WorldSSP: Two Tenths and One Thousandth
Margin between Sofuoglu and Cluzel remains, Krummenacher closes in
Reigning Champion Kenan Sofuoglu retained his grip on at the top of the timesheets after the second WorldSSP session practice of the day, despite not setting a time in the afternoon, as rival Jules Cluzel took a tumble at T11. The Frenchman walked away from the gravel trap before being taken to the circuit Medical Center for a medical check.
Swiss Puccetti rider and Sofuoglu’s teammate Randy Krummenacher was quickest in the afternoon, registering a best time of only one thousandth of a second slower than Frenchman Cluzel, reinforcing his quickly earnt reputation as a WorldSSP force to be reckoned with.
PJ Jacobsen, a key protagonist of the 2015 season, improved his time in the afternoon session before suffering a crash in the final few minutes from which he escaped unhurt. Taking the sixth fastest time on the combined sheets, in FP2 the American was the third quickest behind Italian Lorenzo Zanetti. Gino Rea showed the biggest leap in FP2, ending the session fourth, ahead of fastest local and wildcard Australian Anthony West; the Grand Prix winner ending the afternoon session sixth.
Yamaha Finance Australian Round – Combined times Free Practice 1 and 2
1 – Kenan Sofuoglu Kawasaki 1’33.664
2 – Jules Cluzel MV Agusta +0.213
3 – Randy Krummenacher Kawasaki +0.214
More, from a press release issued by Honda:
Jacobsen gets closer to the front after day one at Phillip Island
PJ Jacobsen and the Honda WorldSSP team have ended the first day of action for the 2016 FIM Supersport World Championship in sixth place and will therefore take part into tomorrow’s new Superpole directly from the second and final session.
The young American rider and his crew made great progress with the set up of the Honda CBR600RR #2 between the morning and the afternoon sessions as lap-times continued to improve. Last year’s WorldSSP champion made up several places, eventually settling for sixth following a small crash at turn six, which thankfully left him uninjured.
The team will now analyse the data in order to be ready for the first Superpole of World Supersport history, taking place tomorrow at 13:30 local time, which will be preceded by a 15-minute free practice session at 10:50.
Patrick Jacobsen 99
6th / 1’34.256
Today was OK. The first session was a little bit difficult but we spent most of the time working on the new suspensions and trying to find a good overall set up that could allow us to push a bit more. In the afternoon it got a lot hotter and we were able to perform well, but then we had a small crash for reasons beyond our control. Overall we were able to improve a lot between the two sessions and I’m confident we will be able to make further progress tomorrow.
Pieter Breddels
Technical Manager
It was not a bad day. We learned a lot from making quite a few changes to the settings as the ones found during testing were not working anymore. Eventually we found a way to be competitive again and during the afternoon session, PJ’s lap-times were consistently improving and his pace was quite good. Unfortunately, towards the end he had another small crash but the good news is that he’s perfectly fine. We need to take a look at the data and see what happened, for sure it was something in plan especially at a stage where we were building some good confidence. I’m sure this won’t set us back too much and we are already looking forward to the next day of action.
More, from a press release issued by MV Agusta:
The 4.445km Phillip Island Circuit, in Australia, today hosted the unveiling of the new 2016 MV Agusta Reparto Corse Official Team. The Italian based squad will line up Leon Camier in WorldSBK, riding the new MV Agusta F4 RC machine, while Jules Cluzel and Lorenzo Zanetti will race in WorldSSP class, riding the new MV Agusta F3 675.
During the opening Free Practice day at Phillip Island the MV Agusta F4 RC was the fastest Italian bike on track, with Leon Camier ending up in 5° position, extremely close the World Champion Jonathan Rea, and making his first Tissot-Superpole 2 of the year. The British rider showed a great consistent for both the practice sessions and he expect to fights for the first row in starting grid.
Great Day for the duo Cluzel-Zanetti as well, with the French rider getting the 2° best time (1’33.877) and the Italian immediately close in 4° position (1’34.032). Both the rider will enter the first Tissot-Superpole 2 in WorldSSP, which will be held tomorrow at 13.55 local time.
Leon Camier #2 – I am really happy to be as fast as we are. We solved the problem had a few little problem during the test and that means we are working in the right direction for the race. The chassis seems really good and so the electronic. Maybe we just need to refine a little bit the chassis setting but I am pretty happy with the bike feeling in general. Now we have to be focused and fast on the superpole and make sure to get a good qualify and a good start.
Lorenzo Zanetti #87 –I am really happy with this first day. We are still figuring out how to get the best setting but this morning I immediately got a good feeling with the bike whilst this afternoon it was difficult to improve my lap time, because of the hot temperature and the wind. The second session I chose to focus on the long run, trying to get a good pace and I was really consistent and fast. This year will be crucial to be always on top 10, in order to enter the Superpole 2. I am really satisfied with the work we did and look forward to the race on Sunday.
Jules Cluzel #16 –The track this morning was really different from the testing days. The asphalt had less grip because of the past rain that changed the conditions. This afternoon I changed tyres and I tried to push hard but I lost my rear at the penultimate turn and I crashed. I am lucky because I am good enough to race and I am happy to have qualified in 2° place thanks to the time I scored in FP1
More, from a press release issued by GRT Racing Team:
During the morning session it was necessary for the riders to check the bikes and the track conditions. In Free Practice 1, Gino Rea’s best time was a 1’36,237 followed closely by Aiden Wagner with a time of 1’36,454. The track conditions had changed in Free Practice 2 whereby the windy conditions appeared to affect riders times.
In Free Practice 2, Rea was able to find a really good setup with the motorcycle and we setting faster an faster times achieving a best time of 1’34,616 which was only 0,738 seconds from first place. Aiden Wagner suffered a fall in turn ten at the point where his lap times were improving.
This precluded Aiden from continuing in FP2 and thus finished 21st over the two sessions.
Rea: “We finished the day on a positive note, ending up 4th in FP2. Unfortunately we had a technical issue in FP1 which prevented us getting a fast lap in during the better track conditions, so it has left us 11th overall on combined times. It means i’ll go into Superpole 1 tomorrow but it’s actually good for us because we need the extra track time that we lost this morning. The Team are working great, we learning about the bike all the time so i’m looking forward to making more progress tomorrow”.
Wagner: “I’m disappointed to have finished 21st overall but we feel we have identified the issue in the set up and I am now looking forward to getting back out on the motorcycle tomorrow. With the changes the Team are making, I hope to set a competitive time in Superpole 1 and possibly achieve a time that may be good enough also for Superpole 2.”
The GRT Technical Director, Mirko Giansanti: “I feel after the two sessions that the riders confidence has improved. Gino’s result was very motivating and would suggest a good weekend ahead for the Team. We are convinced that Aiden’s fall impeded his progress but with the setup changes being made by the Team will enable Aiden to put in a strong performance in tomorrow’s Superpole sessions”.