Extreme temperatures made the third round of the EURO MOTO Superbike season at Most one of the toughest weekends of the year. With air temperatures exceeding 40°C and track temperatures climbing well beyond 60°C, tyre management became more important than ever on one of the championship’s most physically demanding circuits.

Despite the demanding conditions, Twan Smits⁠ and Team APRECO⁠ delivered another highly competitive weekend aboard the Yamaha R1⁠, securing two podium finishes and strengthening their position in the championship battle.

Smits immediately showed impressive speed in Superpole, qualifying third with a lap time of 1:32.799, just 0.280 seconds behind pole position.

“It was an incredibly tough weekend because of the heat, but from Friday onwards everything was heading in the right direction,” Smits reflected.

Holeshot and strong recovery in SBK Race 1

SBK Race 1 started perfectly as Smits claimed the holeshot and led the field into the opening corner. While he couldn’t maintain the lead during the opening laps, he gradually found his rhythm as the race progressed despite the extreme temperatures.

“I had a really good start into P1, but I couldn’t maintain it,” Smits explained. “I couldn’t stay with the guys at the front during the first part of the race.”

During the second half of the race, Smits recovered strongly and fought his way back towards the podium positions.

“In the second half of the race the feeling became much better. I recovered well and fought my way back.”

Although he crossed the finish line in fourth place, a post-race penalty for another rider promoted him to P3. Smits finished 4.702 seconds behind the winner while setting a fastest lap of 1:33.153.

Another podium in SBK Race 2

Smits carried the momentum into SBK Race 2 and once again fought at the front despite the demanding conditions.

A few small mistakes during the opening laps prevented him from challenging for victory, but he maintained strong pace throughout all sixteen laps to secure another third-place finish.

“We had really good pace throughout the whole race,” Smits said. “At the beginning I made a few small mistakes, but nothing too serious.”

He crossed the finish line in P3, 4.093 seconds behind the winner, while recording a fastest lap of 1:34.099.

Valuable championship points

Another double podium underlined the strong progress made throughout the weekend and rewarded the consistent work of rider and team under extremely demanding conditions.

“Overall it was a really good weekend,” Smits concluded. “From Friday onwards everything flowed really well. We had good momentum all weekend and we can be proud of the work we’ve done.”

With another 32 championship points added to his tally, Twan Smits now sits fifth in the EURO MOTO Superbike standings with 81 points as the championship heads next to Oschersleben.

Pictures by Dino Eisele & Racing Passion Photography