Image: Supplied.

YART-Yamaha racer Tom Edwards has responded to his disqualification from the second Supersport World Championship (WorldSSP) race at Imola where he was stripped of a P10 result and the WorldSSP Challenge victory in that outing.

The second WorldSSP encounter took place in scorching temperatures of close to 40 degrees at the Italian circuit, with Edwards slicing his way forward from the eighth row on the grid to take the chequered flag 10th.

However, the number 71 was later stripped of the result and disqualified for being under the minimum weight limit post-race, resulting in a zero-point haul from that outing. The minimum bike and rider combined weight for a Yamaha R6 in the Supersport category is 239kg as per section 2.5.4 of the 2023 FIM Superbike, Supersport and Supersport 300 regulations.

“Shocked and disappointed about how this weekend has ended,” Edwards shared. “Unfortunately, after making my way up the field from P24 to claim P10 and win the WorldSSP Challenge category, FIM made the decision to disqualify me.

“As you can imagine riding in conditions like this, air temps of 38 degrees and track temps soaring well over 50 degrees, it’s to be expected that I’d weigh in less than where I started the weekend.

“The conditions of the race were brutal. When arriving in Parc Ferme, I jumped straight on the scales and then celebrated the win with my team.

“Two hours later, we were called to race direction and told that my combined weight of me and my bike was just 1.4kg under the weight. My personal weight had dropped between race one to race two, obviously as a result of the conditions. This result was final when it was handed to us, there was no option for protest or to check that this information was correct.

“We didn’t get the win that we fought so hard for and it’s very disappointing. I’m sorry to the fans and everyone who supported us this weekend, not at all how I wanted it to end.

“A weekend to forget. Time to put it behind us and set focus on Most in two weeks. As always, thanks to FIM, WorldSBK and the event staff for putting on an otherwise great event. On to Most for redemption.”

Edwards will have the opportunity for redemption when the Supersport World Championship moves to Most in the Czech Republic between 28-30 July. Prior to the DSQ from the second outing, he finished 16th in race one at Imola.