Nicholas Spinelli couldn’t have asked for a better debut in the World Superbike Championship. This Saturday, the Barni Spark Racing Team rider – who replaced the injured Danilo Petrucci – won the first race in Assen.
Adapting to a new bike and championship, the Italian didn’t have a strong performance in practice and Superpole. In Saturday’s race, he made the right tire choice with two intermediate tires.
The rain started to fall at the start and Spinelli pulled away, eventually having a lead of about 25 seconds. The track began to dry when the rain stopped, and just as the leader was about to be overtaken by the pack, the race was red-flagged due to oil on the track and not resumed.
In a quick interview with the official broadcast, Spinelli commented: ‘It’s incredible. I am very, very happy, because I tried the Superbike for the first time yesterday. And when I tried it, I said: “Wow, this bike is amazing!”‘.
Despite acknowledging the element of luck, the Italian emphasized his happiness with the result: ‘Today I did my first race, I won. Maybe I was lucky, but I won. I am very, very happy, for the team, for everyone’.
