FIM Supersport World Championship Phillip Island, Australia February 26, 2012 Race Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Kenan Sofuoglu, Turkey”ƒ(Kawasaki ZX-6R), 15 laps,”ƒ24:08.130 2. Fabien Foret, France”ƒ(Kawasaki ZX-6R), -0.078 second 3. Broc Parkes, Australia”ƒ(Honda CBR600RR), -2.038 seconds 4. Jules Cluzel, France”ƒ(Honda CBR600RR), -2.113 5. Sam Lowes, Great Britain”ƒ(Honda CBR600RR), -4.955 6. Sheridan Morais, South Africa”ƒ(Kawasaki ZX-6R), -6.812 7. Ronan Quarmby, South Africa”ƒ(Honda CBR600RR), -11.592 8. Alex Baldolini, Italy”ƒ(Triumph Daytona 675), -16.761 9. Vittorio Iannuzzo, Italy”ƒ(Triumph Daytona 675), -18.098 10. Lucas Pesek, Caech Republic”ƒ(Honda CBR600RR), -18.425 11. Jed Metcher, Australia”ƒ(Yamaha YZF-R6), -19.227 12. Josh Day, USA”ƒ(Kawasaki ZX-6R), -24.412 13. Luca Marconi, Italy”ƒ(Yamaha YZF-R6), -28.808 14. Mathew Scholtz, South Africa”ƒ(Honda CBR600RR), -28.915 15. Fabio Menghi, Italy”ƒ(Yamaha YZF-R6), -29.128 16. Andrea Antonelli, Italy”ƒ(Honda CBR600RR), -31.719 17. Martin Jessopp, Great Britain”ƒ(Honda CBR600RR), -36.812 18. Imre Toth, Hungary”ƒ(Honda CBR600RR), -40.102, crash 19. Romain Lanusse,”ƒFrance (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -40.788 20. Dino Lombardi, Italy”ƒ(Yamaha YZF-R6), -44.040 21. Balazs Nemeth, Hungary”ƒ(Honda CBR600RR), -48.573 22. Yves Polzer, Austria”ƒ(Yamaha YZF-R6), -65.387 23. Thomas Caiani, Switzerland”ƒ(Honda CBR600RR), -80.489 24. Ondrej Jezek, Czech Republic”ƒ(Honda CBR600RR), -3 laps, DNF, retired 25. Roberto Tamburini, Italy”ƒ(Honda CBR600RR), -8 laps, DNF, mechanical 26. Massimo Roccoli, Italy”ƒ(Yamaha YZF-R6), -12 laps, DNF, crash 27. Pawel Szkopek, Hungary”ƒ(Honda CBR600RR), -15 laps, DNF, retired 28. Vladimir Leonov, Russia”ƒ(Yamaha YZF-R6), -15 laps, DNF, crash”ƒ World Championship Point Standings (after 1 of 13 races): 1. Sofuoglu, 25 points 2. Foret, 20 3. Parkes, 16 4. Cluzel, 13 5. Lowes, 11 6. Morais, 10 7. Quarmby, 9 8. Baldolini, 8 9. Iannuzzo, 7 10. Pesek, 6 11. Metcher, 5 12. Day, 4 13. Marconi, 3 14. Scholtz, 2 15. Menghi, 1 More, from a press release issued by PTR Honda: PTR HONDA’S Jules Cluzel took a fantastic fourth on his debut at the opening round of the World Supersport Championship at Phillip Island in Australia – after fighting for the victory right through to the final lap. PTR Honda’s Ronan Quarmby was a close seventh while Riders PTR Honda’s Martin Jessopp improved from his 22nd position on the grid to finish just outside the points in 17th despite running off the circuit to avoid two falling riders early on. The second round of the World Supersport Championship is at Imola in Italy on Sunday, April 1st. Jules: “I am disappointed as the podium was very close. The problem was chatter in corners two and six and I had to push more with my rear tyre to keep a fast lap. Broc Parkes had more grip on his rear tyre and he passed me just before the last corner. Anyway, the team is happy and we will improve again for Imola.” Ronan: “My team found and fixed an issue with my forks overnight and this morning in warm-up it was like riding a completely different motorcycle – the improvement was amazing. The boys don’t normally take the forks out but they did so a big thanks to Chris, it was an inspired decision. The race was really good but my rear tyre started to go loose after seven or eight laps. We will work more on race set up rather than lap time at Imola. It’s my first time on the bike and I am really chuffed – I want to say a big thank you to the PTR Honda team – thank you so much.” Martin: “I had a really good start and made up two rows and then at turn 10 I was run on by someone and had to turn my bike round and back on track. By the end of the lap I had lost 11-seconds but I tried my hardest and put some good laps in. I went back to a Superbike style of riding on my own – I could have done with following some racers. A lot of people were struggling with tyres and I am happy as we worked on the same compound all weekend and were in a good position. It is so annoying to be run off in the first lap and losing points in my first race but we have made progress all weekend and are going in the right direction.” Simon Buckmaster, PTR Honda Team Manager: “It is a good start to the season for PTR and we can build from here. Jules hadn’t ridden our bike until he got here so his performance is impressive. Ronan came through well in the race and will only get better. Martin was run off the track avoiding two falling riders and lost a lot of time – so to finish 17th shows he has good potential.” More, from a press release issued by Bogdanka PTR Honda: BOGDANKA PTR HONDA’S Sam Lowes led for the first four laps to finish a close fifth in the season opening World Supersport race at Phillip Island in Australia and collect 11 championship points. Mathew Scholtz put in an equally impressive performance to score points his debut World Supersport race, charging up to 14th position after dropping down to 20th having to avoid another rider’s incident on lap one. Bogdanka Honda PTR’s did not take the start after his career best qualifying result of tenth on Saturday. The second World Supersport race of the season will take place on the first of April at Imola in Italy. Sam Lowes: “It was a good race. I’ve started off well and had a really good pace but unfortunately the tyres dropped off in the end. I wanted to win the race but I’m happy with fifth and scoring some points. It’s a long championship and I’m looking forward to Imola now. Chaz Davies didn’t score in the first race last year and still won the Championship so it’s not a bad start to the season.” Mathew Scholtz: “I made a good start and passed a few people early on but on the third to last corner on the first lap another rider tried to pass me and he clipped someone else. I managed to avoid him but I lost a few places. I started to catch people up and got up to 12th position. In the end the tyre started to drop off a bit and I finished 14th. For my first World Supersport race it wasn’t too bad at all. We’ve scored points so we’re happy about that and really looking forward to the next race. I had a very good pace in the first half of the race and I’ll try to keep that until the end at Imola.” Pawel Szkopek: “We had a last minute problem and I couldn’t make the start. I’d like to thank the team for putting in great work this weekend and especially today trying to get me on the grid. I went out for a sighting lap but eventually had to come in as something wasn’t quite right with the engine. It’s a pity because we felt we had the pace for a strong result after my best ever qualifying yesterday – and the whole team was working really well but this is racing. I’m still leaving Australia in high spirits because we can see we made progress compared to last year and that makes me really confident ahead of Imola.” Simon Buckmaster, Bogdanka PTR Honda Team Manager: “Mathew went off on the grass to avoid two riders crashing in front of him but came back and got into the points; he did a good job. Sam tried to manage the situation with his rear tyre as it went off towards the end. He did the best job he could and scored points on a difficult day. It is a long 13 round Championship and we will be ready to challenge again at the front at Imola.” More, from a press release issued by Power Team by Suriano: A great start for Power Team by Suriano in Phillip Island. Eventually, the team beats the odds. Alex Baldolini and Vittorio Iannuzzo leave Australia with a ninth and an eight place after showing their talent and wisely managing their very different races. Baldolini sprinted at the start, fighting ’till mid race among the leaders and with the official Honda rider Broc Parkes. Meanwhile Iannuzzo was able to show a spectacular recovery despite his starting position was not the best one. Once he got rid of the slowest ones, he stroke top notch timings. Now the team can take advantage from the month-long break getting ready for the European rounds developing and improving the bike to aim even more higher. Vittorio Iannuzzo Triumph Daytona 675 #31 “I’m really satisfied of this out come. Unfortunately during the weekend we had some issues and we managed to find the right setting only during this morning warm up. During the second part I could push forward but I paid my starting position. We have a big potential and I’m sure it’s gonna be a season in crescendo.” Alex Baldolini Triumph Daytona 675 #25 – “Forasmuch as a debut, it wasn’t that bad.I’ve been really fast in the first part but then I paid some tyre wearing that we couldn’t fight with traction control. So I only tried to manage the race ’till the end gaining as many scores as I could. The feeling with bike, team and category is growing. Now I just can’t wait for the next round.” Antonio “Ninetto” Suriano – team manager – “I’m really glad for the result we had despite all the issues during the weekend. Both the riders and the whole team were great. They all worked hard when it came down to troubles and with this spirit I’m sure we’ll go far.” More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: Parkes climbs the podium after short but epic Supersport race Pole position man Broc Parkes Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) made a less than perfect start in the FIM Supersport World Championship race and was down in fifth for some time, then dropped to sixth, before fighting back to score third place at his home race, all despite ever-worsening rear tyre grip. Due to fears about tyre life in the hot track conditions at Phillip Island the opening round was shortened to 15-laps instead of the scheduled 21. Most riders still had traction issues on race-day, despite track temperatures of 43°C, far less than the near 60°C temperatures which were evident during final qualifying on Saturday. Parkes was also fastest man in warm-up this morning, despite only doing three laps right at the end of the 20-minute session. Former Moto2 rider, but WSS rookie Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) followed up on a third place grid position with fourth in the race, just over two seconds from winner Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) and second place rider Fabien Foret (Kawasaki). Cluzel also found issues with rear tyre grip near the end and could not hold onto the more experienced Parkes. Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) opted to bring his bike home safely in fifth place, just less than five seconds from the winner, as he has a blistered rear tyre. His mature approach earned him eleven championship points. He had started from second spot on the grid, the middle rider in a qualifying 1-2-3 run for Honda. Ronan Quarmby (PTR Honda) went from 13th on the grid to an assured seventh in the race, ending up riding alone and to save his rear tyre. Lukas Pesek (PRORACE Honda) secured a top ten on the opening day of WSS play, stepping up two places from his qualifying position. South African Mathew Scholtz (Bogdanka PTR Honda) was the last Honda rider in the points, 14th, and one of many new riders to the class this season. He had qualified 15th. Balazs Nemeth (Racing Team Toth Honda) was on course for a top ten until he slipped back severely to record a 20th place finish. Andrea Antonelli (Team Lorini Honda), Martin Jessopp (Riders PTR Honda) and Imre Toth (Racing Team Toth Honda) finished 16th, 17th and 18th respectively. Pawel Szkopek (Bogdanka Racing Honda) and Ondrej Jezek (SMS Racing Honda) each failed to finish, as did ninth place qualifier Roberto Tamburini (Team Lorini Honda). Thomas Caiani (KUJA Racing Honda) was the last rider classified as a finisher, in 23rd place after experiencing some issues in practice. HONDA RIDER COMMENTS: Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) Race result: 3rd Championship position: 3rd “I did not get a good start, but I was not too concerned about it. I did not attack well enough in the first six or seven laps. So I left my charge a bit too late. I was really concerned about my rear tyre, maybe a little bit too much. It was still torn quite a bit at the end. I just could not do any more and had to take the points today. I lost a gap early on and tried to close the gap at the end, but my grip was going quite quick at the end. A top three in the first race is quite good all the same.” Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) Race result: 4th Championship position: 4th “Close, but not quite there. I had some chatter problems like my team-mate Sam Lowes. Starting from yesterday afternoon we had full chatter and this happened during the race. I think some of the other bikes had more grip on the rear and no chatter. They were faster for sure. If I tried to so the same I would crash. I am thinking it is not too bad to finish fourth. I thought the podium was close, but my tyre as completely finished and Parkes had more grip, and maybe more experience! I think maybe he used his tyre less. I am happy to finish where I did in my first ever Supersport race.” Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) Race result: 5th Championship position: 5th “My rear tyre had a blister so I had to drop back. It was better to get the points than risk a crash. I could not even tip into the corner, I was losing a lot and I did not have any drive, nothing. I had to give up and could not fight. When I got to the front early on I tried to slow the pace down, but just couldn’t. I could not have done any more. But last year maybe I would have tried too hard and crashed in the same situation, so I just stayed there to get the points.” Ronan Quarmby (PTR Honda) Race result: 7th Championship position: 7th “It was good today. At the beginning I was with the front group and I think it was just a loss of confidence in the front end that I had after about 7-8 laps that dropped me back a bit. So I just thought to myself ‘push, but do not push too hard.’ This is the first race so you need to get some points. I am proud of myself because I had a good race and I have been training hard for this. The next race and the tests after will be about getting the bike set up for a longer race. My team did well, they did a good job.” Mathew Scholtz (Bogdanka PTR Honda) Race result: 14th Championship position: 14th “My start was really bad for me and I dropped down a bit. Coming down Lukey Heights one of the other riders tried to brake past three or four others, took out someone and I ran wide. I was really far back and I had to push hard in the first few laps to catch up. I finished the tyre halfway through the race, so I was going backwards. I think for my first race we showed a decent pace at first and we just need to try and keep that pace the whole race through.” Martin Jessop (Riders PTR Honda) Race result: 17th Championship position: – “I had a really good start and made up two rows and then at turn 10 I was run on by someone and had to turn my bike round and back on track. By the end of the lap I had lost 11-seconds, but I tried my hardest and put some good laps in. I went back to a Superbike style of riding on my own – I could have done with following some racers. A lot of people were struggling with tyres and I am happy as we worked on the same compound all weekend and were in a good position. It is so annoying to be run off in the first lap and losing points in my first race, but we have made progress all weekend and are going in the right direction.” Pawel Szkopek (Bogdanka Racing Honda) Race result: DNF Championship position: – “We had a last minute problem and I couldn’t make the start. I’d like to thank the team for putting in great work this weekend and especially today trying to get me on the grid. I went out for a sighting lap, but eventually had to come in as something wasn’t quite right with the engine. It’s a pity because we felt we had the pace for a strong result after my best ever qualifying yesterday – and the whole team was working really well, but this is racing. I’m still leaving Australia in high spirits because we can see we made progress compared to last year and that makes me really confident ahead of Imola.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: First And Second For Kawasaki Riders As Sofuoglu Takes His First Ninja Victory WSS, Phillip Island, Australia, 26 February 2012 Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini rider Kenan Sofuoglu took only one race weekend to win his first race on the Ninja ZX-6R and also take an early lead in the overall championship fight. The Turkish rider, twice a World Champion already, believes his new bike has what it takes to make him champion again, and few would argue with him after a display of controlled pace to start and then controlled aggression to finish. He passed three riders on one lap to take the lead and was never headed after that. This was his 18th career win in Supersport, an extension to his all-time record tally. His Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini team-mate Sheridan Morais survived a scare with his race tyre choice to record sixth place, having been very much on the early race pace. He suffered a loss of traction from his rear tyre and had to settle for sixth, which was still a more than respectable result first time out. He was only 6.8 seconds from Kenan after 15 laps. Former champion Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step Racing) rode a controlled race to secure second, finishing only 0.078 seconds from Kenan as he battled back towards the lead. His second place made it a 1-2 finish for Kawasaki riders in a race which was shortened to 15 laps before the start due to concerns with tyre life at the fast Phillip Island circuit. The next stop is Imola, in a month’s time. Kenan Sofuoglu: “I was actually very nervous before the start because last time I won a race was a year and a half ago, so I am really happy. This was my first time racing with Kawasaki and I did not expect that the first weekend we would be so strong. My bike was working well and it has proved that my decision to come back to WSS with Kawasaki was a good one, because I have a really good bike. I have seen this the last few years and I believe this bike can make me World Champion again. I am happy to be back in this class. Everybody had tyre problems of some kind and I was afraid of what might happen at the end of the race, so I waited and then I took the chance to go into the lead. I made a bit of a gap and I really did not know that Foret was so close behind me on the last lap, so I was pleased to see the flag.” Sheridan Morais: “In testing we were doing a lot of race simulations and we did not have any tyre problems, so when they shortened the race to 15 laps we were actually upset about it. We had quite an advantage on a soft tyre but it turned out lucky on race day because my tyre went off. I was hanging in there early on, really comfortable but then about lap eight it started to get a bit out of control and I was pattering all over the place. I was happy about the bike and there was nothing I could do about the tyre, so that’s the way it goes. The main thing is we were in there in terms of pace.” Fabien Foret: “Kenan and Sheridan have made some good work and obviously we got some things from them, and the bike is pretty good. When Kenan passed me I could see the rhythm is a little bit faster, and I tried to stick with him. Cluzel, with a pretty fast bike, was coming on the straight, so it was difficult to stay close to Kenan.I was pretty close and could have even made a move at MG corner, but that would have been too risky and it is the first race of the year so I did not want to crash. Good on Kenan and I am happy for my team and myself, it is a good start.”