For a GoEleven Ducati privateer team that was clearly toiling almost all of last year, even with a rider of Eugene Laverty’s class aboard, and for a rider like Michael Ruben Rinaldi who was maybe staring a slide back to a lower form of racing in the face, unless things improved for him soon, the first joint win for both really was something to see.

And not just in the result, but also in the way of it.

To see him pass and gap Jonathan Rea within two corners, and then see him set lap times consistently better an anyone else, not make any mistakes and keep going at a high pace until the final nerve-jangling lap was completed was astounding to witness.

And to put the ‘wow’ icing on the glorious victory surprise cake, Rinaldi had opted to use the super-soft SC0 ‘X’ tyre on the rear, designed much more for the ten-lap sprint race on Sunday mornings than either of the two full races, which run to 18-laps this particular weekend. Rinaldi won it on an X-tyre, yes, he did.

And to cap off the astonishment at the podium shape of Rinaldi, Rea and then factory Aruba.it Ducati rider Chaz Davies third, Chaz was also running an X-tyre on the rear of his Panigale. And yet he finished ten seconds behind the diminutive Italian Rinaldi, now 24 years of age and in his third (nearly) full WorldSBK season.

The rider himself was naturally expressive in his joy at winning. “Friday was good, this morning was good, so I said I would try to ‘go’ in the race,” said Rinaldi of his pre-race strategy. “I tried to think about nothing else. I just had fun during the race that is why we are here and I cannot believe it, I need a few hours, I think, to understand what happened.”

His voice beginning to break with emotion, Rinaldi said, “I am dedicating this victory to my family and all the people who stayed behind me also during the tough moments. Sometimes people did not really see what is behind so to be here today took unbelievable sacrifice.

This goes to those people who stayed behind me, also in difficult moments. I was born in a normal family and I always followed the ‘free’ way to arrive here. I never had the possibility to bring sponsors so it is very happy for us, like a normal family to be… on top of the world, we can say?”

Using the super-soft SC0-X tyre was an option people really started taking seriously when HRC’s Alvaro Bautista got to within 3.5 seconds of a race win last weekend at Motorland, and two of the top three rider in race one at the Teruel round found X marked their spot. Even Rea did a long run on one in practice, but opted not to use it, although he came close to doing so in the real race.

For Rinaldi, his pre-race experience – helped of course by his low weight compared to most – saw him take it on for the race. “I tried it yesterday in FP2 and I said, ‘OK, maybe it is better in the first laps, and then it is similar to the zero.’ We risked, we had nothing to lose and it worked. Me and my team did a great job and today we won. In the last laps I was just closing the gap because I had six or seven seconds. I said, ‘OK Michael, take your time.’ I think did a 1’55 or something like that on the last lap… I knew because I had the X tyre that I had to take an early advantage.

“It was not hard, but I had to focus to pass the other riders and put my own pace on. I did that on the first laps. Not a perfect start but in the first lap I recovered well and sincerely it was better than I thought.”

Now Rinaldi has just cranked up the possibilities of getting any vacant seat in the Aruba.it factory team in next year, but that kind of serious talk is still to come.

But there is no missing the fact that Rinaldi is a changed rider, in his approach, happiness and positivity - than the 2019 version who found it so tough inside the otherwise highly respected Barni Racing Ducati camp. A lot has changed in the last few months.

“I changed some training, my diet, my mindset,” said Rinaldi. “Before I was working every day but I think you need also to enjoy yourself as a younger rider. Sometimes you do not need to think always about racing but take your own time. That was the key because I was relaxed but ready when I was race, then ready when I was training. Team, training, diet, myself, everything works. Not one thing, a lot of things and the bike is working really well.”

Two more races for Rinaldi and on his form from race one, what can we say is impossible for him after Saturday?