Round 09 Pirelli Riviera Di Rimini Round 06 - 08 Jul

GRT Yamaha Ready to Fight Back in Misano

Photos Martina & Mario  yamaha.com

The GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team is ready and excited for their second home race of the season at Round 8 of the 2018 FIM Supersport World Championship in Misano this weekend. Reigning WorldSSP Champion, Lucas Mahias, heads to Misano fourth in the overall standings and determined to return to the podium for the first time since Thailand. Local hero Federico Caricasulo is looking to bounce back from a DNF in Brno and put on a show for the passionate Italian fans, while Alfonso Coppola is another rider looking forward to his home round as he aims to build on his first point-scoring finish at the last round.
The GRT Yamaha team cannot wait to get started at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli for what is the team's second home round after Mugello. Following a tricky last couple of rounds that has seen them miss out on the podium, the team have brought a few technical updates to Misano and are confident they will allow them to be back battling at the front.
Mahias fought hard to secure a fourth-place finish in Brno but having not stood on the podium since finishing second in Thailand, the 30-year-old French rider knows he needs to return to the rostrum to keep his dreams of defending his WorldSSP title alive. Currently third overall with 103 points, the early-season championship leader now finds himself 19 points behind the man at the top of the standings, fellow Yamaha rider Sandro Cortese. Last season Mahias was involved in a superb battle for the victory at Misano in the opening laps before, unfortunately, crashing out and is excited to see what the new updates will allow him to do in 2018.
Home hero Caricasulo hails from Ravenna, less than 80km from the Misano track, and the 22-year-old Italian is looking to bounce back from his DNF in Brno at a circuit he loves riding and at which the passionate Italian fans create an incredible atmosphere. Currently sixth in the championship standings with 79 points, Caricasulo is looking to use Misano as the round to get his title aspirations back on track after recording a podium at the track in 2017.
European Supersport Cup rider Alfonso Coppola heads to his second home round of the season on the back of his first WorldSSP points-scoring finish in Brno. Adapting superbly to the highly competitive WorldSSP class in 2018 after finishing as runner-up in WorldSSP300 last season, the 22-year-old Italian has been making superb progress. He has improved almost every time he goes out on his R6 and this culminated in his excellent ride to 14th at the last round. Currently 24th in the overall standings, Coppola is aiming to build on this result at a track where he finished on the WorldSSP300 podium in 2017 and add to the two championship points he collected in Brno.
The Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli is a fast, flowing, and technical track located next to the picturesque town of Misano Adriatico in the province of Rimini, North East Italy. A firm favourite with riders and fans alike, it held its first event in 1972 and the iconic track is 4.226km in length, consisting of ten right and six left-handed corners, plus has a start-finish straight of 510m. The GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team will hit the track at 10:40 am Friday morning for FP1, while qualifying starts at 2:00 pm on Saturday with Sunday's race at 11:30 am.

n