The final act of the 2021 Italian Speed Championship took place on the Roman circuit of Vallelunga.
On the track in the SuperSport 600, the two-time reigning European Champion Kevin Manfredi defended the colors of Team Altogo, despite his absence on this track since 2019.
Kevin ran a great weekend recovering in an incredible way in both races, after a less than perfect qualifying that forced him to start only from 14th position on the grid.
On Saturday in Race 1, after a good sprint at the traffic lights and the choice of the “soft” tire, the Spezzino imposed an incredible pace in the first part of the race, scoring the best lap of the race several times even with overtaking in progress. Arrived in 5th position just 0.7 tenths from the podium, Kevin was slowed down in the battle with another driver, who did not allow the recovery on the group of fugitives, finishing the race in 7th position.
At the end of the race, together with the AltoGo Team and the Andreani Group technicians, it was decided to change the set-up in view of the warmup on Sunday morning, and it is precisely in the warmup that Kevin, with used tires, managed to snatch an excellent 7th time with a new race configuration, confirming it also for Race 2 in the afternoon.
Another excellent start for Kevin in Race 2, which allowed him to pass 12º on the first lap, then slowed down in the opening stages due to the low engine temperature, once the correct temperature was reached, with the hard tire chosen for the cold, the 34 began another fast recovery, arriving 7th at the finish line a few tenths of a second from the 3rd step of the podium.
Kevin: “Too bad we didn't concretize properly in qualifying, we focused too much on fixing the setup and the engine brake for the race and on the flying lap I couldn't do better than that… starting from behind didn't help us, too bad because 4th and 5th fastest lap of Race 1 and Race 2 demonstrate the potential we had at our disposal.
I had a lot of fun getting back into the group but obviously I would have liked more to get on the podium.
However, we have further improved our feeling with the Italian Championship bike, a Championship that despite all the drawbacks of the season we finish in 8th place in the standings.
The foundations and experience of this CIV season will certainly be useful and important for my growth and my future. "
Kevin Manfredi's competitive season thus ends, renewing for the second consecutive year the title of European SuperSport 600 2021 Champion and with 8th place in the Italian Speed Championship.
After a few days of rest, the pilot will immediately return to work to draw up the new programs for the 2022 season.
Kevin thanks all the sponsors and technical partners of the 2021 season.
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