With her teammate Michele Pirro’s Superbike race one victory providing inspiration, Barni Spark Racing Team wildcard entry Kayla Yaakov made her debut on Saturday in the Italian Supersport Championship aboard her #31 Ducati Panigale V2 at Mugello Circuit.
Yaakov, the 17-year-old phenom from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, faced challenges in the morning’s final qualifying session. Hindered by traffic and a lack of seat time on the Ducati—which is surprisingly quite different in setup from the Rahal Ducati Moto Panigale V2 she races in MotoAmerica Supersport—Yaakov qualified in 36th position on the starting grid. In the afternoon’s 13-lap race one, she got got a good jump off the line and immediately began overtaking riders on her way towards the front. At the checkered flag, Yaakov had managed to gain 11 positions, ultimately finishing 25th and is hungry for even better results in Sunday’s race two.
“It wasn’t my best race in terms of results, but if I analyze the situation, I have to say there have been significant improvements since yesterday,” the always-analytical Yaakov said. “I had a good start and immediately managed to gain a few positions, then I rode well and managed to keep behind all the riders who were behind me on the grid. In the end, I gained 11 positions compared to the start. Overall, I’m satisfied, but tomorrow I want to do even better.”
Barni Spark Racing Team owner Marco Barnabò commented, “Kayla did very well in the race; she paid the price for her inexperience compared to riders who have been racing here for years, but she showed she belongs here. Her improvements are consistent; tomorrow, I’m sure we’ll take another step forward.”
