Positive weekend for BRT in Thailand marked by number eight

 Double eighth place for Barni Racing Team rider Michael Ruben Rinaldi in MOTUL FIM WorldSBK Championship round 2, which was held at Chang International Circuit, Thailand. Race 2 did the same script of race 1 while the Superpole Race saw Rinaldi crossing the finish line eleventh. Thanks to these result he got 16 points in the weekend (8 from Saturday, 8 from Sunday) and was now eighth in the overall standings, with 25 points in all. 

Superpole Race 

Under the 35 °C (55 °C on the ground) of Thailand another comeback for the flagbearer of the Barni Racing Team arrived in the second Superpole Race in the history of WorldSBK. Rinaldi got away very well from the sixteenth spot of the grid managing to pass four riders and overtaking Reiterberberger in the lap 2. The Ducati Panigale V4 R of the Rimini rider then put himself in the wake of Sykes trying to reach the Top 10 and bringing the points zone nearer.

Exactly halfway through the race the fastest lap arrived in 1'34.252, but this was not enough to try to overtake the BMW rider. After seven laps the Superpole Race was interrupted due to a red flag which prematurely brought the race to the end with Rinaldi in eleventh position. Being out of the Top 9, the flagbearer of the team from Bergamo did not score points in the championship standings.

Race 2

After being eighth in the Saturday’s race 1 the flagbearer of the team from Bergamo crossed the finish line in the same position in race 2 playing the same racing plot.

Starting from fifteenth spot due to the absence of Camier he fought with Torres and Reiterberger in the early moments of the race but soon passed them.    

As the encounter progressed Rinaldi move up some position thanks to the retirement of Sykes and Davies. Overtaking Razgatlioglu at lap 5 the Barni Racing Racing Team rider put his Ducati Panigale V4 R in eighth place and with some clear space on track he showed his strong pace, even faster than yesterday between 1’33.831 (his fastest race lap) and low 1’34. Rinaldi gave it his all for the majority of the 20-lap race but when he realised he could not catch Cortese he secured his eight position with a slightly higher pace in the second half of the race. 

At the end it was a positive weekend for Barni Racing Team as team principal Marco Barnabò said expressing his satisfaction in his statement.

Marco Barnabò - Team principal

«Results are confirming that our working method is right, but it is almost clear that we need to do something more in qualifying session. We cannot start from back if we want to fight for top 6. Today Michael had a pace even better than yesterday, but he couldn't play for a position in the midst of the Yamahas. From Aragon our main goal will be to be fast even on Friday».

Michael Ruben Rinaldi

«I am very happy to come back home with two eighth places. Unfortunately when I arrive on a new circuit I am disadvantaged by the format: having only two sessions on Friday to set the bike, It costs me a bad qualify. Starting from back it is hard to recover. Today we had the same pace as the fifth / sixth rider, but the gap opened in the first few laps prevented me from fighting with them. From next race we will be in Europe for long time and I will have this handicap no more. Working with the team as we have done so far I believe that even better results can be achieved».