Lorenzo Dalla Porta: 2nd in Mugello

Italian rider Lorenzo Dalla Porta clinches second step of the podium after commanding his home race. On the other side of the box, teammate Ramirez has had to withdraw after having some problems with the bike.

We didn’t know which was going to be the end of the Italian film and it's fair to say Leopard Racing's had a happy ending (on one side). The Spaniard and the Italian have had very good feelings throughout the weekend despite Dalla Porta suffered a crash on Friday. Both did a very decent qualifying session, have had strong pace and were ready to fight. When it came to crunch, Dalla Porta, who started from third position, didn’t hesitate and firmly started to push from the beginning in order to fight for the victory. Teammate Ramirez didn’t do a bad start, but saw himself relegated to the back of the second group. However, even if he tried, Ramirez started to lose many positions. At the end, the rider had to enter to the pits and couldn’t finish the race due to a mechanical problem.

Things were much better on Dalla Porta’s side. The man racing at home had a very nice pace from Friday morning and made it clear when it was racing time: he wanted to win. He’s been aggressive without risking too much, has been leading most of the race and hasn’t allowed anyone to overtake him: if rivals did it, he overtook them back. Setting very fast lap times and high speed from the beginning, Dalla Porta tried to go away and found his pace very quickly. But 'unfortunately', let’s say, he did a little mistake in the last lap and Arbolino overtook him in the straight at the very last moment, by just 0.029 seconds. Clearly he’s made a step forward from the beginning of the season, and as we always say, everything is possible in this Championship. He keeps the second position of the standings with 80 points, just 3 points far from leader Aron Canet. Marcos Ramirez is now the 16th (24 points) as he hasn't been able to gather points today.

Three podiums in six races, not bad statistics to get to the Circuit of Barcelona-Catalunya in two weeks time. See you all there the 16th of June!

Lorenzo Dalla Porta #48, 2nd

“I’ve had a lot of fun today. I felt good from the start as I had a good pace and I could ride the way I wanted. I was fast and strong, and I could overtake many riders when it was necessary. Unfortunately, I’ve made some little mistakes at the end and I think this has jeopardized the last lap, because literally I’ve been able to do everything I needed throughout the whole race. The bike worked perfectly and probably the time we had to lose on Friday repairing it after the crash has been the trickiest thing in terms of working time. Anyway, I’m very happy because I’ve felt good and I have to say thanks to the team, to the sponsors, to my family and of course to everybody who have come to Mugello to support me”.

Marcos Ramirez #42, N/C

“I started with a lot of motivation and I wanted to do a good race. But then, as the laps went by I started to lose some positions, the bike didn’t react as previously. We’ve had a mechanical problem and I had to withdraw. I feel quite frustrated because this is the 3rd N/C in a row and of course I can’t be pleased with that, so I’m disappointed. We will try to do it better in Montmelo, the only thing we need to do is to keep working as we’ve done so far. Let’s hope for a little bit of luck in the next race”

Fonte: leopardracing.com