FIM Supersport World Championship
Portimao, Portugal
July 6, 2014
Race Results (all on Pirelli tires):
1. Michael VD MARK, Netherlands (Honda CBR600RR), 12 laps, 21:15.438
2. Jack KENNEDY, Ireland (Honda CBR600RR), -1.649 seconds
3. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Turkey (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -1.961
4. Raffaele DE ROSA, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), -8.042
5. PJ JACOBSEN, USA (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -8.095
6. Lorenzo ZANETTI, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), -8.538
7. Kev COGHLAN, UK (Yamaha YZF-R6), -11.045
8. Florian MARINO, France (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -11.847
9. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -12.624
10. Massimo ROCCOLI, Italy (MV Agusta F3 675), -15.448
World Championship Point Standings (after 8 of 12 races):
1. Van Der Mark, 160 points
2. Jules Cluzel, 107
3. Marino, 93
4. Sofuoglu, 83
5. Zanetti, 80
6. Coghlan, 77
7. TIE, Jacobsen/De Rosa, 67
9. Rolfo, 62
10. Tamburini, 48
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Battling Podium For Sofuoglu in Portugal
Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Mahi Racing Team India) fought hard in the FIM Supersport World Championship race at Portimao and was rewarded with third place after the planned 18-lap race was shortened to 12 laps after a fall of rain.
Sofuoglu’s third podium of 2014 brought him to fourth place in the championship, one place behind Florian Marino (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) who finished his Portimao race in eighth. Marino is now ten points ahead of Sofuoglu with four rounds to go.
Patrick Jacobsen was fifth in the race at Portimao riding his Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres Ninja ZX-6R machine and he is ranked seventh in the points, tied with another rider.
For Roby Rolfo (Kawasaki Team Go Eleven) the Portuguese round delivered a ninth place in the race and the same position in the championship with four rounds left.
Roberto Tamburini (San Carlo Puccetti Racing Kawasaki) was a retirement from the race in pitlane, while his team-mate Alessandro Nocco (San Carlo Puccetti Racing Kawasaki) was a strong 12th.
Christian Gamarino (Kawasaki Team Go Eleven) placed 17th in the race and Tony Covena (Kawasaki Ponyexpres Intermoto) ran out 18th, with both just missing points scores.
There now follows a long two-month break in the WSS championship calendar, with the next competitive outing being in Jerez, Spain, on September 7th.
Kenan Sofuoglu: “I was running very strongly when they stopped the race. When Michael van der Mark started to pull a gap I decided to pass Jack Kennedy and try to catch Michael. I ran off twice trying to do it but I came back each time. With five laps to go I had a fast pace but then they stopped the race and because of that I could not even finish second. After a hard time in the last couple of races a podium is not so bad. We cannot say we are completely happy because we were focused to win this weekend but sometimes things do not got to plan.”
More, from a press release issued by Pata Honda:
Van der Mark extends championship lead in Portugal
Pata Honda’s Michael van der Mark goes into a World Supersport championship summer break with a healthy points lead after taking his fourth win of the season in round eight at the Autodromo Internacional Alrgarve in Portugal today.
Starting from second place on the grid, the 21-year-old Dutch ace took his Honda CBR600RR into the lead after six of a scheduled 18-laps and then controlled the race before rain brought out red flags on the 13th lap. Jack Kennedy on another Honda CBR600RR finished second today, ahead of Kenan Sofuoglu, who was third.
Van der Mark extended his remarkable podium run that has seen him finish no lower than second for the last seven races and, with his main championship rival, Jules Cluzel, failing to score today, he enjoys a 53-point lead at the top of the table.
His Pata Honda team-mate Lorenzo Zanetti finished in sixth place today, despite being fifth when the red flags emerged. The 27-year-old Italian dropped one position on a lap countback but still managed to close the gap to second place in the championship.
The World Supersport series now takes an extended nine-week break over the summer months, returning to Jerez in Spain on 5-7 September. However, both Pata Honda riders will travel to Japan this week to test for Honda in preparation for the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hour race which takes place on 27 July.
Michael van der Mark – 1st
We’ve been strong all weekend in all sessions and, together with Kenan [Sofuoglu], I think we have been a step ahead of the others here. My start was OK but I didn’t want to take all the risks in the first few corners. I was looking at the guys in front of me to see where I was stronger and I tried to pass them one by one. Kenan made a mistake so I passed him and then I got past Jack. I knew I had a good pace for the race and the others would struggle to follow my rhythm and in the end I saw that Jules [Cluzel] wasn’t in the points any more so I slowed down a bit. I guess I was quite lucky that the rain came at the same point and the red flag came out, which made the win a little bit easier. But I think I could have won anyway because we have been so strong all weekend. I want to thank the team again fo r giving me such a good CBR from the first session, it was really fast and had really good handling.
Lorenzo Zanetti – 6th
If you look on paper at the results, then sixth place at my worst track is not so bad. But when I look back at the race I am a little angry and frustrated because all weekend I had a good rhythm but, like in Misano, I lost a lot in the first five laps. Both times I have been stopped aggressively by Marino because we are fighting in the championship. When I got past and I could ride alone, my rhythm was really good and I could match the pace of Michael. I think that if I hadn’t been held up at the start, maybe I could have been closer to the podium. This is racing of course and then I was put back a place for the red flag, so fifth became sixth. But my compliments to Mikey and the team – they did a great job and I hope to be back strong in September to fight for the podium.
Pieter Breddels – technical co-ordinator
Lorenzo was sixth and maybe it should have been a fifth, but for the red flag. Of course, we always want to battle for the podium but we can be reasonably happy because this is definitely not his favourite circuit. Third place in the championship is still a target for him after the summer break. Michael fought his way to the front and was extending his lead before the rain arrived. In the end he won while his closest rival did not score today and this is a great cushion to go into the break with. Compliments to his team as well for sticking with plan A as far as tyre choice is concerned. They all did a great job this weekend.