Few can be happier looking back on the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round than Bruno Ieraci (CM Triumph Factory Racing). The Italian netted his maiden FIM Sportbike World Championship win in the nascent category’s first trip to the Misano World Circuit "Marco Simoncelli" in dramatic fashion at home. While the Italian’s second race ended in the gravel early on, his Race 1 win meant even more to him as just two weeks prior, he was ruled out of competition at Aragon after Race 1 with a dislocated shoulder. Still not 100%, no one could stop Ieraci from hitting the mark at home, and in the process, after Race 1, he raised the tally of riders to eight different winners from nine races, taking his British manufacturer’s first win in the category.
“AT ARAGON TWO WEEKS AGO, MY LEFT SHOULDER WAS DISLOCATED… I’M HAPPY TO HAVE COME BACK TO WIN AT HOME”
Ieraci set off from P5 in Race 1 after clocking in a time half a second behind David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI), who took his third pole position of the season. While his Aprilia-powered countryman Matteo Vannucci (Revo-M2) fell farther back from his P2 grid start position early on, Ieraci sailed forward to take P2 for himself by the first lap’s famous “La Quercia” Turn 8 behind the #38. The #18’s moment came as the pack rounded the “Curvone” Turn 11 on Lap 1, completing a gutsy, high-speed move through the bend, sending him into the lead. Despite the pack of rider close behind – less than two tenths behind him every lap until Lap 8 – Ieraci maintained laser focus to keep himself in P1. On the penultimate Lap 11, the Championship leader Salvador pulled off a move of his own on Turn 11, but Ieraci was up to his old tricks as he made a similar move to the opening lap on Turn 8, sending him to the race lead that he would protect until crossing the finish line for his first-ever WorldSPB win.
On his debut win in his home round, Ieraci said: “The race was amazing. I’m really happy. In Aragon two weeks ago, my left shoulder was dislocated, I didn’t ride in the round, and lost points in the Championship as a result. Now, I’m happy to have come back from this injury and won at home at Misano only two weeks later. I’m really happy; it has me feeling emotional. The team worked really well, and I’m really thankful to them.”
“WHEN I ARRIVED ON FRIDAY, I HADN’T TOUCHED MY BIKE PRIOR TO THE WEEKEND, I HADN’T LIFTED WEIGHTS BECAUSE OF THE PAIN”
Ieraci’s crash at Aragon came on the opening lap of Race 1 of the round. He lost the front on Turn 5, sending him to the medical centre, where he was later ruled unfit to continue. The result was very unfortunate for the Italian’s fledgling title dreams. After securing both his and Triumph’s first podium in the prior round at Most, Ieraci fell from 38 points out of P1 to 63 points out by the conclusion of the Aragon Round. Crashes again played an unfortunate role in his Race 2 at Misano as he crashed out from the top ten, once again on the opening lap. Considering his shoulder injury, however, the main takeaway of the round was his success in Race 1 despite his physical condition. Now a WorldSPB race winner, he will be looking for more in the final three rounds to come.
On how he’s feeling in regard to his shoulder injury, Ieraci said: “I don’t consider myself 100%, when I got here on Friday, I hadn’t touched my bike prior to the weekend. I hadn’t lifted weights or played any other sports because of the pain. Now the pain has mostly subsided, but I don’t feel like the same Bruno when I go into left-handed corners. For those, I’m not 100%, but if I managed to win, the shoulder is good enough at least!”
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