FIM Supersport World Championship

Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy

May 1, 2016

Restarted Race Results (all on Pirelli tires):

1. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Turkey (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 11 laps, Total Race Time 20:37.091, Best Lap Time 1:51.986

2. Jules CLUZEL, France (MV Agusta F3 675), -1.429 seconds, 1:51.966

3. PJ JACOBSEN, USA (Honda CBR600RR), -3.013, 1:52.368

4. Alex BALDOLINI, Italy (MV Agusta F3 675), -7.179, 1:52.190

5. Alessandro ZACCONE, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -8.144, 1:52.310

6. Lorenzo ZANETTI, Italy (MV Agusta F3 675), -8.618, 1:52.171

7. Ondrej JEZEK, Czech Republic (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -9.419, 1:52.583

8. Federico CARICASULO, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), -9.942, 1:52.350

9. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), -10.183, 1:52.430

10. Nico TEROL, Spain (MV Agusta F3 675), -18.734, 1:52.958

31. Braeden ORTT, Canada (Honda CBR600RR), -1 lap, crash, 1:57.813

35. Gino REA, UK (MV Agusta F3 675), -7 laps, DNF, crash, 1:53.365

37. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (Kawasaki ZX-6R), DNS (technical problem in first segment of race)

World Championship Point Standings (after 5 of 12 races):

1. Sofuoglu, 86 points

2. Krummenacher, 71

3. Cluzel, 58

4. Smith, 46

5. Baldolini, 44

6. Jacobsen, 43

7. Caricasulo, 42

8. Rea, 36

9. Jezek, 32

10. Terol, 30

More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:

WorldSSP: Sofuoglu Takes Victory in Imola to Lead Championship

Krummenacher with technical problems in Italy

Kenan Sofuoglu has taken victory at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola in a race restarted after a red flag. Jules Cluzel came home in P2 after a late challenge, leading Honda rider PJ Jacobsen across the line to complete the podium.

Mixed conditions greeted the start of Sunday the 1st of May at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola. With rain overnight and grey skies overhead, Warm Up sessions got underway on a drying track and conditions were sure to be different for the Race. Jules Cluzel started from pole for MV Agusta Reparto Corse in their home race, ahead of Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Kenan Sofuoglu and Honda’s PJ Jacobsen on the front row. Rookie and Championship leader Randy Krummenacher started from P4 at the head of the second row, with teammate Sofuoglu starting to close down the points gap.

After a clean start, it was a familiar WorldSSP sight at the head of the train heading through Tamburello, with Cluzel leading Sofuoglu ahead of Krummenacher and Jacobsen on the chase. Soon, however, a problem became apparent on the Puccetti machine of Randy Krummenacher and the race was red-flagged, with the Swiss rider not allowed to take the restart.

Pit lane reopened at 11:45 for a new 11-lap race, with Cluzel leading off the line before Sofuoglu got past and began to pull away, leaving Jacobsen to lead the group hunting him down. Cluzel took some time to recover to his full pace as he struggled to keep P3 for a few laps, before pulling the pin once again to reel in Jacobsen and set off after old rival Sofuoglu. With only a handful of laps remaining, the Turk proved too far ahead despite Cluzel’s searing last two laps of the Imola circuit.

The Italian challenge was initially headed by Lorenzo Zanetti at home in Imola, as Cluzel’s MV Agusta teammate stayed close to his French rival throughout the race, with Alex Baldolini and Federico Caricasulo in equally close company. Alessandro Zaccone closed on the group however and was again the fastest rider forming part of the FIM Europe Supersport Cup, with the San Carlo Team Italia rider coming home in P5 to head the ESS challenge. Baldolini came across the line in P4 and Zanetti was forced to settle for a P6 finish at home, ahead of Ondrej Jezek. Federico Caricasulo and Ayrton Badovini crossed the line in P8 and P9 respectively, ahead of Spaniard Nico Terol who locked out the top ten.

Assen podium finisher Gino Rea was a high profile crasher in the race and luckily escaped from an incident at the final chicane, and Kyle Smith, winner in Holland, had a tough race to finish in P11 for CIA Landlord Insurance Honda.

Kenan Sofuoglu now leads the Championship after Round 5, with the next stop for WorldSSP being Sepang International Circuit.

More, from a press release issued by GRT Racing:

IMOLA, ITALY – 01/05/2016 ROUND 5 OF THE SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

The Italian round of the Supersport World Championship has concluded today at the Imola track. After two days of fairly positive qualifying sessions, the GRT Racing Team lined up on today’s race grid with its riders Gino Rea and Aiden Wagner, who started from ninth and twenty-first place. On lap four a red flag stopped the race due to oil on the track. Prior to the restart of the race, restarted Gino had to return to the pit box during the sighting lap. This meant he had to start the race from the back of the grid. Rea had begun to make up many places when, during lap four, he made contact with another rider and crashed out, putting a premature end to his race. Aiden Wagner, recovering after the incident at Assen, had a good solid race, finishing eighteenth and recording a “best lap” of 1’54,066.

Gino Rea: “Unfortunately it’s a frustrating way to end what had been a positive weekend. In the restart, we were confident I’d be able to run at the front because we changed to the softer tyre which was better for our bike. We had a technical issue during the sighting lap and so I had to come into the pitlane, then when I re-joined the grid, they made me start from the back of the grid. It’s never easy to start from the back, but I had good pace, similar to that of the leaders. There were many riders to pass of course and I was making good progress with every lap but unfortunately, I made a mistake going into the last chicane when I tried to pass a rider. I unfortunately made contact with him and crashed. Frustrating, but positive that we had good pace and we’ll take that to Malaysia.”

Aiden Wagner: “I was happy to finish the race as we have been struggling at previous rounds, not even racing at Assen. I’m happy we’ve completed some distance here and that we have had some decent sessions. We’ve got some useful data to take with us to Malaysia as a result of our hard work here and I’m looking forward to the next round.”

Technical Director Mirko Giansanti: “I’m really sorry about Gino Rea’s crash which came just as he was making up lost ground after the restart. Unfortunately, the fact he stopped at the garage during the sighting lap meant he had to rejoin the grid in last position and this was not favourable of course. He was making up many places and this tells us that we have good race pace. Aiden Wagner made a good race, making up some positions and testing his current physical levels. On 15 May we’ll be on track at Sepang (Malaysia) and I’m sure that our riders will be able to do well and that we will be able to further improve our performance.”

More, from a press release issued by CIA Insurance Honda:

Smith 4th in Championship after difficult Imola weekend

Sun, 01 May 2016

CIA Landlord Insurance Honda’s Kyle Smith finished a disappointing 11th in the re-run 11 lap Supersport race at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola today following a weekend fraught with difficulty. Kyle suffered crashes in both free practice sessions and he never recovered from the loss of valuable set up time.

Kyle started the day 4th fastest in morning warm up on a drying track, but conditions were different again for the race and despite feeling comfortable on the bike, the lap times were eluding him. Kyle managed to salvage precious championship points and currently stands 4th in the World Supersport Championship.

Kyle:

It’s been a difficult weekend, the pace hasn’t been there from the beginning but we’ve come away with some points which is important. I’m looking forward to the next round in Sepang and hopefully we can get back to where we should be.”

Hikari Okubo finished in 20th position, Christoffer Bergman in 30th and the luckless Stefan Hill was knocked off by a crashed rider’s bike after seven laps, putting him out of the race.

CIA Landlord Insurance Honda Team Manager, Simon Buckmaster:

“Kyle has had a tough weekend. His crashes in FP1 and FP2 left him little track time for set up but he did the best he could and scored valuable championship points. Kyle was happy with the set up in the race but the lap times were not coming. We will consider everything and arrive at the next round in Malaysia in good shape.

We need to work harder with Hikari to help him to quickly learn new tracks. He will be in a better position at Sepang as he knows some of the circuit from his time in the Asian Championship so he will be looking for his first points finish there.

Stefan was unlucky in the race but fortunately he is ok and looking forward to the next race. Christoffer still tends to ride the bike like a stock 1000 but, as he has never ridden at Sepang before, this gives him a fresh opportunity to adapt his style.” 

More, from a press release issued by MV Agusta:

GREAT RACE WEEKEND FOR MV AGUSTA: CLUZEL 2° IN WORLDSSP AND CAMIER IN TOP 5 IN WORLDSBK 

1 MAY 2016

The iconic Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola (IT) hosted the fifth round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship this Sunday, and it was the home race for MV Agusta Reparto Corse team. Jules Cluzel and Lorenzo Zanetti had an impressive race, finishing 2° and 6°, while Leon Camier close in top 5 the WorldSBK race.

WorldSBK – Race 2

Leon Camier rode his MV Agusta F4RC into the top 5 at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, getting 11 more points in overall standing. The Italian squad, led by the Team Manager Andrea Quadranti, showed how positive was the work did on the bike setting over the weekend and, thanks this excellent performance by Camier, took home another important result, especially at a challenging track like Imola.

Camier is currently 9th in the overall ranking and the next world WorldSBK round will take place on May 15, in Malaysia, at Sepang International Circuit, where Camier will seek to consolidate its placement in the Top 10 overall standing.

The great performance of the team in this race was the chance to celebrate the anniversary of the death of Formula 1 World Champion Ayrton Senna, who tragically lost his life at Imola on May 1 1994 . Given the great friendship between Ayrton Senna and Claudio Castiglioni, historic patron of MV Agusta, the Schiranna based manufacturer decided to honor this event with a photo of the team with the F4 Senna version.

Leon Camier #2 – Really, really happy to be honest. The start wasn’t so good, I got caught behind the BMW and some other riders and was quite difficult to pass, so as soon as I could I passed them. Unfortunately Giugliano was too far from me. I am very happy with the feeling with the bike and with the changes we made between Race 1 and 2. Big thanks to everyone in the team for the awesome job.

WorldSSP – Race

Jules Cluzel finished in 2nd place the Round of Imola of WorldSSP Championship, and stepped up in 3rd place in overall championship standings, just 13 points behind the n°2 rider.

After winning the Tissot-Superpole2 on Saturday’s qualifying, Cluzel also dominated the early stages of the WorldSSP Race. In the first phase, French rider got off the line well for the Italian team on his F3 675, then maintaining his pace until the race was red flagged after just 3 laps, with a consequent restart for a shortened distance. The new start saw the race shortened to 11 laps and Cluzel immediately found an excellent race pace and started fighting in the top three, to finish in 2nd place behind the rival Kenan Sofuoglu.

Cluzel’s teammate Lorenzo Zanetti has long fought among the top positions in both race sessions, to ends up in 6th position under the checkered flag.

Jules Cluzel #16 – I’m very happy because the second place is definitely a good result in a race so difficult. I could have won but I had some problems early in the race and I still haven’t figured out what happened. When I passed Jacobsen I tried to get close even to Kenan but it was too late because there were only two laps to go. We did a really good job here at Imola, and I cannot wait to be back on track for the next Race in Malaysia.

Lorenzo Zanetti #87 – Finally we were back to a very positive weekend, without problems or complications. At the same time I am a little bit disappointed since we had the pace to do even better, but honestly we still lack something to keep the pace of Jules. In the next races we will try to close this gap. What really matters now is we showed we can fight with the riders on front.

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

Sofuoglu Wins At His Team’s Home Circuit

Kawasaki Puccetti Racing’s Kenan Sofuoglu took his second race win of the 2016 season with a start-to-finish domination of a shortened 11-lap race at the classic circuit of Imola – his team’s home round. His team-mate Randy Krummenacher hit misfortune when his bike started to leak water and Race Direction eventually prevented him from taking part in the restarted race. In the championship Sofuoglu is now first and Krummenacher second despite Randy’s Imola no score.

Another dramatic day in the history of WorldSSP racing unfolded at Imola after heavy overnight rain. A dry contest began at a high pace but after a leak of water from Krummenacher’s machine, and then another rider’s machine falling and being left in a dangerous position, the red flag was hung out to stop the race.

With Krummenacher not allowed to make the restart Sofuoglu was the lone Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider and he rode a near faultless race to score a clear win, by 1.429 seconds from Jules Cluzel.

Sofuoglu had missed the Superpole win on Saturday by a small margin but had been on strong form since the first day of action at one of his favourite circuits. He has won three of the last four Imola races and has now grown his class leading total of WorldSSP career race wins to 34.

Kenan’s latest win lifted him to the championship lead today, with 86 points to his credit. His team-mate Krummenacher is second, with an unchanged 71 points. The next nearest championship challenger is Cluzel, 13 points behind Randy.

The next round takes place on Sunday 14 May, at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.

Kenan Sofuoglu stated: “I really believe we deserve this result. It was a very, very good weekend for us as we were always fastest, even in the wet. Only in Superpole was I not the fastest but I was just one lap late with my final push. We did a good job today at the home race for the team in Italy. I love Imola and I cannot say more because I am leading the championship again. We lost 25 points in Australia because of bad luck but this can happen in racing. Anyway we are back in the championship lead and I am very happy with today’s result.”

Randy Krummenacher stated: “The bike was running very well and I did not smell oil on the bike. The black and orange flag I saw without the number. Then I saw it for half a lap with the number 21. If I felt that I would bring the other riders in a dangerous position I would stop. But I did not feel that I would put them in danger. No one crashed because of me and they did not have to clean the track, because the water that was lost was a few drops – but it might have looked like a lot. I accept the Race Direction decision and let’s look forward to Malaysia.”

Alessandro Zaccone (San Carlo Team Italia Kawasaki) impressed again as the top ESS (part time) rider in the WorldSSP class; fifth overall today. GoEleven team rider Ondrej Jezek was seventh but his team-mate Christian Gamarino ended up a dramatic day out of the points. Illia Mikhalchik (DS Racing Kawasaki) was 13th and second in the ESS rankings. Another ESS rider, Axel Bassani (San Carlo Team Italia Kawasaki) placed 14th and scored two points at his home track.

More, from a press release issued by Honda:

Jacobsen returns to podium ways with third place at Imola

Round 5 – Italy

Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Italy

PJ Jacobsen completed the podium of the fifth-round World Supersport race at Imola’s ‘Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari’. After a great launch from third place on the grid, the young American rider ran as high as second onboard the Honda WorldSSP Team’s CBR600RR machine and was clever to maintain his own pace in the final stages of the encounter, while keeping a decent margin on the five-way battle for fourth place that was raging behind him. With his second podium finish of 2016, Jacobsen is now sixth in the Championship standings, only three points shy of fourth.

The race, which got underway on time at 11:20, was red flagged on lap four after a crash involving Christian Gamarino, whose bike stopped in the middle of the track. One lap before, Krummenacher’s machine started to experience some technical problems; initially unaware of the smoke coming out of this bike, the Swiss rider kept circulating in third place just ahead of Jacobsen, who rode at safe distance to avoid any trouble. After the red flag was deployed, Krummenacher was declared unable to line up for the new 11-lap encounter.

The next race of the 2016 FIM Supersport World Championship will take place at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia in a fortnight’s time.

Patrick Jacobsen 2

3rd

I’m so happy for today’s podium finish. The feeling I had with the bike was very good and I was able to ride it like I wanted, although unfortunately the dashboard wasn’t working and that made it all the more difficult. The team did a great job this weekend, and this third place is one small way to repay them for their efforts. This is a first step to building back some momentum, and I am now looking forward to racing at Sepang, where last year I got my first World Supersport win. Our focus has to be on one race at the time, without thinking too much of the championship battle.

Pieter Breddels

Technical Manager

PJ rode a great race; he was smart to back off after the first start, when Krummenacher’s bike broke down and then, with the restart, he kept a solid pace ad rode home to a podium finish, which is what we needed after the last two rounds. He looked very stable and comfortable onboard the Honda CBR600RR and we are happy with what he was able to achieve today. We take the positives out of the race and look forward to Malaysia, another track where both bike and rider have performed extremely well last year.