FIM Supersport World Championship
Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia
May 13, 2016
Free Practice Two Results (wet conditions, all on Pirelli tires):
1. Kyle SMITH, UK (Honda CBR600RR), 2:24.791
2. PJ JACOBSEN, USA (Honda CBR600RR), 2:24.996
3. Gino REA, UK (MV Agusta F3 675), 2:25.519
4. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Turkey (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 2:25.770
5. Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN, Malaysia (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 2:25.884
6. Alex BALDOLINI, Italy (MV Agusta F3 675), 2:27.216
7. Jules CLUZEL, France (MV Agusta F3 675), 2:27.395
8. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (MV Agusta F3 675), 2:28.218
9. Lorenzo ZANETTI, Italy (MV Agusta F3 675), 2:28.476
10. Nico TEROL, Spain (MV Agusta F3 675), 2:29.162
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:
WorldSSP: Jacobsen Quickest on Day 1
2015 winner tops the timesheets after first track time in Malaysia
Last time WorldSSP raced at Sepang International Circuit it was American PJ Jacobsen who took the victory, and the Honda rider took P1 once more in 2016, this time on Friday. After a dry first session and rain hitting in the afternoon, those fastest in the morning are the riders graduating straight to Tissot-Superpole 2 on Saturday.
FP2 began slightly later than scheduled after a thunderstorm only minutes before the session was set to begin. With a wet track and little chance of improving lap times from FP1, riders were slow to venture out once the pits were open and the rain less heavy, and it was Assen winner Kyle Smith who was fastest in the wet. Local hero Zulfahmi Khairuddin was also impressive in the rain in P5, just behind PJ Jacobsen, Gino Rea and Kenan Sofuoglu, but with dry FP1 times to decide entry to Tissot-Superpole 2 it is American Jacobsen who leads the grid into the qualifying session.
Joining the 2015 WorldSSP winner in the top ten after Day 1 were reigning Champion Kenan Sofuoglu, title contender Jules Cluzel, ahead of his MV Agusta Reparto Corse teammate Lorenzo Zanetti, and rookie WorldSSP rider Randy Krummenacher who locked out the top 5 in front of Spanish rider Nico Terol. Gino Rea was also fast in the dry conditions earlier in the day and will go through to Tissot-Superpole 2 ahead of Ondrej Jezek, Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Federico Caricasulo.
Local hero Khairuddin will be happy to go straight through to Superpole 2 in his home race despite the weather conditions, and the home rider should be buoyed by good pace in both the wet and dry, ready to put on a show for the crowd come rain or shine for Sunday’s WorldSSP race.
Tissot-Superpole 1 for WorldSSP begins at 14:30 local time (GMT +8) on Saturday, before the lights go out at 14:20 for the Race on Sunday.
More, from a press release issued by Honda:
Jacobsen leads day one in Malaysia
Round 6 – Malaysia
Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia
PJ Jacobsen has topped the timesheets on the opening day of action for the 2016 FIM Supersport World Championship at the Sepang International Circuit, where the sixth round of the season is currently underway. The standard bearer of the Honda WorldSSP Team was quickest in the morning’s first free practice session, which was held in dry conditions on the 5.543 Km, recently resurfaced Malaysian track, by clocking a 2’10.162 in his last attempt before the chequered flag.
Jacobsen also showed great form on board his Honda CBR600RR in this afternoon’s second free practice, the start of which was delayed due an incoming storm. The heavy rain of the first half of the session made sure the track stayed wet for the remaining thirty minutes of action, making it impossible for the riders to improve their FP1 times. Nevertheless, Jacobsen was second quickest courtesy of a 2’24.996 lap time set just before the end of free practice two.
Superpole 2 for the Malaysian round will begin tomorrow at 14:55 local time (GMT +8).
Patrick Jacobsen 2
1st / 2’10.162
I’m really happy because today we were able to be fast both in the dry and wet. This morning the track was quite greasy and dirty and it definitely needs some more rubber to get into optimum condition. The rain we had this afternoon surely didn’t help this, but at least now we have a good set-up for basically every condition we are likely to face over the weekend. The track is a bit different from last year of course, especially the last turn, but it seems we’re in a good position so now it’s all about keeping up our momentum.
Pieter Breddels
Technical Manager
This morning we evaluated a different tyre combination to see if it worked better, but in the end we came back to the usual choice, which has proved to work well over the events so far. The CBR600RR was immediately competitive and PJ did a great job on track, as he was consistently fast throughout the session up to the last lap, when he was able to push that bit harder and move up to first place. In the afternoon, we were very pleased to see that things kind of stayed the same in terms of performance and that is a very important indication for us, because we don’t have to worry about the type of weather we’ll encounter tomorrow.
More, from a press release issued by MV Augusta:
OPENING DAY FOR MV AGUSTA RIDERS AT SEPANG
The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has arrived in Malaysia, at Sepang International Circuit, with Team MV Agusta Reparto Corse facing the first qualifying sessions.
During the FP1 session, Leon Camier and his technical staff have worked mainly in adapting the MV Agusta F4 RC at the challenging Malaysian track, which was only recently re-asphalted. At the end of FP1 Camier got the 10th place with a 2’07.610 lap time. Otherwise, the next practice session saw the British rider suffering a technical problem that forced him to settle for 16th final position. Tomorrow at 13:30 Malaysian time, Leon and his team will be back on track again for the Tissot-Superpole1 of WorldSBK.
After two weeks from the MV Agusta team’s home round at Imola, which saw Jules Cluzel finish in 2nd position the WorldSSP’s race, the French rider and his MV Agusta F3 675 were back on track in Malaysia, searching for another beautiful performance. During the first Free Practice sessions, Cluzel got a 2’10.556 lap time, getting the 3rd position on the time sheet; his teammate Lorenzo Zanetti finished immediately behind Cluzel, only 0.02s, showing a great shape at the Malaysian track. Unfortunately, heavy rain in conjunction with the second and final session has not allowed the riders to improve the lap time of FP1, leaving unchanged the Tissot-Superpole2 entry list, scheduled for tomorrow at 14:55.
Leon Camier #2 – All in all it was a positive day for me. In the first session we focused mainly on the bike set-up, trying to find out a good feeling with the bike on this track and, I have to say, we went quite well with the 10th place. Unfortunately, in session two I had a technical problem with the bike and I couldn’t able to improve my time. Tomorrow we will start again from Superpole1 and I will do my best to improve my grid position.
Jules Cluzel #16 – I’m happy because today we worked well, both in wet and dry conditions, and the first two riders on the list are not so far from me. The work we have done on the bike in the last races is giving good results and tomorrow we will do our best to get another pole position.
Lorenzo Zanetti #87 – Little by little we are getting closer and closer to the positions we were used to. Today we tried different settings during FP1 and the feeling with the bike was very good. Too bad the weather has upset a bit ‘plans in the session two, as I am sure we could still improve. I want to thank all my technical staff for the excellent work here in Sepang and I am confident tomorrow we can show something good in Superpole.
More, from a press release issued by CIA Insurance Honda:
Smith fastest in wet Free Practice 2 at Sepang
Fri, 13 May 2016
CIA Landlord Insurance Honda’s Kyle Smith was fastest in the wet afternoon session at Sepang International Circuit. A thunderstorm just minutes before the session was scheduled to begin delayed proceedings slightly. Once the session was underway the riders were slow to emerge onto the track and, with no chance of improving on the dry lap times from the morning Free Practice 1, Kyle just missed out on entry to Superpole 2 in 11th position.
Kyle:
“Today was good in the wet, I had the pace, I’m always confident in the wet conditions. In the dry we were struggling to find the set up a little. We have lots to try tomorrow if it is dry and hopefully we’ll be a bit faster. The pace is there for the race so we’ll see how it goes.”
Hikari Okubo showed good pace throughout the day and is looking on course to score his first World Championship points qualifying 15th.
It was a solid day for young British rider Stefan Hill. He gave a much smoother, more controlled performance than of late, finishing the wet Free Practice 2 session in 16th position, 23rd overall.
Christoffer Bergman ended the day 19th, he went much better in the dry but put in enough laps in the wet session to prepare for the real possibility of a wet race on Sunday.
Simon Buckmaster, CIA Landlord Insurance Honda Team Manager:
“Kyle being fastest in FP2 is fantastic, it shows what great pace and wet set up he has. With hindsight we needed that bit more in the dry session to make the top 10 but I am confident Kyle will go through to Superpole 2 and achieve a good grid position to challenge for the podium in the race. It was a good day for Stefan, it’s all about rebuilding his confidence and his feel for the bike. Hikari is in a good position for scoring his first points and Christoffer will keep building in tomorrow’s sessions and work for the best finish he can.”