CIV Superbike: Delbianco flies in the night at Misano, Rinaldi beaten

Delbianco clinches his first victory in the CIV Superbike night race at Misano: Rinaldi tries, but it’s not enough.

As expected, a warm big-event crowd lit up the CIV Superbike Saturday night at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, witnessing a Racing Night tinted by the yellow of Alessandro Delbianco’s Yamaha R1 (DMR Racing), dressed for the occasion in a vintage livery inspired by Kenny Roberts’ glorious Yamaha YZR500. With his first personal win in the adrenaline-filled night race on the Santa Monica track, the reigning Champion consolidated his championship lead, working hard to fend off the counterattack of a resurgent Michael Ruben Rinaldi, a brilliant second ahead of the other Ducati V4 from B-Max Racing Team ridden by standout wild card Lukas Tulovic.

Among the riders fresh from the Suzuka 8 Hours, Alessandro Delbianco reaffirmed his extraordinary form, following up on this morning’s pole position. After running second through the Variante del Parco, "DB52" promptly got the better of a superb Lukas Tulovic, but had to sweat bullets to withstand a comeback attempt from Michael Ruben Rinaldi. The charge from the former WorldSBK rider, lapping in the low 1’36s with a fastest lap of 1'36"095, served as a wake-up call for Delbianco, who first shut every door and then built a reassuring gap in the closing stages.

The fourth win of the season, the nineteenth of his CIV Superbike career, allows Alessandro Delbianco to extend his championship lead to +42 points over Samuele Cavalieri (Broncos Racing Team Ducati), who finished fourth, leaving the remaining podium steps to the two B-Max Racing Team standard-bearers. The only one to truly trouble Delbianco, Michael Ruben Rinaldi showed grit and determination to take his first podium in these colors, overcoming a problematic start to the season. Double celebration for Massimo Buna’s squad, with Lukas Tulovic particularly sharp on his debut with the Ducati V4 in CIV SBK trim. Ducati’s hegemony was broken by Luca Ottaviani (Extreme Racing Service), fifth, securing the Honda derby over Gabriele Giannini (Scuderia Improve).

In a Race 1 that saw Luca Vitali (Vitali Racing Team) finish seventh ahead of the BMWs of Christian Gamarino and Mattia Volpi, a much-anticipated protagonist like Luca Bernardi was sensationally forced to retire on the sighting lap due to a problem with his family-run Aprilia RSV4 1100 RR. Also out was Randy Krummenacher, who suffered a harmless tumble at the Carro, while Alessio Finello took fourteenth as Michele Pirro’s stand-in. Tomorrow, Race 2 is scheduled for 14:20.