed to the top step of the podium, ahead of Barlolomiej Moranski and Leon Jurcak.

Turkish motorcycling makes its mark in Alpe Adria as well with Tashan Oguz, at the end of one of the usual battles that characterize this class. In the sprint finish, Antonis Ventouras and Jan Winker had to settle for the less prestigious podium spots. In the Supersport contest, which in Alpe Adria awards three different categories, overall victory went to Mario Fourthiotis, with Riccardo Michielin and Gasper Hudovernik rounding out the top positions.

This weekend Cremona is also hosting the fourth round of the Sidecar World Championship, a specialty that doesn’t have much of a following in Italy but continues to enjoy great success in several European countries. The sprint race (12 laps) went to the Anglo-French crew of Harry Paine and Kevin Rousseau, on an ARS Yamaha. Today they do it again: a schedule packed with thrills for a day for true enthusiasts.

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