The town of Imola, nestled in the Northern region of Emilia-Romagna played host to round five of the WSBK championship. A beautiful part of the country made synonymous with motor sport by housing a grade 1 race circuit, with motorcycle events taking place since 1953.

The iconic Autodrome Enzo Dino Ferrari was named after the father and son, who lived, worked and raced in the region. An area that team Aruba.it hail from, which is why our boys in red regard it as their “home race”.

Managing director Sean Walker met up with some of the FAI customers from the area, who were lucky enough to brush shoulders with team Aruba. 

All three riders showed their ability and knowledge of this familiar track by producing decent results in free practice sessions.

The first race of the weekend resulted in a Marco and Chaz taking 3^rd and 4^th respectively, with Melandri fighting hard from early on he secured his forth podium of 2018. Meanwhile Chaz had a couple of wobbles towards the start of the race which he shrugged off and got back to climbing the board, just missing out on a podium place.

Michael Rinaldi, the budding WSBK rookie showed his skills throughout the weekend of racing, finishing 7^th in both races. He did however have a taste of leading the peloton for the first two laps of Sundays race. We couldn’t see past the helmet but we’re assuming he had a big grin on his face the whole time. 

Chaz rode a fantastic second race, holding back all but one contender, resulting in a number two spot and with 162 points he’s also 2^nd on the leader board. 

Our hearts sank as it became apparent that Marco had been involved in a minor collision which, although unhurt, he was forced to call it a day. He is however still 4^th in the championship having racked up 131 points. 

Next stop, Donington in the UK. The 6^th round will take place in less than two weeks’ time, 25-27^th May.