FIM Supersport World Championship
Autodromo Internacional Algarve
Portimao, Portugal
September 17, 2017
Race Results (all on Pirelli tires):
1. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Turkey (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 18 laps, Total Race Time 31:56.454, Best Lap Time 1:45.984
2. Lucas MAHIAS, France (Yamaha YZF-R6), -0.080 second, 1:45.935
3. Jules CLUZEL, France (Honda CBR600RR), -2.294 seconds, 1:45.534
4. Sheridan MORAIS, South Africa (Yamaha YZF-R6), -4.176, 1:46.090
5. PJ JACOBSEN, USA (MV Agusta F3 675), -4.273, 1:46.038
6. Christian GAMARINO, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), -20.600, 1:46.360
7. Federico CARICASULO, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R6), -22.990, ran off track, 1:46.190
8. Lorenzo ZANETTI, Italy (MV Agusta F3 675), -23.196, 1:46.707
9. Christoffer BERGMAN, Sweden (Honda CBR600RR), -23.241, 1:46.795
10. Rob HARTOG, Netherlands (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -24.312, 1:47.055
11. Luke STAPLEFORD, UK (Triumph Daytona 675R), -28.899, 1:46.955
12. Hikari OKUBO, Japan (Honda CBR600RR), -30.801, 1:47.269
13. Michael CANDUCCI, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -30.911, 1:47.194
14. Gino REA, UK (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -37.729, 1:46.670
15. Hannes SOOMER, Estonia (Honda CBR600RR), -42.514, 1:47.534
16. Peter SEBESTYEN, Hungary (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -45.652, 1:48.040
17. Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN, Malaysia (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -48.070, 1:47.737
18. Jaimie Van SIKKELERUS, Netherlands (Yamaha YZF-R6), -64.600, 1:49.050
19. Max ENDERLEIN, Germany (Yamaha YZF-R6), -2 laps, DNF, crash, 1:47.861
20. Niki TUULI, Finland (Yamaha YZF-R6), -4 laps, DNF, crash, 1:46.318
World Championship Point Standing (after 9 of 12 races):
1. Sofuoglu, 145 points
2. Mahias, 141
3. Morais, 114
4. Cluzel, 104
5. Jacobsen, 79
6. Caricasulo, 60
7. Anthony West, 46
8. Kyle Smith, 44
9. TIE, Roberto Rolfo/Kyle Ryde, 43
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
WorldSSP: Sofuoglu narrowly secures fifth victory of 2017
Turkish rider beats his rivals to move to the top of the championship standings
The reigning WorldSSP World Champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was in fine form as he notched up win number five of the season at the Prosecco DOC Portuguese Round on Sunday. On his Kawasaki ZX-6R Sofuoglu rode with caution in the early laps but ultimately beat championship rival Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) by just 0.08s, whilst Jules Cluzel (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) crossed the line in third.
Pole man Sofuoglu dropped back to fourth in the early stages with PJ Jacobsen (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Mahias contesting the lead and Cluzel also getting in the mix.
But Jacobsen would eventually fall back to finish fifth, behind fourth placed Sheridan Morais (Kallio Racing), whilst Cluzel ultimately ran a lonely last few laps to third.
Mahias put some pressure on Sofuoglu on the last lap as the Frenchman sought to retain the lead in the general standings, but the Kawasaki rider was too strong as he showed his class for a narrow – but crucial – triumph.
Christian Gamarino (BARDAHL EVAN BROS. Honda Racing), Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team), Lorenzo Zanetti (Team Factory Vamag), Christoffer Bergman (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) and Rob Hartog (Team Hartog – Jenik – Against Cancer) completed the top ten.
In an incident packed 18 lap contest there were crashes for the likes of Stefan Hill (Profile Racing), Kyle Ryde (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), Lachlan Epis (Response RE Racing), Kazuki Watanabe (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) and Niki Tuuli (Kallio Racing), whilst Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25) missed out on the race due to technical problems with his MV Agusta F3 675 machine.
The WorldSSP riders return to action at the Pirelli French Round in two weeks’ time.
P1 – Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
“This one is very special, if you win a difficult race it means more. Lucas was very strong, I was ready for the fight and because it is also the battle for the championship with Lucas it is more special for me.”
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Sofuoglu Wins After Portimao Masterclass
Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) took the championship lead in the WorldSSP championship for the first time in 2017 after a textbook race win at the Portimao circuit in the Algarve.
Kenan’s fifth win of the season came after he had qualified in pole, but he had been in fourth position in the early laps until he moved forward to make a push for the race win. The final contest was between Kenan and his closest championship rival, Lucas Mahias, with Kenan doing enough to win his fifth race of the year, and the 43rd of his career.
After his latest competitive display on his official Kawasaki, Kenan leads Mahias in the championship by four points. Sofuoglu was unable to score in the first three rounds of the year, through injury and then a collision caused by another rider, but he has picked up 145 points from a possible 150 in the past six races alone.
Kyle Ryde (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was in a good position to score strongly in the early laps but he fell on lap three, at turn seven, and could not restart. In the championship Kyle sits ninth, on 43 points.
Three rounds of the championship remain, the next one coming along on 1 October, at Magny Cours in France.
Kenan Sofuoglu, stated: “If you win races after a really good fight you enjoy it more. This one was a very good race for everybody because Lucas Mahias and me we are also fighting for the championship, and we fought today in Portimao. This race was very special because of this. I think it is a very good last part of the season. I have to say a very big thanks to my team because yesterday we had a crash but we came back from it to win. Losing the chance to score points in the first three races made me hungry, but also relaxed and able to just ride the bike and try to win races. At the moment I am just enjoying it and today I rode the bike to win the race, not the championship. I want to continue in this way and I hope it will work well and we can win the championship when we get to Qatar for the final round.”
Kyle Ryde, stated: “Obviously I am disappointed that I could not finish the race but I got a good start and was maybe 10th or 12th, in the leading group, and with a big gap behind me to the next one. I was trying my hardest and just made a silly little mistake. I took too much brake and tucked the front. Although I am unhappy that I crashed I am happy that I got such a good start and was in there with the top guys. It was a tough way to finish but least I know I was there.”
ESS rider Rob Hartog (Team Hartog Jenik Against Cancer Kawasaki) was tenth in the Portimao race and Michael Canducci (3570 Puccetti Racing FMI Kawasaki) 13th. Gino Rea (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) ended his raceday 14th.
Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) just missed the points in 17th place. Kazuki Watanabe (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) 17th was an early faller, as were Nacho Calero (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) and Lachlan Epis (Response RE Racing Kawasaki).
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Mahias Storms to Podium in WorldSSP at Portimao
Race
GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team’s Lucas Mahias was involved in an exhilarating race-long duel with championship rival Kenan Sofuoglu during Sunday at Portimao for round nine of the 2017 FIM Supersport World Championship. The French rider battled with his championship rival up until the chequered flag, just missing out on the race win by 0.080s as he crossed the line in second to record his seventh podium of the season. His teammate Federico Caricasulo had looked strong all weekend but the wrong tyre choice meant he missed out on a possible podium chance, despite this, the Italian fought hard to bring his Yamaha R6 home in seventh place.
Mahias lined up on the middle of the front row for Sunday’s race, after an impressive qualifying performance on Saturday, leading the championship by one point from Sofuoglu. When the lights went out he made a great start and got the holeshot into turn 1 and over the first few laps he was involved in an excellent battle for the lead with Sofuoglu, PJ Jacobsen, and Jules Cluzel. By lap 8, the 28-year-old had broken away at the front with Sofuoglu and it came down to an epic game of cat and mouse between the two riders. Biding his time to make a move at the last corner on the last lap, Mahias stalked Sofuoglu and there was nothing to separate the two riders. Unfortunately, when the last lap came Mahias had a big moment at Turn 6 and almost crashed, but somehow, recovered to put pressure back on Sofuoglu and coming out of the final corner it was a sprint to the line between the two championship rivals. Mahias just missed out on the race win in a finish that saw just eight-hundredths of a second split the two. The 20 points Mahias collected means he is now second in the championship standings with 141 points, just four points behind Sofuoglu, heading into his home round at Magny-Cours.
Caricasulo had shown great race pace all weekend. Qualifying in seventh, he didn’t have the best of starts during the race after choosing to go with the SC1 soft rear tyre. The 21-year-old Italian just didn’t have the same feeling on his Yamaha R6 as he had in practice on the SC0 tyre, but he gave it his all to try and stick with the leading group. On lap 11 he was in sixth when he ran off track and rejoined in eighth, which meant he had to get his head down and try and make up for lost time. He did just that, riding superbly over the last few laps to fight back and cross the line in seventh. With this result, Caricasulo remains sixth in the Championship standings with 60 points, 19 points behind PJ Jacobsen in fifth.
The GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team returns to action for round ten of the 2017 FIM Supersport World Championship at Magny-Cours on the 29th September-1st October in France. Check out the race results.
Lucas Mahias
GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team – 2nd +0.080s
“The race was very good, I am very happy! I felt very strong and I pushed a lot to follow Kenan and I hoped to overtake him in the last corner but I made a mistake on the last lap and after that, it was difficult to get past. For the championship, it doesn’t make much difference, he only has a four-point lead and Portimao is the last track on the calendar that I don’t have a great feeling at. Now, the next three races, I like the tracks a lot and have good experience riding at them so, for sure, the championship is not finished yet! It is my home race next at Magny Cours and I will try my best to win!”
Federico Caricasulo
GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team – 7th +22.990s
“I was very confident about my rhythm in the race and felt I could stay with the front riders but we chose the wrong tyre. We went with the SC1 rear tyre and everyone else in the top ten was on the SC0 and it was impossible to stay with them. It is a shame because my pace during practice on the SC0 was really good and I believed I would be able to fight for the race win. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen so I tried my best to achieve the best result I could. I am looking forward to Magny-Cours already!”
Filippo Conti
GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team Manager
“I am really proud of what Lucas did today. We finished second, but that’s not important. Even the fact he lost the championship lead doesn’t really matter as I am confident that we are able to win the championship because today Lucas showed that we are there and we just need to make one more little step and to allow us to win the last few races. I am very proud and very happy. The team and Yamaha have worked so hard this weekend, to be honest, it has been rather challenging so I am happy with the result reached. For Federico’s side, the team chose a different strategy for the tyres, which we know now was not the right one. This meant at the start his rear tyre was spinning and he didn’t have the chance to catch the leaders, otherwise, I think he could have got a great result, but he still did a good job. Up next is Magny-Cours, Lucas’ home round, and he knows the track very well and we try to take advantage of this to retake the championship lead!”