The latest World Supersport round brought with it a fresh batch of challenges for Florian Marino (Intermoto Ponyexpres Kawasaki). Forgetting a very stressful 48 hours prior to the first practice session, the rider demonstrated the strength of a front runner. Once again something beyond his control ruined Marino's chances of a finishing on the podium.
On the evening prior to his departure for the UK, Florian learned that he may not be able to be at Silverstone as One Event rider. Wednesday and Thursday were very long days for the youngster from Cannes, as he wasn't sure he'd be able to ride until Thursday afternoon. It was a very stressful start to the weekend, clearly a disadvantage at this level of competition. In the end, The Frenchman was able to tackle the British round.
Following a fantastic start of the weekend, Marino finished 3rd during Saturday morning free practice and once again 5th in the afternoon. His qualifying times were achieved on race tyres. The work with his team, the feeling on the bike and his results gave him hope for a podium in the race. Unfortunately Marino's rise up was stifled.
Florian Marino: "At the start I found myself stuck behind a rider that I only managed to pass in the second lap. I then made it up to 3rd, but the first two were way above and had widened the gap. My strategy was to stay in touch so I tried to catch them, but mostly keep my position. During the eighth lap I was hit from behind. Luckily I didn't fall off, but I was forced to go straight before re-joining in 10th position. I quickly realized that my bike was not the same. The loose chain caused problems with certain gear changes. The rear wheel was bent to the right, my entries into left turns were more difficult and the bike pulled me towards the outside. I fought the rest of the race to pick up what I could and was regularly able to lap in the low 2'09s."
"I finished 8th, disappointed not to be able to fight for the podium once again due to an external factor. I nevertheless thank my team Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres for finding a solution allowing me to race despite all the difficulties. The work done by Andrew Pitt and my team stands out for me, I'm happy and I thank them. I'll be participating this week in the Oschersleben 8 Hours. This will be a different challenge while waiting to get my revenge in Supersport at the N�rburgring."
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