Roman Ramos left Imola with much satisfaction on Sunday night, having celebrated his best weekend since becoming a World Superbike rider.

The Spaniard, who first appeared on the World Superbike scene in Australia at the start of the season, qualified 16th quickest at Imola for Team Go Eleven. He went on to end an interrupted first race in 11th position before making the most of both bike improvements and the general attrition of Race 2 to cross the finish line in seventh place.

“This was my first time at Imola and it’s wonderful!” said the 24-year-old from Cantabria in northern Spain. “I had some problems with the front tyre in Race 1, but we managed to solve that during the red flag stoppage. The team had brought many updates which resulted in a lot of improvements.

“In Race 2, we managed to complete the distance with the softer rear tyre – I knew that would give us an advantage. I never gave up and believed in it right to the end. The commitment from everybody is really paying off and I owe these results to a great team. Thanks to everybody at Go Eleven: a family dream team!”

Ramos’ next challenge will be to tackle Donington Park in England’s Midlands, which hosts Round 6 of the World Championship season on the weekend of 23-24 May.