Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1535066
WIND IN THE P44 tling second and Lucas Mahias (GMT94-Yamaha) fourth. Manzi's two race wins, added to Nicolo Bulega's three in WorldSBK and Roberta Ponziani's single in the WorldWCR class, meant that just one race win at Cremona did not go to an Italian rider. Manzi's race two win was the last of the local successes, as he and Ten Kate are inexorably marching on as others find bad luck or inconsistency. The super-fast Can Oncu, for example, was nearly on pole, but a crasher in race one and a technical retiree in race two. In the championship fight, Manzi is even further ahead than Bulega is in the WorldSBK rank - ings. Consistent leader Manzi has 175 points, 44 more than Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) in second and 51 more than Booth-Amos in third. Bendsneyder was seventh and then fifth in the Cremona races. WorldWCR The Women's WCR champion - ship is proving to be an us-and- them battle once again, with the fast front-runners leaving some others well in their wake. With the first of the non-podium riders in WorldSBK race one finishing 17 seconds and then 23 sec - onds from Bulega the winner, the WorldWCR riders were not alone this weekend at least. Superpole winner Maria Herre- ra (Klint Forward Racing Team) did not, amazing as it may seem, win the first race at Cremona. Her teammate and local heroine, Roberta Ponziani (Klint Forward Racing Team), was the eventual victor, by a sliver, for what was her first career win in this class of racing. She chose the right venue, for sure. Third in race one was Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha). Maybe the amazement should have been put on hold, even in an Ana Carrasco-free WorldSSP season, because all three top qualifiers—Herrera, Ponziani and Astrid Madrigal (Pons Italika Racing FIMLA)—were separated by just 0.176 of a second. Madrigal would finish an im- pressive fourth in race one, albeit 6.7 seconds down on the win. Herrera would win the second race, by just over two-tenths of a second, from Ponziani and a de- termined Neila, who attempted a very hard pass on her Spanish rival Herrera at one stage. Off the podium in race two, Silvia Sanchez (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha) was fourth. In the championship, after four races across two rounds, Her - rera leads with 90 points (just 10 points from perfection), with Neila on 77 and Ponziani on 69. The next round is Donington Park, in mid-July, more than two months hence. Gordon Ritchie WorldSBK Race 1 1. Nicolo Bulega (Duc) 23 Laps 2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW) 2.835 3. Alvaro Bautista (Duc) 11.424 4. Andrea Iannone (Duc) 23.247 5. Xavi Vierge (Hon) Superpole Race 1. Nicolo Bulega (Duc) 10 Laps 2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW) 1.456 3. Alvaro Bautista (Duc) 6.060 4. Alex Lowes (Duc) 7.154 5. Xavi Vierge (Hon) 10.838 Race 2 1. Nicolo Bulega (Duc) 23 Laps 2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW) 1.826 3. Alvaro Bautista (Duc) 8.995 4. Danilo Petrucci (Duc) 17.888 5. Alex Lowes (Duc) 22.131 Maria Herrera ruled the second WorldWCR race, padding her championship points lead.