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Ha perso una posizione in classifica.

Ha perso una posizione in classifica.
He lost a position in the standings.
From Lesson 246:Ordinal numbers 11th and above (-esimo)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Ha perso una posizione in classifica.

Why is the past participle perso? Isn't perdere a regular -ere verb?
Perdere (to lose) has an irregular past participle: perso. You might occasionally see the older form perduto, but perso is far more common in everyday spoken and written Italian.
Why does in classifica mean "in the standings" without using a definite article?
The phrase in classifica is treated as a fixed expression in sports and competitions. Because of this, it drops the article, similar to how we say "in first place" in English rather than "in the first place."
Why does this sentence use avere as the helping verb for perso?
The verb perdere is transitive here, meaning it has a direct object receiving the action. He lost something specific: una posizione. Transitive verbs always use avere in the passato prossimo.
If I wanted to talk about a specific rank, how would I say "the 12th position" using this lesson's -esimo suffix?
You start with the number twelve, dodici. Drop its final vowel and add the suffix. Since posizione is a feminine noun, you must use the feminine version of the suffix, -esima. The final result is la dodicesima posizione.

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