Troy Alberto was back in action in the latest round of the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship at a sun baked Imola circuit this past weekend, narrowly missing a double point scoring finish at the iconic Italian venue.
Racing at Imola for the first time, Friday was spent learning the circuit ahead of Saturday’s sole qualifying session and opening race.
Optimising Superpole, Troy qualified in his best position since the season opener at Assen back in April, lining up thirteenth for the first thirteen lap race of the weekend. Fighting hard throughout, he was unlucky to miss a top fifteen finish, crossing the line sixteenth, a mere four seconds from a spot on the podium!
Sunday’s second race, held in even hotter temperatures, was a similar affair with Troy racing hard but ultimately being classified sixteenth.
The next round of the series takes place in the Czech Republic at Autodrom Most at the end of July.
Troy Alberto:
“I qualified in thirteenth which was the best qualifying of the season for me since Assen. The start of the first race on Saturday was not so good but I managed to stay in sixteenth position. From there it was a real battle in really hot conditions, so I was just trying to stay calm in the group trying and my plan was to fight my way to the front. I started to struggle a bit with the feeling of the front tyre towards the end of the race and dropped back from eleventh or twelfth to sixteenth place. It was a bit frustrating to miss a point but overall, it wasn’t too bad. I was really looking forward to racing two after the pace we had shown a day earlier, and I was confident of fighting for the top ten. I started from P15 and had a decent start but there was a little battle on the first lap, and I lost touch with the top thirteen. I was trying to make it up to the front group, but we didn’t really have the best of luck with passing other riders in the group and I ended up sixteenth again. It’s a shame because we knew this weekend there was a chance to get some points, but I am looking forward to Most as last year we got a top-ten there.”
