Difficult weekend for the EAB Racing Team in Imola

The EAB Racing Team and Glenn van Straalen raced on the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit over the weekend from 14 to 16 July. It was the seventh race weekend for the World Supersport Championship. Luck was not on the side of the young Dutchman. He crosses the finish line in thirteenth place in the first race and crashed out in the second race.

The entire weekend was held under tropical conditions with temperatures between 30 and 40 degrees. It was therefore a tough weekend for the rider and machine. The last time Glenn rode on this Italian circuit was back in 2019 together with the EAB Racing Team. It was therefore important to get to know the circuit on Friday during the first free practice. Glenn clocked many laps on his Yamaha YZF-R6. This was different during the second free practice. Glenn crashed early in the session and missed out on usefull riding time. We saw him back in sixteenth place after Friday.

The Superpole session was complicated for the EAB Racing Team rider. He had to start from the nineteenth place on the starting grid. In the heat of the day, the lights turned green for the first race. Glenn was able to position himself well but was squeezed in the first corner. The Yamaha rider had to go through the gravel trap and joined the field at the back. He then made a nice advance to the front and crossed the finish line in thirteenth.

During the second race Glenn started strong and quickly worked his way up to the front. The Dutchman then rode in a nice group of riders, until he crashed in the early stages of the race due a crash. Fortunately, Glenn was unhurt but unfortunately a zero score in the second race in Imola.

Glenn: “During the free practice sessions on Friday we couldn’t find the right feeling with the bike. The crash in the second training session did not help either. Superpole was already going better but due to unfortunate yellow flag situations we were on a bad place on the grid. The first race was long and tough due to a first corner collision which also affected my clipon. I managed to make my way forward and eventually finished in thirteenth place. In the second race I had a good opening lap and we were well underway. I followed the group but a strange crash meant the end of the race. Not the weekend we had hoped for, we are going to get ready for the race weekend in Most. Thanks to the EAB Racing Team for the hard work.”

The next race weekend will take place in two weeks. Then the Supersport World Championship will take place on the Autodrom Most circuit in the Czech Republic in the weekend from 28 till 30 July