A tough home race: Stefano Manzi (15th) was the best Yamaha rider on Friday

For Stefano Manzi, the 2026 Superbike World Championship is a learning year. As a rookie, the 27-year-old from Rimini doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone. And if even long-serving Yamaha riders Andrea Locatelli and Remy Gardner are struggling to find their form, then it will already be a success for the reigning Supersport World Champion if he doesn’t lose too much time or drop too many places behind his team-mates.

Manzi would naturally hope for a strong race weekend at his home race on the Cremona Circuit, but things got off to a modest start in Friday’s free practice sessions with 15th and 13th places. A respectable result: in the combined timesheets, the Giansanti Racing rider is Yamaha’s top performer in 15th place, 1.167 seconds off the pace.

“It was a productive Friday,” says Manzi. “The track is tricky on a Superbike – it’s easier here on a Supersport bike. We tried out different tyres and will now carefully analyse the data to work out what works best for us for the rest of the weekend. We’ve been working with various options, focusing primarily on the race distance, and I’m confident that, as a team, we can deliver a respectable performance.”

Better Superpole, more successful races?

For Manzi, the biggest challenge in his first Superbike season remains squeezing the maximum performance out of the soft qualifying tyre during Superpole. Tenth at Most was his best grid position so far, and he also achieved his best race finish there – again in 10th place.

“Of course, qualifying will be important. That’s been one of our weak points this year,” mused the Yamaha rider. “But I believe we have the potential here to be fast over a single lap, and that will be crucial for starting the races from a good position. Let’s see what we can achieve on Saturday.”

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26.09.2026 - 09:35