FIM Supersport World Championship
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, France
October 1, 2016
Superpole Two Results (wet conditions, all on Pirelli tires):
1. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Turkey (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:55.461
2. PJ JACOBSEN, USA (Honda CBR600RR), 1:55.786
3. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), 1:56.694
4. Gino REA, UK (MV Agusta F3 675), 1:58.006
5. Jules CLUZEL, France (MV Agusta F3 675), 1:58.162
6. Illia MIKHALCHIK, Ukraine (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:58.456
7. Niki TUULI, Finland (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:58.625
8. Christian GAMARINO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:58.743
9. A. ZACONNE, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 2:00.417
10. A. BASSANI, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 2:01.141
11. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 2:02.527
12. Alex BALDOLINI, Italy (MV Agusta F3 675), crash, no time recorded in Superpole Two
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:
WorldSSP: Sofuoglu Comes Out On Top Again
Kawasaki rider wins his first title of the season
Kawasaki Puccetti Racing’s Kenan Sofuoglu is well on his way to winning his fifth WorldSSP Title as he cemented pole position in the last seconds of Tissot-Superpole 2 at Magny-Cours, while also taking out his first title of the year by winning the overall TISSOT-Superpole award. Honda World Supersport Team’s PJ Jacobsen came in second and Ayrton Badovini (GEMAR Balloons- Team Lorini) finished third to lock out the front row of the Magny-Cours grid.
The French circuit saw heavy rain in the morning drench the track making for an interesting qualifying day for WorldSSP. Tricky track conditions saw a rush of activity at the top of the timesheets with Kawasaki Puccetti Racing’s Randy Krummenacher and Jacobsen alternating the lead at the top. Just when American PJ Jacobsen (who graduated from Superpole 1) thought he had sealed the top position on the grid, Sofuoglu put in a stunning last lap to steal it away, proving he is focused on hunting down that fifth title.
GRT Racing’s Gino Rea, who had progressed through from Superpole 1 finished fourth ahead of local hero Jules Cluzel in fifth, who will look to use the second row grid start on his MV Agusta to achieve a home podium on race day.
Illia Mikhalchyk (DS Junior Team) was the first FIM Europe Supersport rider home, locking out sixth place on the grid ahead of Kallio Racing’s Niki Tuuli. Christian Gamarino from Team GoELEVEN had good form in the wet to secure eighth on the grid while second ESS rider home was Alessandro Zaccone (San Carlo Team Italia) locked out P9 with teammate Axel Bassani locking out the top ten.
After being extremely fast in the early stages of the qualifying session, Kawasaki Puccetti racing’s Randy Krummenacher found it difficult to improve in the latter parts, to finally start from P11 on the grid. Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK #25) was last man home in the Tissot-Superpole 2 shoot-out in P12.
Magny-Cours will see WorldSSP action again on Sunday 3nd of October at 11:20 local time (GMT+2) where their race could see Kenan Sofuoglu crowned World Champion for the fifth time.
Quotes from the top three qualifiers:
Sofuoglu: “There were a lot of people trying to follow but this is what happens in Superpole. Jacobsen had some advantage from Superpole 1 because he had some laps on the track which was a big help for him. But each lap I was getting faster and faster and then on the final lap I said ‘now I’m going to push to the maximum’. I’m very happy that on the last lap I got pole position. If it was dry I could have got the Superpole easier. In the wet it wasn’t easy, but anyway we managed the Superpole.”
PJ: “I was pretty frustrated about being in Superpole 1 yesterday. But actually it helped me a lot. I found a really good set up for the bike. It’s working really good. In the wet here I was on pole last year. So it’s not too bad being in P2 but I really wanted pole. So that’s why I was in P1 the whole time and kept trying and trying. But unfortunately it didn’t work out.”
Badovini: “I’m really happy because it’s my first front row in Supersport. I’m happy about this because we are good in the dry. Tomorrow it will probably be dry and so it will be important to be with the fastest riders. I’m also happy because I wasn’t in a good condition in the rain. I didn’t have traction on the rear and every lap I was close to crashing. Especially on the last lap, I tried and I was really close to the limit. I’m happy for this third position.”
More, from a press release issued by Honda Supersport Team:
Jacobsen storms to second place in French Round Superpole
Round 10 – France
Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours, France
PJ Jacobsen has secured a front-row start for the tenth-round of the FIM Supersport World Championship at Magny-Cours by finishing second in today’s Superpole 2. The Honda WorldSSP rider put up a great fight with series leader Kenan Sofuoglu throughout the whole session and stayed on top until the very last second, while showing great speed on the drying French asphalt.
The 23-year-old American first had to fight his way through Superpole 1 and, as soon as the second session got underway, he immediately tried to dictate the pace on board his Honda CBR600RR machine. Jacobsen kept bouncing back to the top, with his final 1’55.786s lap-time being only 0.325s shy of what would have been his second consecutive pole position.
The tenth World Supersport race of the season will get underway tomorrow at 11:20 local time (GMT +2).
Patrick Jacobsen 2
2nd / 1’55.786
Things went much better than yesterday and I’m glad we could qualify on the front row of the grid; it’s definitely a relief. I knew things would have been much better in the wet and in the end I was just unlucky not to get pole, because Kenan (Sofuoglu) pipped me on the last lap for the very front of the grid. I’m really happy to be up there again and looking forward to tomorrow. It appears it’ll be sunny, so we need to make the most of the limited time we have in warm-up and then work hard during the race.
Pieter Breddels
Technical Manager
Today’s rain has definitely turned things around, and this morning we were already near the top at the end of free practice. We made some small changes and PJ showed some good speed in both superpole sessions. Too bad he couldn’t get on pole, because it would have been an even a bigger boost for him. But he did an incredible job. Now we have to focus on tomorrow, trying to find a better pace in the dry, because it seems the weather will be good tomorrow. We already had a plan for today had it been dry, so we’ll stick to it during warm up and see what happens.
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Sofuoglu On Pole As Krummenacher Qualifies 11th
On the eve of the tenth race in the 2016 FIM Supersport World Championship Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and his team-mate Randy Krummenacher had contrasting fortunes in Superpole 2. Sofuoglu took a peerless pole position but Krummenacher was held back in 11th place with an unexpected technical issue.
In a wet Superpole 2 qualifying contest Sofuoglu made good use of a new rear shock absorber set-up to record the fastest time of all, taking his sixth Superpole win of the year and lifting his all-time record to 29 Superpoles in all.
Ready to fight to keep his championship hopes alive against his team-mate in Sunday’s 19-lap race Krummenacher experienced a technical issue that limited him to four laps in Superpole 2. This misfortune in wet conditions prevented him from going for a desired front row starting position, as he had fewer opportunities to set a fast lap than his immediate rivals.
Sunday could see both Sofuoglu and Kawasaki become outright winners in their respective championships, if results fall in the required direction in each case. Krummenacher has to score at least four more points than Sofuoglu on Sunday to keep his championship possibilities open over the final two rounds.
With both wet and dry experiences to draw on from practice and Superpole, Kenan and Randy are well prepared for any eventuality on raceday, although weather forecasts predict dry conditions. Sunday’s race will get underway at 11.20am.
Kenan Sofuoglu, stated: “I really want to win the championship tomorrow and do it by winning the race. I have won the title four times but always by finishing second in a race. I wanted to win Superpole because this morning I saw I had the potential to take the fastest lap. When I was on the wet track I was getting faster in Superpole, step-by-step. On the last lap I knew it was time to push. There is potential in the bike and I did not have any moments where I lost any time or was sliding. I was already happy to finish on the front row but I am also pleased to win Superpole 2. Our new rear WP suspension helped us a lot because in the wet sessions earlier this year I have had some issues. I am very happy to be strong in the rain again because I have been in the past.”
Randy Krummenacher, stated: “I will be fast tomorrow, I am sure, so I am looking forward to the race. In general we have had some issues in the past two races so I am really not happy with that. I made one lap at the end of Superpole 2 today but in one lap I cannot build up confidence in the rain. From my side I have to improve in wet conditions but I have been at least able to reach the second row before. Now I have to start in the fourth row so it is going to be tough. It should be dry on raceday and I have very good pace in the dry, so I am looking forward to it.”