Italian Speedway Championship: Castagna reigns supreme again

Michele Paco Castagna returned to victory in the sixth and final round of the Italian Speedway Championship. After finishing second in the fifth round of the series, held in Terenzano, the Moto Club Olimpia rider took victory in Lonigo, thus consolidating his lead in the Italian championship standings. Behind him on the Vicenza track were the riders of the MC Veneto team, Nicolas Covatti, who finished second, and Nicolas Vicentin, who finished third. Another MC Lonigo rider, Niccolò Percotti, finished fourth, while Omar Vezzaro, a member of the Friulian team, finished fifth. Castagna took home the 25 points for the win, bringing his overall tally to 147, increasing his lead to three points over Covatti, who is second with 133 points. Vicentin is third with 122 points.

In Lonigo, Paco, the reigning Italian champion, appeared to be in excellent form. He immediately set the pace, winning his first heat, the fourth. He then repeated the feat in the eighth, ninth, and fifteenth rounds, then clinched a fifth in the eighteenth round. Along with him, who had earned fifteen points thanks to five wins, Covatti and Percotti (who each earned thirteen points) also qualified for the final. Vicentin joined the group after winning the so-called last chance by beating Vezzaro, Slovenian Omerzel, and Hungarian Lovas. In the final, Castagna dominated, leaving Covatti (who had beaten him in the previous round in Terenzano), Vicentin, and Percotti behind.

Seventh place overall and first among the under-21s was Mc Olimpia's young rider Brando Lunardi, who took home eleven points in Lonigo. The rider from Roveredo Piano leads the youth standings. The next and penultimate round of the Italian speedway championship will be held at the Vicenza facility on Saturday, September 6th. The grand finale is scheduled for Saturday, October 11th in Terenzano.