Image Alt

Smw Racing

An unlucky weekend for SMW Racing at Assen  

WSSP300 | Round 2 – Assen  | Sunday 24 April 2022

Inglesias 1 second from the podium in Race 2, Conte makes progress during his debut appearance. The Italian-Polish squad leaves The Netherlands disappointed  

It proved to be an unlucky weekend for the SMW Racing team, competing in the second double WorldSSP 300 round at the TT Circuit Assen in The Netherlands. Inigo Iglesias was once again fast, scoring a front row start thanks to his Superpole performance, but then ran two unlucky races that have compromised the Spaniard’s title fight. The situation was quite different for Davide Conte, competing in the category for the first time, as a substitute for injured rider Alex Millan. In his first international appearance, the Italian was called upon to learn the tricky Dutch circuit and ride the SMW Racing Kawasaki for the first time.

 

In Superpole, Iglesias proved fast and scored his second front row start of the season, his fourth in all. The Spaniard secured third place on the grid, with a best of 1’49.381. Conte meanwhile finished thirtieth with a time of 1’53.875, the Italian working to get to grips with the track and new bike.

 

In Race 1, Iglesias got away well from the front row and was immediately up with the frontrunners. Unfortunately, just two laps into the race, the Spaniard lost the front, which brought this race to a premature end just as he was working out his strategy to move into the lead. The race was something of a learning experience for Conte, who crossed the line twenty-third in a field of more than thirty.

 

In Race 2, Iglesias was keen to make up for Saturday’s DNF. A couple of laps into the race, the Spaniard moved into the lead and immediately looked fast. A very competitive field meant that more than fifteen riders were in the mix for the podium, which meant that there was no room for strategy, the race becoming more about slipstreams. The Spaniard thus dropped from first to sixth, finding himself caught up in a hard-fought battle. He eventually crossed the line sixteenth, receiving a two-position penalty at the end of the race. Fourth in the standings following the Aragon season-opener, Iglesias now lies eleventh overall, 49 points from the leader. Despite this weekend to forget, Iglesias remains one of the category’s main riders. Davide Conte continued to make progress throughout the weekend, learning and collecting important data and sensations with every exit he made. He improved on the lap time set in FP1 by over five seconds, making continuous improvement. He rounded out this second race in twenty-fourth place out of more thirty contenders.

 

The Estoril round will take place over the weekend of 21-22 May.

 

Inigo Iglesias, #58

«Superpole went well, we found the right setting and again started from the front row. I’m very happy with how I felt with the bike; we’re working really well as a team. In race 1, we started well, but after two laps I crashed while pushing to catch the leader. Race 2 was really strange. I immediately moved into the lead but then slipped back to the middle of the chasing group to avoid crashing. My strategy changed as a result as I had to play catch up. I spent the entire race risking a crash due to the aggressive attitude of my rivals and I just tried to ‘save’ a race that became dangerous. I’m really sorry about the penalty at the end of the race, we didn’t need that this weekend. We’ll make up for it at Estoril!».

 

Davide Conte, #10

«A fantastic weekend. It’s been great because I started FP1 really nervous and have now finished the weekend with a smile on my face. I’m very happy with my first world championship round at a track I’d never seen before. It’s been tough but I’m pleased that I was able to lower my lap time by five seconds. The guys have been really great, I’ve improved a lot session after session, and it’s been fantastic! The best experience of my life I think».

 

Otello Celia, Chief Marketing

«A very strange race weekend. We were consistently fast and with constant pace, yet we weren’t able to reap the rewards. Inigo had great feeling with the bike and did very well in Superpole. A pity for his race 1 crash on the second lap, but that’s racing, and then today’s penalty has left us very disappointed of course. We are very pleased technically speaking anyway and are sure that our races will be different already at Estoril. Millan will be back with us there and we’re keen to welcome him back following the injury he sustained at Aragon. Conte has had a very positive debut on the world stage, improving in every session».

 

ABOUT US

SMW Racing was born from the passion for racing of its owners, already entrepreneurs in other sectors, and today it is one of the best structures in the world on the World Superbike stage.

INFORMATIONS

ul. Flory 9/2, 00-586 Warszawa (PL)
management@smwracing.pl marketing@smwracing.pl

Wordpress Social Share Plugin powered by Ultimatelysocial