FIM Supersport World Championship
Phillip Island, Australia
February 27, 2016
Qualifying Results (all on Pirelli tires):
From Superpole Two:
1. Kenan Sofuoglu, Turkey (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:33.142
2. PJ Jacobsen, USA (Hon CBR600RR), 1:33.644
3. Randy Krummenacher, Switzerland (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:33.664
4. F. Caricasulo, Italy (Hon CBR600RR), 1:33.827
5. Lorenzo Zanetti, Italy (MV Agusta F3 675), 1:33.919
6. Alex Baldolini, Italy (MV Agusta F3 675), 1:34.004
7. Christian Gamarino, Italy (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:34.253
8. Jules Cluzel, France (MV Agusta F3 675), 1:34.303, crash
9. Kyle Ryde, UK (Yam YZF-R6), 1:34.326
10. Kyle Smith, UK (Hon CBR600RR), 1:35.012
11. Nico Terol, Spain (MV Agusta F3 675), 1:35.147
12. Kevin Wahr, Germany (Yam YZF-R6), no time recorded in Superpole Two
From Superpole One:
13. Anthony West, Australia (Yam YZF-R6), 1:34.262
14. Ondrej Jezek, Czech Republic (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:34.295
15. Luke Stapleford, UK (Hon CBR600RR), 1:34.322
16. Aiden Wagner, Australia (MV Agusta F3 675), 1:34.536
17. Z. Khairuddin, Malaysia (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:34.615
18. Gino Rea, UK (MV Agusta F3 675), 1:34.623
19. H. Okubo, Japan (Hon CBR600RR), 1:34.652
20. Glenn Scott, Australia (Hon CBR600RR), 1:35.175
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
New Qualifying Format Sees Sofuoglu First And Krummenacher Third
Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and his new 2016 team-mate Randy Krummenacher earned starting places on the front row of the grid for the first round of the 2016 FIM Supersport World Championship at Phillip Island, after a new-look two-part Superpole-style qualifying.
For the first time in its history the final qualifying session in the WSS class followed the template originally created for the Superbike class, with Superpole 1 for the riders who were ranked from 11th place to last in the previous qualifying sessions. Superpole 2 then took the two fastest Superpole 1 riders, and the quickest ten competitors from regular qualifying, who then fought it out for the first few grid positions.
Both Kenan and Randy had qualified into Superpole 2 directly and in the 15 minutes of Superpole 2 they took their new-spec Ninja ZX-6R machines to first and third places respectively.
For Sofuoglu his championship defence has been on track from the start of practice on Friday, finding little difference in the overall racetrack performance of his Ninja ZX-6R, even though the technical regulations of the class now limit engine tuning and the degree of electronic rider aids allowed.
For Krummenacher his first race weekend experience of the WSS class has been positive and he now looks to Sunday to convert his strong seam of testing and practice form into real race results.
·Kenan Sofuoglu stated: “It is nice to have taken the first Superpole in Supersport history. It was good today because the track was very clean and the grip was good. We did some very good work in these two days of testing and honestly we did not use all our best until today. The team did a very good job. But still there is a possibility that we can go even faster because we keep pushing the bike to the limit and I am not taking risks with my riding. I could see I was ‘P1’ and I tried to stay there. Hopefully tomorrow we can go for 25 points – the first win of the season would be very nice.”
Randy Krummenacher stated: “Front row first time in WSS and I am happy. Kenan put in a really strong lap at the end. I was ready to do better than I did but we had a bit of traffic on the last lap and I did not take the risk to pass. Overall I have to be very happy as I am in a very good position for the race tomorrow. I am confident because my pace is really constant.”
Christian Gamarino from the GO Eleven Kawasaki team was seventh in WSS Superpole, and his team-mate Ondrej Jezek was 14th. Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) placed 17th and his team-mate Nacho Calero was 21st. Lachlan Epis from the Response RE Team placed himself 27th.
More, from a press release issued by Honda:
Jacobsen claims front row start ahead of first race of the season
Round 1 – Australia
Phillip Island, Australia
PJ Jacobsen and the Honda WorldSSP Team have claimed a front-grid start for tomorrow’s opening race of the 2016 FIM Supersport World Championship season at Phillip Island in Australia. The 22-year-old American made important steps forward with his Honda CBR600RR in today’s first-ever Superpole for the class and, courtesy of a 1’33.142 lap-time set towards the end of the session, he elevated himself to second place.
After yesterday’s difficulties, Jacobsen and the team made some useful adjustments to the bike settings and were able to get the best out of K-Tech’s new suspension unit, which proved to be the difference maker in today’s new qualifying format. The team will have a last chance for further adjustments tomorrow morning in the 15-minute warm up, before taking on the 18-lap World Supersport race at Phillip Island.
Patrick Jacobsen 99
2nd / 1’33.142
Today was a really good day for us. After yesterday’s crash we managed to get up to speed and, with some good signs this morning, we knew we could have put together a good lap in the Superpole. We got the suspension working good and the bike feels really well, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow and I think the big factor will be managing the tyres well and staying with the leading group in the early stages.
Pieter Breddels
Technical Manager
Before today’s Superpole we had a bit of an up-and-down time in trying to find the best settings for the bike around Phillip Island. This morning we tried a small change to the bike but it didn’t really work, he didn’t feel comfortable with the bike and the times were not improving. Then in qualifying he started to lap faster already with the first tyre and when we put the last set on, he did an amazing performance – all credits to him. This result has turned the weekend completely around and we now feel we can fight for a podium finish.
More, from a press release issued by MV Agusta:
ZANETTI AND CLUZEL TO START FROM 5° AND 8° PLACE ON THE PHILLIP ISLAND GRID
27 FEBRUARY 2016
After the Superpole 2 final session, the WorldSSP starting grid at Phillip Island is finally decided.
The MV Agusta Reparto Corse riders Lorenzo Zanetti e Jules Cluzel completed the Superpole 2 session and they will start the first WorldSSP race of the year in 5° and 8° places respectively at Phillip Island, Australia. Both the rider are not fully satisfied from their performance on track today, especially because of the excellent qualifying session on Friday, with the French riders getting the 2° best time and the Italian in 4° position.
Team and riders can count on the last hours to set the bike and work on the collected data before the red light turn off on Phillip Island circuit tomorrow, for the very first race of this WorldSSP season.
Jules Cluzel #16 – Definitely not my best day, since I suffered another crash. There are still a few problems that we must solve, because I’m pushing too much trying to do the best time, but probably there is still work to do on the setting before I can push so hard. We must try to find the rhythm that we lack respect to Kenan, which at the moment is our top priority. We must try to find the rhythm that we lack respect to Kenan, which at the moment is our top priority.
Lorenzo Zanetti #87 – This morning I was the only one among the first rows rider to go out with used tires and my pace was reasonably good. Today we qualified 5th but I am not fully satisfied yet, I want to find an even better setup for the race tomorrow because I suffer a little lose of grip at the rear. We are trying to close the gap with Kawasaki so I can fight for the podium tomorrow.