The smile returns to the face of the Senigallian centaur Simone Saltarelli, who conquers the third step of the podium on the occasion of the 8 hours of Spa Francochamps in Belgium in the world championship endurance riding the Kawasaki 1000, superstock category, of the French Team 33 Louit April Moto together with his teammates of the team – the Frenchman Giullaume Antiga and the Spaniard David Sanchis – Saltarelli led the team into the leading group, taking position after position, until the team achieved the third podium. The race took place starting at 1 pm with arrival at 9 pm, for around 200 laps of the approximately 7 km long route, with average speeds close to 180 km/h.
«Great satisfaction to be here on the podium – says the rider from Senigallia – and we could have done even better, but a technical problem at the start of the race made us go back to the pits and waste a minute and a half to solve it. We managed to recover and conquer this very precious position.” Great euphoria in the team that we remember is currently world champion of the category, after the bad 0 points obtained at Le Mans due to the retirement due to a broken bike.
«We tried to get the world championship ranking back into play, with 0 points it’s not easy but we’re doing our best. The race was tough and exciting. It’s been a while since I raced an 8-hour racer, and unlike a 24-hour racer you push yourself much harder. Strong concentration is required and no mistakes are allowed. Our bike, although performing, is not among the newest of the participating lot, but the team and us riders are giving 110 percent.”
As soon as he returned home Simone changed his suit and is already preparing for the Italian championship. Next weekend he will be at Mugello here too to try to stay in the top group of the championship. «I’m happy with the result, I think I deserved it and it certainly helps the mood. With this placing I recovered the Spa podium that vanished last year and a very strong incentive to continue strong in the CIV. I’ll be at Mugello on Sunday, my mind is already there more determined than ever.” Meanwhile, the TCF Racing Team with which Saltarelli races the CIV is preparing the bike, leaving out no detail to allow the centaur from Senigallia to complete the race with an excellent placing, while for the world endurance championship it will be discussed again on 14 September in a another of the legendary circuits: the Paul Ricard with the 24 hours of the Bol D’Or.
