Scassa comes close at Vallelunga

From Cagiva USA

Only three tenths of a second separated Luca Scassa from his first victory in the Italian Superbike Championship last weekend.

At Vallelunga, near Rome, during the third round of the championship the official rider of Team UnionBike Gimotorsports MV Agusta got off to an excellent start and was in the lead at the end of the first lap. After gaining a sufficient gap on championship leader Claudio Corti, Scassa conceded the lead of the race to Luca Conforti's Honda with the intention of playing his cards towards the end of the race.

Unfortunately backmarkers slowed the leaders enough to allow Brignola to catch and pass them. On the last lap Scassa attempted to pass his rival but to no avail.

"I gave it everything I had," exclaimed Scassa. "The backmarkers were not warned of our arrival with blue flags. We can't blame them completely, but I believe the result has been affected by them. On my part I'm satisfied with the way I rode and the way the team worked. The bike handled perfectly in the bends and helped me gain the ground I'd lose down the straights."

The next round of the Italian Championship will be held at Misano on July 27.

Results
1. Brignola (Honda); 2. Scassa (MV Agusta) +0.375; 3. Conforti (Honda) +1.703

Championship Standings
1. Corti, 63; 2. Conforti, 47; 3. Scassa, 40; 4. Mauri, 37