Minimoto, the championship started from Cervia: great show

Big show in Cervia

The first seasonal races of the Italian Minimoto 2023 Championship were staged at the enchanting Happy Valley circuit in Cervia. The grandstands were filled with spectators, who witnessed exciting challenges between the young riders in the different categories. Over the course of the race weekend, riders had the opportunity to experience the Romagna track through free practice and qualifying, which were useful for getting familiar with the difficulties of the course and honing their performance. The competition took place in an atmosphere of great enthusiasm, with the young minimoto talents showing all their skill and passion for this sport.

Pole positions in the different categories were taken by very talented and determined riders awarded on Saturday by two-time World Champion Manuel Poggiali. Ethan Botti took pole in the Polini Junior A category, Francesco Marzo in Junior B, Bartolomeo Roberto in Junior C, Luca Bandini in Open A and Salvatore Poerio in Open B. All of them showed that they have the skills and grit to take on future championship challenges.

Polini Junior A

In the Polini Junior A double for Ethan Botti, who won both races after taking pole position. In the first race, Botti held the lead and increasingly stretched his advantage over the other drivers. Behind him, there was a heated fight for the podium, with seven drivers separated by a few seconds from each other. At the head of the race, Botti continued to increase his lead, which eventually was more than six seconds over second-placed Giuseppe Catenaro, with Luca di Terlizzi in third place.

In race two Ethan Botti maintained the lead followed by Luca Di Terlizzi, Samuel Radaelli, Jason Brignoli, Federico Luciani, Marco Rizzi and Gabriel Spaccini. By lap two the group has stretched out as in race one, and Ethan takes an eight-tenths lead. Unfortunately, Giuseppe Catenaro slipped in the early stages and was out of the fight for the podium. On the final stretch of the race Di Terlizzi manages to close the gap but Botti still gets the better of him winning by only 0.073 seconds. Di Terlizzi is second and Brignoli is third.

“Pole and one-two in the race,” remarked Botti, “I am very happy with the results I was able to achieve thanks to the valuable contribution of my 664 team and my family.

Junior B

Poleman Francesco Marzo started strong in race one but Sebastiano Dossena and Filippo Amico gave him a hard time giving life to a beautiful battle taking some advantage over the pursuers. At the beginning of the sixth lap, Amico slips at the first corner, gets back on the saddle and resumes the race, although very backward to aspire to the podium. The fight continued to the end, with Marzo taking home the victory by 159 thousandths over Dossena second at the finish. In third place was Lorenzo Poma.

Poleman Francesco Marzo was immediately tailed by Sebastiano Dossena and Filippo Amico, in race two as in race one. Italian Polini Junior A champion Alessandro Souchet has a little trouble in the new category and cannot stay with the leading group. Ahead is a quartet of riders consisting of Marzo, Dossena, Valentino Pozzi and Amico. Dossena slips after leading, leaving Marzo, Pozzi, and Amico fighting for podium positions with a few laps to go. At the checkered flag the victory went to Francesco Marzo who thus wins a double on the opening weekend, Valentino Pozzi second with an incredible recovery, Filippo Amico third.

“I am very happy to have won both races after getting the pole position on Saturday. I dedicate the wins to all the people who follow me. I thank all my sponsors, my family and my coach,” March’s words.

Junior C

Twist in race one with the early start of poleman Bartolomeo Roberto, who crossed the finish line first at the end of a good race won with a gap but the addition of the ten-second penalty relegated him to third place. Thanks to the penalty Christian Marinello wins with an overtaking move on Mattia Frau on the last lap.

Trouble in the early stages of race two. Ahead of Mattia Frau, Noah Gatta in his first race in the CIV Minimoto, Alessandro Lora and Gianluigi Muscillo. Roberto Bartolomeo and Christian Marinello slip fortunately while leading the race, the former with no chance to restart while the latter re-enters the race albeit backwards. Frau and Lora battled to the end, with the latter looking for every possible opening to try to overtake. However, the leader closed every door and at the checkered flag it was Mattia Frau who won the race, with Lora in second place suffering a two-second penalty for cutting the course. The third place finisher was Muscillo, further back than the first two.

“It was difficult but very nice to excel here in Cervia. I dedicate this victory to my father, the 664 team, my family and all the people who help and support me,” Frau said.

Open A

Two Italian Champions competed in the Open A, Mattia Lanzi defending champion and Thomas Tamagnini Italian Open B 2022 Champion who was within the weight limit to compete in the Open A.

A red flag interrupts race one on the first lap as a result of Matteo Negrini leaving the track and quickly recovering and heading to the medical center for a checkup. The race resumes with a quick restart for a total of ten laps. Poleman Luca Bandini gets off to a strong start, but the group stretches out considerably, with a close battle between the three pursuers-Luca Da Dalt, Thomas Tamagnini and Mattia Lanzi-fighting for second position. On lap four, Bandini goes long and loses the lead, leaving the first position to Luca Da Dalt, followed by Tamagnini in second place and Lanzi in third. The win goes to Luca Da Dalt, with Thomas Tamagnini in second and Mattia Lanzi in third, packed within just over 25 hundredths. Bandini made a great recovery, moving up from last position to 11th place.

The second race saw a great battle between Luca Bandini, Mattia Lanzi and Thomas Tamagnini, who repeatedly exchanged positions, followed by Luca Da Dalt. However, Bandini lost ground and Da Dalt had a chance to get closer. Fighting between Lanzi and Tamagnini for the win and more back-and-forth between Da Dalt and Bandini for third place. On the penultimate lap, Lanzi slips but manages to get back on the saddle albeit losing some positions. In the end, Tamagnini triumphed in Open A, winning his first race in the category, followed by Luca Da Dalt in second place and Luca Bandini in third. Lanzi finished fifth at the line but sixth on the score sheet after taking a two-second penalty for course cutting.

“I went back to Open A, it is much more challenging as a category but it went well. I thank my father and Quattrini,” clarified Tamagnini.

Open B

Salvatore Poerio got off to a good start from the first box of race one followed by Matias Palka who tried to get closer while maintaining a gap of between half a second and a tenth of a second. Solo race for Nicolas Casari in third place. Palka manages to win at the photo finish with only two thousandths of a second ahead of Poerio. Later Poerio is penalized two seconds for cutting the course, keeping second place. Casari, on the other hand, is penalized ten seconds for an early start and, after crossing the finish line in third place, ends up in fifth. As a result, Leonardo Canali gains third position.

In race two, the podium positions are always occupied by Poerio, Palka and Casari. During the penultimate lap, Palka slips, but manages to get back up quickly and maintain second place. The victory goes to Salvatore Poerio, with Mathias Palka in second place and Casari in third.

“With yesterday’s pole position we were already very happy. In race one I made some small mistakes while in race two I managed to stay in front from the first corner. I dedicate the win to my parents who make so many sacrifices to let me race, Team Space, GHR and DM,” Poerio’s comment.

The next round of the Italian Minimoto Championship is scheduled in Codogno on June 3 and 4.