Here is the thing about rookie seasons in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship: they usually bite hard before they reward you. But for Alberto Surra of Motocorsa Racing, packing up from his home round at Cremona means leaving with a shiny piece of hardware for his suitcase and a pair of results that prove he belongs right at the sharp end. Surra struck for a brilliant P3 in the Tissot Superpole Race, and then backed it up with a P4 in Race 2 that stands as his best-ever finish in a long race.
Saturday actually looked like it was going to be a completely different story. The #67 laid down his best Tissot Superpole result of his rookie campaign, clicking off a 1’27.437s lap on Lap 5 that put him just 0.140s away from Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) in P2, and less than two tenths shy of Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) on pole. When Race 1 rolled around, the Italian defended P3 through the opening seven laps and sat a comfortable second and a half clear of Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) in P4. A home podium was right there for the taking until Turn 7 reached out and bit him on Lap 9, dumping the machine into the gravel and handing him a bitter DNF to close out Saturday.
He deserves it, he's a very fast rider, a great talent and a good person. Go Nicolo!
Sunday morning brought an entirely different mood and a front-row start for the Tissot Superpole Race. Lurking directly behind him in P4 was Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team), eager to make amends after crashing twice in Race 1. Montella gave him zero breathing room, staying within three tenths on Lap 2, four tenths on Lap 3, and back to three tenths on Lap 4. With just two laps remaining on Lap 8, Montella lunged up the inside and outbraked the #67 into Turn 11. But Surra didn't panic; he kept his composure, fired back on the outside of Turn 12, and held P3 all the way to the checkered flag for his first-ever WorldSBK podium.
Starting from P3 once again for Sunday afternoon's Race 2, Surra couldn't hold off a retaliating Montella, who made a Turn 11 move stick on Lap 3 to take P3. Historically, this is where the rookie's weekend might have unraveled; his race pace has a tendency to drop off in the final third, leaking positions when tire wear sets in. Cremona was completely different. Though Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) closed the gap down to half a second by Lap 5, Surra dug in, stretched the margin back out to around 1.7s by Lap 9, and ultimately crossed the finish line 3.2s ahead of the #22 to secure P4.
Reflecting on a massive Sunday, a gracious Surra didn't forget who got him there. "I'm really happy for my first podium in WorldSBK," he said. "I want to thank my dad for supporting me every year as well as my team and everyone who came out here to Cremona. In the second part of Race 2, I stayed in a solid P4 behind Yari. I didn't have very good grip, but it was my best result in a long race."
Surra even took a moment to tip his visor to the competition, offering high praise for Bulega's title success: "He deserves it, he's a very fast rider, a great talent and a good person. Go Nicolo!" With speed like this and racecraft that is clearly maturing in real-time, the final two rounds of the season are going to be appointment viewing.
