2018 Supersport
champion Sandro
Cortese isn’t defending
his title in 2019,
he’s moved up to
Superbikes, joining
Marco Melandri in the
GMT94 Yahama team
trading his R6 for an R1
in the process.
World Supersport bikes run on treaded tyres and concerns related to excessive tyre wear meant that a mid-race tyre change was
mandated by race control. This format isn’t the greatest for the spectators but safety has to come first. For teams on a tight budget,
like María Herrera’s, the pit stop turned into a lengthy mid-race break.
Herrera is doing double duty this year, running an R6 in World Supersport and also competing in the inaugural MotoE electric bike Grand
Prix series for the Angel Nieto squad.