World Supersport Championship, Race Report

After ending up in the pit lane, or more frequently in the kitty litter, race after race James Whitham got it all right to bring home a win for his Yamaha Belgarda team. It was a great day for the Italian based team, Whitham’s team mate Paolo Casoli finished in second place. The pair were involved in a titanic battle with a group of riders including Fabien Foret, Pere Riba, Andrew Pitt, Vitto Guareschi and Karl Muggeridge. Toward the end of the race Casoli and Whitham broke away from the group and fought to the line for the victory. Casoli passed Whitham going into the final turn, the Parabolica but got in too hot, ran wide and let Whitham back through.

“I f***ing worked hard for that,” exclaimed Whitham. “Not so much the physical side of it, although it was hot out there. I was trying to work it all out in my head, there was so much going on! In the last turn Paolo (Casoli) got past me but I reckoned he had gone in too hard. I managed to keep a very tight line – if any b****r was going past me they were going the long way round,” grinned Whitham.

Whitham also acknowledged the help given to him by his team mate, “We’ve worked as a team and Paolo has really helped me. Without the assistance he gave me at Sugo, and the work we’ve done together here this weekend, this win wouldn’t have been possible.”

Like many other teams, the Belgarda team rode much of qualifying in tandem, one behind the other, to try to maximise the slipstream advantage.

Third place on the podium went to Suzuki rider Karl Muggeridge who managed to force his way into third in front of Andrew Pitt, Iain MacPherson and reigning champion Jorg Teuchert.