FIM Supersport World Championship
Autodromo Internacional Algarve
Portimao, Portugal
September 16, 2017
Qualifying Results (all on Pirelli tires):
From Superpole Session Two:
1. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Turkey (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:45.541
2. Lucas MAHIAS, France (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:45.576
3. PJ JACOBSEN, USA (MV Agusta F3 675), 1:45.591
4. Sheridan MORAIS, South Africa (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:45.688
5. Jules CLUZEL, France (Honda CBR600RR), 1:45.906
6. Niki TUULI, Finland (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:45.970
7. Federico CARICASULO, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:46.365
8. Luke STAPLEFORD, UK (Triumph Daytona 675R), 1:46.638
9. Gino REA, UK (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:46.731
10. Christian GAMARINO, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), 1:46.867
11. Christoffer BERGMAN, Sweden (Honda CBR600RR), 1:47.262
12. Michael CANDUCCI, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:47.408
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
WorldSSP: Strong Sofuoglu secures fourth pole of 2017
Title holder on pole in Portugal ahead of Mahias and Jacobsen on row one
An excellent performance by World Champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in the WorldSSP Tissot Superpole 2 session at the Prosecco DOC Portuguese Round saw the Turkish rider register his fourth pole position result of the season, whilst Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) and PJ Jacobsen (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) also secured front row starts.
Despite a crash earlier in the day in FP3 Sofuoglu produced a hot lap of 1’45.541 in SP2 to slot in at the head of the grid, with championship leader Mahias missing pole himself by just 0.035s. In a tight session Jacobsen qualified third as he lapped just 0.05s down on Sofuoglu.
Sheridan Morais (Kallio Racing) was on provisional pole but late crash at turn 13 saw him slip to fourth, where he will be joined on row two by another late crasher Jules Cluzel (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) and Niki Tuuli (Kallio Racing).
Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team), Luke Stapleford (Profile Racing) and Gino Rea (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) are all on row three, ahead of fourth row qualifiers Christian Gamarino (BARDAHL EVAN BROS. Honda Racing), Christoffer Bergman (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) and Michael Canducci (Puccetti Racing Junior Team FMI). Making it through from the earlier SP1 session were Stapleford and Bergman.
The WorldSSP race at the Prosecco DOC Portuguese Round will start at 12 midday local time on Sunday.
Pole Position – Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
“This mornings crash gave us a lot of stress and the crew worked none stop to get the bike back together. When I started Superpole I felt the bike wasn’t perfectly so I told the crew to change the tyre and I will fix the handlebars, but I was stressed because of the front tyre. The team did a very good job and the team deserve this pole.”
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Sofuoglu Fastest In Portuguese Superpole
Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) recorded his 34th career Superpole win today to lead the entire field into Sunday’s WorldSSP race at Portimao. His team-mate Kyle Ryde was 15th after Superpole 1.
It was a day of hard work and some drama for five-time Supersport World Champion Kenan Sofuoglu, and one that ultimately gave him the best possible pre-race reward of pole position. In winning Superpole he had recovered from an earlier crash, which he suffered after losing the front in FP3.
His bike had suffered heavy damage and his technical crew rebuilt a new machine for him at high speed and he made it out into Superpole 2. Kenan had already qualified for Superpole 2 directly as the fastest rider after the first day of practice on Friday.
Re-entering the pits during Superpole 2 to make some final re-adjustments before going for his best time, Sofuoglu eventually set a 1’45.541 to secure pole position.
Kyle Ryde found real improvements in the front-end feel of his machine around the undulating and bumpy Portimao circuit today and qualified 15th, ending up just outside qualification for Superpole 2 and a potentially even better starting spot. He starts the race itself from the fifth row.
Sunday will feature an 18-lap WorldSSP race, at 12.00 noon local time in Portugal. Sofuoglu will be going for his fifth race win of the year when the green light goes on.
Kenan Sofuoglu, stated: “That was a very difficult Superpole but not because of our speed. Just before Superpole we had a crash and there was quite a lot of damage on the bike. The team worked really hard until Superpole began to build the bike again. When I started Superpole I understood that not everything was not exactly how I had used it before. So I came back in to help the team to make the changes. Superpole is only 15 minutes long, so there was a lot of stress for everybody. But we did well and this Superpole win is for my team. I am happy for them because when I saw how hard they worked on the bike and I really wanted to give them pole position. Starting from pole is very good but most importantly we are very strong in race simulations. Tomorrow when the tyre drops I think and believe that my advantage will start. I hope to go for another race victory tomorrow.”
Kyle Ryde, stated: “That went much better than it did on the opening day but we did not really change so much with the bike. We just got some more feeling with the front. I was around two seconds faster than yesterday and only two tenths or so from getting through to Superpole 2. Not a bad day today.”
Gino Rea (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) was ninth in Superpole and Michael Canducci (3570 Puccetti Racing FMI Kawasaki) 12th.
Top part-time ESS rider on show was Rob Hartog (Team Hartog Jenik Against Cancer Kawasaki), who was 16th after Superpole 1. Japanese rider Kazuki Watanabe (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) placed 18th. Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) went 19th and Lachlan Epis (Response RE Racing Kawasaki) 25th in Superpole.
More, from a press release issued by MV Agusta Reparto Corse:
0.3 SECOND BETWEEN MV AGUSTA REPARTO CORSE AND ITS FIRST WORLDSBK PODIUM
With Leon Camier closing 4th in a thrilling and battled Race1 today at Portimao, Team MV Agusta Reparto Corse missed its first WorldSBK podium for just 0.342 seconds. In WorldSSP class PJ Jacobsen got the 3rd time after the Tissot-Superpole2 and tomorrow will kick off the race from the front row.
WorldSBK – FP3, SP2, Race1
After finishing with the 3rd fastest time in this morning’s FP3 practice, the Tissot-Superpole2 played a bad joke for Leon Camier, forced to pull out of the session during the first lap because of an engine problem; since he couldn’t complete neither one lap, Camier has been forced to start the race from the 11th position on grid.
When the light goes out, Camier immediately finds the right feeling with the F4 RC set by Team MV Agusta Reparto Corse. Despite the disadvantaged position on the grid, the Brit rider begins an extraordinary comeback leading to 4th place, behind Marco Melandri, after only half a race. The perfect match between rider and bike allows Camier to quickly bridge the gap with Melandri, fighting for the the podium until the finish line. In the end, the the Ducati rider won the battle for just 0.342s.
Tomorrow at 15.00 local time Leon Camier will kick off race 2 from the pole position, because of his placement in today’s race1.
WorldSSP – FP3, SP1, SP2
After getting a solid 3rd place in the FP3 this morning, Jacobsen returned to the track early in the afternoon for the last qualifying heat of Tissot-Superpole2. In the 15 minutes long session, the American rider was able to close again in 3rd position, earning the first row on the grid ahead of tomorrow’s WorldSSP race.
Alessandro Zaccone and his squad continues to work hard on the setting of his MV Agusta F3 675, ending the Tissot-Superpole1 session in 21st position, placing 2nd within the ESS class.
Leon Camier #2 WorldSBK – I didn’t expect to recover so many positions but the bike was working really good and I was able to make some good passes in the beginning. I pushed hard so much in the last few laps trying to catch Melandri, but in the end I made a few little mistakes trying to close the gap and it wasn’t quite possibile to pass him. Anyway, I am definitely happy with this result and I want to thank all my team for their great job. I am really looking forward to tomorrow.
Patrick “PJ” Jacobsen #99 WorldSSP – I am very happy, today the bike’s setting was perfect and I was able to push hard for the whole Superpole session. Tomorrow we will start from the front row and it will be a huge opportunity to fight for the podium. Big thank to all my team, I will try to repay their work with a good placement tomorrow.
Alessandro Zaccone #61 ESS – Honestly, we still have a bit of work to do on the bike because we are a little bit too far from our potential positions. Of course, having missed the second round yesterday made the setting work very complicated. Now we just have to stay focused on tomorrow’s race, because from where we are right now, we can only improve.
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Mahias Secures Front Row Start for Portimao Showdown
Qualifying
GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team’s Lucas Mahias secured his fourth front row start of the season on Saturday at Portimao, round nine of the 2017 FIM Supersport World Championship. The championship leader qualified in second in a tight session that saw less than half a second separate the top six riders. His teammate Federico Caricasulo will start Sunday’s race from the front of the third row in seventh, with both riders confident of their ability to fight at the front on Sunday.
Mahias has been struggling to find a good feeling with his Yamaha R6 around the 4.592km Autódromo Internacional do Algarve this weekend but worked extremely hard with his team on Friday night and Saturday morning to make some setup changes for SP2. The 28-year-old French rider clearly made a breakthrough and he managed to improve his best time from practice by over half a second to set a 1:45.576, which was good enough to secure second on the grid. Mahias leads the championship by one point from Kenan Sofuoglu – who will start from pole – and after just 0.35s separated the two in SP2, he is relishing the chance to battle with his rival during Sunday’s race.
Caricasulo had spent the whole of practice using the harder SC1 rear tyre and focusing on race pace. For SP2 he made the switch to the softer option SC0 rear tyre but found that it didn’t give him the improvements he was looking for. Despite this, the 21-year-old Italian still managed to set a 1:46.365 to finish just 0.835s behind the pole sitter and secure seventh on the grid. Starting from the head of the third row, Caricasulo is confident that with his impressive race pace he can battle with the leading riders in Sunday’s race.
There will be four Yamaha R6s on the front three rows on Sunday as Kallio Racing’s Sheridan Morais secured fourth on the grid, despite a crash in SP2, and his teammate Niki Tuuli will join him on the second row in sixth.
The GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team are back in action on Sunday at 9am local time for Warm Up in Portimao, with the 18-lap race due to start at midday. Check out the results from SP2.
Lucas Mahias
GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team – 2nd – 1:45.576
“I am very happy as it was a very good qualifying session! It was a bit of a surprise for me because at the beginning of the weekend I struggled with my confidence on the bike and my lap times haven’t been great. I am happy because I worked a lot with my mechanics to improve the bike, we changed some settings and for qualification, it was a completely different bike. During SP2 was the first time I had followed a rider all weekend and it was easier. I was behind my teammate Federico and it gave me an advantage. I am happy because tomorrow should be a good race and it will be very close. That is great for the championship, and for the fans, but for the riders, it is very difficult!”
Federico Caricasulo
GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team – 7th – 1:46.365
“I am not very happy because today in qualifying the feeling with my bike was not as good as it has been in practice. I used the SC0 in SP2 but I didn’t have the feeling to push with this tyre. The difference with the SC1, which I had used during practice, wasn’t that great in terms of lap times, which surprised me, but I will push as hard as I can from P7 on the grid tomorrow to fight at the front as always!”
Filippo Conti
GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team Manager
“I am very happy for Lucas’s side of the garage as they made a huge step today. We have been struggling this weekend due to the bumps and windy conditions, but in the end, the whole team worked really hard today – even if the red flags in FP3 made it hard to get any rhythm going – by the end we found something that made the difference. Federico had the potential to be on the front row as well, but he changed to the SC0 rear tyre for SP2 and the extra grip pushed the front end a bit too much and he lost his feeling with the bike. The important thing is that as a team we are able to always be pushing at the front and it shows how ready we are to fight for the championship. I think it will be a great race tomorrow, there are lots of riders that are fast this weekend so it should be very close. I want to say thanks to the riders, the team and Yamaha because they have worked so hard this weekend to be constantly improving and give us the best chance to fight for the title!”