If some of Hannes Soomer's fans had a silly habit of biting their nails, they would probably have already lost their fingertips after the second race of the Dutch round. Both Dynavolt Triumph riders gave a captivating performance during Sunday's race, being one of the fastest on the harder tire compound, making good progress in the starting line-up. Stefano Manzi started the race in P8 and Hannes Soomer in P13, and although they both lost places during the race, the teammates found themselves fighting each other in front of the second fastest group in the final stage of the race.

And although in the last lap the Italian managed to pass Hannes, the man from Viimsi took his place back again before the finish line, rising to the fifth position in the race and the seventh place in the World SSP Championship standings. "We made some changes to the bike before today's race and I believe we have squeezed almost everything we can from it," Hannes said after the race. "The team did a good job, but we need more strength to fight the Yamahas and the Kawasakis. Based on what I saw in the race, I believe that the bigger capacity does not give us any advantage, and we need an unchoked power source for higher positions.”

The Dutch round is now followed by a slightly longer break, during which it is necessary to figure out how to make the softer tires work better for Triumph. "We need to find settings that allow them to work for us, so we can stay in the tailwind of the main group to fight with them." Speaking of the leaders of the Sunday's race, they were Dominique Aegerter and Lorenzo Baldassarri (both Yamaha), who were followed by Can Oncu (Kawasaki) and Nicolo Bulega (Ducati). Aegerter is the reigning champion and the leader in this year's standings.

Round 3 of the Championship will take place in Portugal on the third weekend in May (20.-22.05.).

Fotod: Mike & Elina SP8images