FIM Supersport World Championship
Motorland Aragon
Alcaniz, Spain
April 1, 2017
Qualifying Results (All on Pirelli tires):
From Superpole Two:
1. PJ Jacobsen, USA (MV Agusta F3 675), 1:54.948
2. Kenan Sofuoglu, Turkey (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:55.009
3. Sheridan Morais, South Africa (Yam YZF-R6), 1:55.038
4. Kyle Smith, UK (Hon CBR600RR), 1:55.205
5. Lucas Mahias, France (Yam YZF-R6), 1:55.440
6. Roberto Rolfo, Italy (MV Agusta F3 675), 1:55.624
7. Niki Tuuli, Finland (Yam YZF-R6), 1:55.667, crash
8. Hikari Okubo, Japan (Hon CBR600RR), 1:55.690, crash
9. Robin Mulhauser, Switzerland (Hon CBR600RR), 1:56.038
10. Christian Gamarino, Italy (Hon CBR600RR), 1:56.495
11. Alessandro Zaccone, Italy (MV Agusta F3 675), 1:56.818
12. Gino Rea, UK (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:57.118
More, from a press release issued by MV Agusta:
SOLID PERFOMANCE FOR PJ JACOBSEN GETTING HIS 2ND POLE POSITION IN WORLDSSP
Leon Camier ended up 11th inWorldSBK Race 1 and – with the 5 points obtained – the Brit remains 9th in overall standing. In WorldSSP PJ Jacobsen got the second seasonal pole position in three rounds, after setting the best lap time in Tissot-Superpole2.
WorldSBK – FP3, Race1
The first race of this MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship – round 3 was staged this morning, Saturday, April 1, on the Motorland Aragon circuit in Spain.
Leon Camier kicked off Race 1 from the 15th position on grid, due to some technical problems that slowed him down in the early stages of the weekend. When the lights went out on the straight, Camier passed several riders in the first corner fighting in 14th position. Thanks to his constant race pace the Brit rider ended up 11th, gaining 5 points on the overall standing.
WorldSSP – FP3, SP2
After setting the fastest time in Friday’s combined timesheet, today PJ Jacobsen was back on track at the Motorland Aragon race track. Thanks to this results the 23-years old American rider was able to enter the Tissot-Superpole2 this afternoon, where he set the fastest time (1’54.948), getting his 2nd pole position after only 3 races.
PJ’s teammate Alessandro Zaccone set the 11th time (1st in ESS) after his first Tissot-Superpole with Team MV Agusta Reparto Corse.
Leon Camier #2 WorldSBK –Today we struggled a little bit more than usual and honestly I don’t know what was wrong with the bike, I think it was an electronic problem, maybe a broken sensor, but my team is working hard on my bike in order to fix it as soon as they can. Despite this, considering I wasn’t able to fight for the top positions in Race1 I just tried to push as hard as I could and get some points for the championship.
Patrick PJ Jacobsen #99 WorldSSP – I am absolutely happy with this second pole position. All the MV Agusta team did a very good job today and I can’t thank them enough. The only little problems today were the wind, too strong, and the tyres, but in the end I had a very positive feeling on by bike and I was able to close in pole position. The main target for tomorrow is win the race or at least get the podium, so I can bridge the gap with the top riders and get back in the fight for the championship.
Alessandro Zaccone #61 ESS – All in all I am happy with this result. Yesterday we did a good job and I managed to get into the Tissot-Superpole2 at my first race weekend with Team MV Agusta Reparto Corse. Surely, I still have too few km with this bike and we will have to work hard to make the most of each session on track. Tomorrow I hope we can make another step forward ahead of the race.
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Second Grid Spot For Sofuoglu In Motorland
FIM Supersport World Championship Superpole qualifying put returning world champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) into second place ahead of Sunday’s 16-lap race. His team-mate Kyle Ryde battled hard and qualified 18th, despite not finding his ideal race set-up yet.
Sofuoglu, a five-time champion in this class, was unsure of his recently recovered right thumb would handle the stresses of WorldSSP competition but it was a case of so far/so good for Sofuoglu who came back at almost full pace straight away.
His second position in Superpole 2 means Kenan starts from the middle of the front row, after calling on all the performance of his Ninja ZX-6R and all his years of experience to overcome his recent lack of track time.
For 19-year-old Ryde, who is fourth in the championship standings after two rounds, the familiar surroundings of Motorland Aragon – where he has ridden several times – did not translate into an optimum qualifying performance. He starts from the sixth row, but is confident of his ability to pass other riders as the race gets underway.
Ryde’s best lap time was relatively close to the leaders, just a second away on a long 5.077km track with a lap record of 1’54.605, but such is the competition in 2017 he was 18th of the 35 riders who attempted to qualify.
Like all the riders, having only one dry Friday practice session compromised Kyle’s time. This did not help him to eradicate the tendency of the back wheel to break traction under braking, and come around towards the front, but he is confident he will be ready for the single lap challenge of Superpole and the race itself.
Now the WorldSSP pack will prepare for the race, after a morning warm-up of 15 minutes. The race itself will take place at 11.30 local time on Sunday 2nd April.
Kenan Sofuoglu, stated: “I am very happy to be back. I did not do the final winter testing or the first two rounds. When I arrived here it was very difficult, yesterday and this morning. I did not expect to be on the first row, but of course I am happy. For the race – I have no idea! I did not get to do a long run because of the wet session on Friday but I am relaxed and that is the most important thing. I’m happy.”
Kyle Ryde, stated: “It is strange to be where I am on the grid because I feel better here than in either Australia or Thailand. My confidence and everything in better but it is just not translating into a lap time. The big problem is ‘backing-in’ and I think that is because the temperature is lower than in Australia and Thailand. It is grippy here but it is still backing-in, so I cannot stop the bike. I think my riding style is not helping as I hang off so much. I think I will adjust the bike settings to be able to go down the gears and push it into the corners. If we can do that I think we will be OK.”
Gino Rea (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) was 12th on the grid for Sunday’s race, while Michael Canducci (Puccetti Racing Junior Team FMI Kawasaki) placed himself 15th.
Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki), Ryde and Kazuki Watanabe (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) filled the grid spaces from 17th to 19th.
ESS rider Rob Hartog (Team Hartog Jenik Against Cancer Kawasaki) was 23rd, Nacho Calero (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki)
25th, Lachlan Epis (Response RE Racing Kawasaki) 27th and ESS rider Peter Sebestyen (SSP Hungary by Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) 29th. One-event runner Nasser Al Malki (Qatar National Team Kawasaki) ended up 33rd on the grid.
More, from a press release issued by CIA Landlord Insurance Honda:
Mulhauser claims first top ten start in Spain
CIA Landlord Insurance Honda rider Robin Mulhauser will start tomorrow’s race from the 3rd row of the grid in 9th position, his best qualifying in World Supersport so far. Robin is joined on the third row by teammate Hikari Okubo who, despite sliding off in Superpole 2 qualified in 8th position at the cool and windy Motorland Aragon circuit.
Jules Cluzel narrowly missed out on entry to SP2 qualifying in 14th position and the Frenchman confronts the difficult task of starting from the 5th row of the grid in tomorrow’s race.
Newcomer Hiromichi Kunikawa improved his lap time again in Superpole 1 and will be looking for a strong first World Supersport race with CIA Landlord Insurance Honda tomorrow.
Robin said: “This is my first top ten qualifying in World Supersport so it’s not bad but I still feel a little disappointed. I felt good in the first run and then in the second run I made some mistakes and couldn’t improve as I feel I can but it is my best qualifying in WSS and I think from the 3rd row I can make a good race.”
CIA Landlord Insurance Honda Team Manager, Simon Buckmaster said: “It’s not the result for Jules we were looking for. We need to improve in warm up tomorrow and get a good start to challenge for the podium in the race. Both Robin and Hikari did a good job, an especially good result for Robin to be in SP2 and on the 3rd row of the grid. They are both in a strong position to challenge for a top 6 finish in the race. Hiromichi is improving all the time and we will work with him to achieve the best possible result tomorrow. In the first two rounds of the Championship we were fastest and we didn’t win, now we are not the fastest here and we need to look at why. Of course it will be difficult for Jules from the 5th row but we just have to do the best we can to challenge for the podium.”
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:
WorldSSP: Determined Jacobsen grabs pole ahead of Sofuoglu
American rider secures pole at Aragon in front of returning World Champion Sofuoglu, with Morais in third
A focused performance in Tissot Superpole 2 from PJ Jacobsen (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) gave the American rider his second pole position of 2017, with World Champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) returning to action to qualify second. The front row of the grid was completed by South African rider Sheridan Morais of the Kallio Racing team.
Jacobsen put in an excellent 1’54.948 lap on his MV Agusta F3 675 machine, to repeat his pole triumph from Australia at Round One. However Sofuoglu will be aiming to prevent Jacobsen from taking more poles as the season progresses and he steps up his title defence, having returned to action from his pre-season hand injury to qualify in a highly respectable second place – by a +0.061s deficit from P1.
It was a story of fine margins for Morais too, as he slotted in behind the front two on his Yamaha YZF-6R, trailing Jacobsen by just +0.09s.
Heading row two and +0.257s off pole was Kyle Smith (GEMAR Team Lorini), who will have Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) lining up alongside him in fifth.
SP1 saw Mahias and Roberto Rolfo (Team Factory Vamag) take the top two slots to move through to SP2. Rolfo suffered a light crash at the end of SP2 but had already secured sixth place on the grid.
There were also crashes late in the SP2 session for Niki Tuuli (Kallio Racing) at turn 2 and Hikari Okubo (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) at turn 14, with the Finnish and Japanese riders ending up seventh and eighth respectively. Behind that pair is Swiss rider Robin Mulhauser (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) in ninth, just over a second off pole pace.
On the fourth row are Christian Gamarino (BARDAHL EVAN BROS. Honda Racing), his fellow Italian Alessandro Zaccone (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Englishman Gino Rea (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven).
In SP1 a crash for Anthony West following a technical issue at turn 13 brought out the red flag after oil was left on track. The incident saw West slide into the gravel, with his Yamaha YZF R6 catching fire, the Australian ending up at the back of the grid as a result. The session resumed after the oil spill was dealt with by the Aragon marshals.
The WorldSSP race at MotorLand Aragon round takes place at 11.30am local time on Sunday.
Pole Position – PJ Jacobsen (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) “I am absolutely happy with this second pole position. All the MV Agusta team did a very good job today and I can’t thank them enough. The only little problems today were the wind as is was too strong, and the tyres, but in the end I had a very positive feeling on by bike and I was able to close in pole position. The main target for tomorrow is win the race or at least get the podium, so I can bridge the gap with the top riders and get back in the fight for the championship.”