Stepan Zuda (Freudenberg RORA-PALIGO Racing) will start from pole position at the third race weekend of the EURO MOTO Sportbike season in Most. The local hero set the fastest time of 1:40.146 minutes in the first qualifying session on Saturday morning and successfully defended it in the second qualifying session. This secured the Czech rider the best starting position for the first race on Saturday afternoon in front of his home crowd. “It’s definitely not easy to ride here. The high temperatures make it physically very demanding. That makes me all the happier that we’ve set up the bike so well. It’s working really well, and of course I’m thrilled to be on pole position here in Most of all places,” said Zuda after qualifying.
Bruno Ieraci (RT Motorsports) qualified for second place on the grid, just 0.413 seconds behind. Right next to him is Tobias Kitzbichler (ViVa by Peuker & Streeb), who, on his Aprilia RS660, was just three thousandths of a second behind the Italian. Ruben Bijman (Freudenberg RORA-PALIGO Racing) rounds out the front row after finishing just 0.089 seconds behind Kitzbichler. This means the top four riders are separated by just half a second—perfect conditions for a thrilling battle for the win.
Luis Rammerstorfer crashes early in Q1
The second row of the starting grid also features a strong lineup. Mika Siebdrath (Freudenberg RORA-PALIGO Racing) qualified in fifth place as the top German driver and will share the row with his teammate Luis Rammerstorfer and Czech guest driver Troy Sovicka (Panattoni BGR Smrž Racing).
For Rammerstorfer, qualifying was a mixed bag. The Austrian crashed on his third lap of the first qualifying session but emerged unharmed. His Triumph Daytona 660 also sustained only minor damage, so nothing stood in the way of him continuing to race. His previous best time of 1:41.404 minutes was ultimately enough to secure sixth on the grid. In the second qualifying session, with temperatures well above 35 degrees, he was unable to improve on his time and will therefore start the first race from the second row.
Rounding out the top ten are Tom Kuil, Alexander Weizel, and Kiyano Veijer. The trio will start from positions eight through ten and are likely to do everything they can to stay in touch with the leading group. Especially on the narrow, overtaking-friendly course in Most, there will be plenty of opportunities to do so right from the first laps of the race.
Quick-Start Procedure for All Races
Due to the high temperatures in Most, the regular starting procedure will also be suspended this weekend in all EURO MOTO classes. Instead, the so-called “Quick Start” procedure will be used. This will allow riders and teams to spend significantly less time on the starting grid, thereby minimizing the strain caused by the heat as much as possible.
The first EURO MOTO Sportbike race starts on Saturday afternoon at 3:55 p.m. The second race follows on Sunday at 11:50 a.m. Both races will be streamed live at euromoto.racing/live .
EURO MOTO Sportbike, Qualifying Results:
- Stepan ZUDA (#23/CZE), Triumph Daytona 660
- Bruno IERACI (#8/ITA), Triumph Daytona 660
- Tobias KITZBICHLER (#38/AUT), Aprilia RS660
- Ruben BIJMAN (#17/NLD), Triumph Daytona 660
- Mika SIEBDRATH (#98/GER), Triumph Daytona 660
- Luis RAMMERSTORFER (#13/AUT), Triumph Daytona 660
- Troy SOVICKA (#G21/CZE), Yamaha YZF-R7
- Tom KUIL (#55/NLD), Triumph Daytona 660
- Alexander WEIZEL (#22/GER), Aprilia RS660
- Kiyano VEIJER (#53/NLD), Triumph Daytona 660
- Rick KOOISTRA (#20/NLD), Triumph Daytona 660
- Max STAUFFER (#27/AUS), Yamaha YZF-R7
- Micky WINKLER (#86/GER), Aprilia RS660
- Jay-Jay DEN HOED (#44/NLD), Yamaha YZF-R7
- Maksymilian PALMOWSKI (#95/POL), Aprilia RS660
- Ty HENRIKSEN (#46/DNK), Aprilia RS660
- Julian VAN KALKEREN (#34/NLD), Triumph Daytona 660
- Magnus KRISTOFFERSEN (#30/DNK), Aprilia RS660
- Lucas SØRENSEN (#18/DNK), Aprilia RS660