2018 SUPERMOTO EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP IS ABOUT TO START IN OTTOBIANO
Ottobiano (Italy), 23 March 2018 – After a long winter break, the 2018 Supermoto European Championship is about to start this weekend at Ottobiano, Italy. The famous Ottobiano Motorsports Park in the region of Pavia will host the first race of the Supermoto European Championship, an venue which already hosted the opening event last year, but also many other events in the past. Ottobiano Motorsports is one the best utilized circuits in Europe. New In 2018 is the fact that there will only be an European Championship with the best riders from all around Europe. Also new is the change of the name into S1 and the introduction of the S1 Lites category for young riders. With 41 riders at the start grid from 13 different countries, the start of the season is already a great success.
At the first round In Ottobiano the defending European champion TM Factory Team rider Thomas Chareyre will be present again on the starting grid, together with his teammates at TM Factory, Italian rider Diego Monticelli and Spanish rider Joan Llados. The French multiple Supermoto champion will try to take the title again this season, but the competition will be harder than ever.
This season SWM will compete with an official factory team next to TM. With the fast Italian Supermoto Champion Edgardo Borella and the comeback of the former Finnish World champion Mauno Hermunen, SWM will try to go for the title in 2018. Next to the two Italian factory teams many new and existing teams will compete in this season. Team TM Degasoline Motorsport will have two riders on the startgrid this season. With Czech rider Pavel Kejmar, Degasoline will have a chance on the title again and the Estonian rider Patrick Pals.
Spanish team Suzuki Grau Racing will be back in 2018 as well with three riders on the grid. David Gimenez, Ezequiel Iturrioz and Jaume Gaja will defend the yellow Suzuki colours in Ottobiano.
Italian based Gazza Honda Racing will have two riders at the start in Italy. Italian rider Luca Ciaglia, has extended his contract with Gazza Racing again and will ride the new 2018 Honda. Ciaglia is joined by Finnish rider Aaro Harvia who will ride his second year at Gazza.
Oldest team in the paddock, MTR KTM Racing from Franco Mollo, is present again with a strong team of three riders. New in the team and in the European championship is the young French rider Laurent Fath who will be one of the outsiders for the title in 2018. Together with Finnish rider Eero Madisson and the Belgium rider Romain Kaivers the three will defend the orange colours of KTM.
New team on the paddock in the Supermoto European Championship is Phoenix Racing. The number two of last year’s World championship German rider Markus Class is one of the strong riders of the team and for sure a contender for the title as well. Other riders in the team are Italian rider Elia Sammartin, Swiss rider Luc Hunziker and the fast young French rider Nicolas Cousin.
After its debut in the championship last year, J-Team Racing from Gabriela Gianola will compete on Honda again. Gianola is not the only private team in the paddock. Also Swiss WERK64 rider Raoul Tschupp, Italian SBD Union Bike rider Giovanni Bussei, Czech Tuning Motorsport rider Milan Sitniansky and Austrian Husqvarna rider Andreas Buschberger will be riding the complete season this year.
Not only riders from Europe are present in the championship this year. Brazilian team Piquet Sport will be on the grid as well with Brazilian rider Pedro Rehn who already did some rounds in 2017.
In total 41 riders from 13 countries will start this weekend at the first race of the Supermoto European Supermoto Championship which shows the sport is getting back to an higher level. In a field of factory teams, private teams and riders the action will be intense and full of tension at the first race of the new season.
In the pictures: Ottobiano track
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