We are at Imola in Italy, for round five of the FIM World Supersport Championship. Rain is on the horizon. We have had four different winners in four races, including Randy Krummenacher, Jules Cluzel, Kenan Sofuoglu, and Kyle Smith. Will we see our first repeat winner in 2016? Stay tuned, to find out. We have had heavy rains in Italy, overnight, and it's still raining, as we approach the start of the World Supersport race. Looking at the temperatures, right now, it is 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit), air temperature, and 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees), track temperature. Will we see weather changes? Rain was supposed to be falling, but there's none seen in Emilia Romagna right now. We have a huge crowd on hand.
Mist is hanging in the park, among the trees, here at Imola right now. Randy Krummenacher has a ten point lead in the championship over his Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team mate, Kenan Sofuoglu. Randy Krummenacher has to try and beat Sofuoglu, who has a riding style, that this track at Imola, suits. Jules Cluzel is on pole. MotoGP rider Jack Miller, joins world feed commentators for WSBK, Greg Haines and Steve English. We have 17 laps scheduled for this WSSP race, and if we have to shorten it for any reason, 2/3rds distance, would mean ending the race on lap 11. Jules Cluzel surprised everyone with his pole position run. Cluzel has the confidence. Zulfahmi Khairuddin went through Super Pole 1 and Super Pole 2, ending up 11th on the grid, and he has adapted to World Supersport, after coming from Moto3.
Randy Krummenacher, a similar situation, after struggling on a Moto2 bike for a few years. Alessandro Zaccone on the #61 San Carlo Team Italia Kawasaki ZX6R is the quickest ESS rider. Remember, ESS is the European Supersport Cup, where these riders, are racing, for their own championship, only competing, in Europe, very similar to the Superstock 1000 bikes, and you will hear about STK1000 from Imola, soon, here on 2 Wheelin' Stay tuned for that, as we now focus on WorldSSP. P.J. Jacobsen has to bounce back, and score points. Last time out at Assen, in Holland, he went through the whole spectrum of emotions, crashing, a number of times, and after one wreck, only going out and crashing, again.
P.J. Jacobsen, will be looking to definitely score points, here at Imola. The bikes are on their sighting lap at this time. P.J.Jacobsen, has been linked, to a move, from Supersport, to Moto2 competition. The Moto2 bikes are prototype machines as opposed to production based motorcycles like they are here in Supersport. But, Sam Lowes, and Franco Morbidelli, who started their careers on production based 600cc motorcycles, are two examples, of riders, who are doing well in Moto2 at the moment. 600cc bikes make for some great racing as we see Jules Cluzel starting from pole.
Kenan Sofuoglu has picked up his 17th straight front row start. Sofuoglu has raced in World Supersport now, for ten years, so, it is doubtful he'd move up to World Superbike, or to MotoGP. But, in that time, he has become a great rider on these 600cc bikes. Patrick Jacobsen is third. Randy Krummenacher starts fourth. Ayrton Badovini is sixth. Badovini is riding in place of the injured Glenn Scott on the #86 Gemar Balloons - Team Lorini Hond CBR600RR. Lorenzo Zanetti starts fifth on the #87 MV Agusta Reparto Corse MV Agusta F3 675.
Zanetti is the only rider, other than Kenan Sofuoglu, who has won a World Supersport race here, at Imola. He did so two years ago (in 2014), on a Honda. Zanetti is running an Ayrton Senna tribute crash helmet, because this race, falls, 22 years, to the day, May 1st, 1994, that the great Formula 1 champion, Ayrton Senna, was killed, here at Imola. So was then F1 rookie, Roland Ratzenberger. Federico Caricasulo is seventh. Alex Baldolini will roll off in eighth place. Five minutes until the race start for the 600s. Kyle Ryde is making his debut in WSSP at Imola, much like Nicky Hayden did in Superbike, highlighted yesterday.
Gino Rea is ninth on the grid on the GRT Racing Team MV Agusta, and rounding out the top ten qualifiers, will be Ondrej Jezek for GoEleven Kawasaki. Zulfahmi Khairuddin starts eleventh. Nicolas Terol rolls off 13th. Kyle Smith is 14th. He is riding the #111 CIA Landlord Insurance Honda CBR600RR. Alessandro Zaccone is 12th. Jules Cluzel, is going to lead this field, from his third consecutive Imola pole. Because of technical issues in Superpole, Luke Stapleford (another contender in the Supersport division), is right at the back of this 37 bike field. He is 36th out of 37. Canadian Braeden Ortt is caboose on this field and has a penalty.
Dark clouds are surrounding the speedway here at Imola. Will the skies open during the Supersport race? It looks as if the clouds appear at Rivazza and also at Piratella. Again, if it begins raining hard and we are past halfway in the race, it will be called official. Braeden Ortt, the Canadian rider mentioned earlier, is in pit lane. Let's hope he can make the start, from pit lane, and we will have a full, massive field, of 37 motorcycles, ready to bring the thunder, in World Supersport, here at Imola. The revs come up. Great to have you with us, for this fifth round of World Supersport, at Imola. Here come the lights.
Go! Who will lead down to the first corner? Jules Cluzel leads Kenan Sofuoglu. Cluzel holds the lead as they speed through Tambarello for the first time. Tipping it left for the Villeneuve chicane, it looks like this massive field of 600cc motorcycles, might get through cleanly. Randy Krummenacher has made a good start, and is up to third. He has passed P.J. Jacobsen. Jacobsen is fourth, as the riders head to Tosa for the first time. Randy Krummenacher has caught Kenan Sofuoglu. As we start this 17 lap race, there are damp patches on the speedway already. Alessandro Zaccone is starting to make up ground already. Cluzel leads, from Sofuoglu and Krummnenacher.
Alex Baldolini wiggles his motorcycle and has to sit up through Aqua Minerale for the first time. Sofuoglu makes a move for the lead as we really don't see anyone taking risks in the first couple laps. Sofuoglu runs wide into the Villeneuve chicane and Jules Cluzel says, "merci beaucoup" and moves into the race lead. Krummenacher is also right there. P.J. Jacobsen has also caught the Kawasaki's. He's running fourth right now. On lap two of 17, only 1.6 seconds covers the top eight riders. Sofuoglu, Cluzel, Krummenacher, Jacobsen, Federico Caricasulo, Ayrton Badovini, Alessandro Zaccone, and Lorenzo Zanetti.
If rain comes, lap 11 is the cutoff. So, these boys are definitely running in sprint mode as Caricasulo wants to make a move. Nobody jumped the start. Everyone is looking for the right line on the road at the moment. Uh oh. There could be problems, for Kenan Sofuoglu. Smoke appears from the back of his Kawasaki ZX6R. Correction. It's the team bike of Randy Krummenacher. Oil smoke emanates from the tailpipe. Sofuoglu is being shown the mechanical black flag or "meatball" flag (a black flag, with a red dot), because of the oil smoke. Sofuoglu, the championship leader, will have to pull off the track.
Sofuoglu makes a move, and he still has not pulled off the road even though he knows he needs to. We have a red flag out on the track as well. Krummenacher's Kawasaki is also smoking, and as the riders slow down, they are making him aware of that. The red flag, could be for two reasons. Oil has been dropped all over the road. Or, there has also been a wreck. Christian Gammarino has ditched his bike at Variante Alta. Gamarino is on the #11 Team GoEleven Kawasaki ZX6R. Game over for Gamarino. Krummenacher is now under investigation by the stewards, as we see the Gamarino incident in replay.
Christian Gammarino got on the grass, tried to ride over it, and lost control, with the motorcycle fishtailing and landing Gammarino... bonk!, right on his shoulder. The bike is right in the middle of the racing line, hence the red flag. Illia Michalchik ran off the road in avoidance, on his #55 DS Junior Team Kawasaki ZX6R. If the bike can run, Gammarino will try getting it back to the pits, to fix it, just as P.J. Jacobsen did in the last round at Assen. The red flag is out, and Randy Krummenacher is grass tracking his Kawasaki because if he rides on the racing line, he fears the bike will puke oil everywhere.
Maybe oil is not even the issue, even though Krummenacher's motorcycle, was smoking earlier, as the rest of the riders head to pit lane and the garages. Race control says Krummenacher will not be allowed to restart the race. He dumped so much oil, and ignored the warning flags. It's game over for Randy Krummenacher. If you still have power from the motorcycle, you'll keep going. If there is something wrong with the bike, that is understandable. But, maybe the fairing is being touched by the exhaust pipe, creating the smoke. Spare a thought for Randy Krummenacher, because he was putting on a spirited ride before retiring from this race.
There was a similar incident in a 2014 MotoGP race at Sepang (which you likely read about here on 2 Wheelin'), where Pol Espargaro had smoke spewing from the Tech3 Yamaha, and fellow rider Scott Redding was flagging him down. On that occasion, the oil leaked onto the rear tire, and threw Espargaro off the motorcycle in turn one. Randy Krummenacher is back in the garage, having a heated discussion with crew chief Andrew Pitt. Scott Smart, from the FIM is also in this discussion. Krummencher rode past the black flag, and because he didn't pull off to the side of the road, he won't be able to restart this race. Indeed it is game over for Krummenacher.
This race is null and void, and we will restart the race, with the quick start procedure, going on another warm up lap, and we will restart this race a bit later on. Janos Chrobak was very fortunate to avoid Christian Gammarino's spilled bike. Someone could put fresh tires on for the second half of this race. Well, the second start, more or less. We may be in for a battle between Kenan Sofuoglu and Jules Cluzel. Pit lane will open seven minutes from now, and there will be a warmup lap, the grid will be set, and another warmup lap, before restarting the race. Javier Orellana is in pit lane. But, he has parted company with Wilsport Racedays Honda.
Australian rider Jed Metcher is his replacement. In two rounds time, at Donington Park in England, we could have Hikari Okubo and Tom Sykes, doing Elvis, karaoke style. Hmmm. A little concert, before the race. How entertaining. Anyhow, how many points will Cluzel and Sofuoglu make up? Pit lane opens in two minutes. Christian Gammarino is fine, after his crash. Braeden Ortt will start from the grid. We have 35 bikes starting. A new rider is running on the #81 Profile Racing Triumph Daytona 675. Luke Stapleford had a falling out with the team, and team principal Simon Buckmaster has hired Sweden's Christoffer Bergman, who was riding another bike before that, (the CIA Landlord Insurance Honda CBR600RR).
The bikes are now on their sighting lap. Nico Terol has had a hard time in WSBK. He was dropped by Althea, and raced for MV Agusta. But he is now running well in WSSP. He is a 125cc champion and a Moto2 race winner. Terol was running for Althea when they ran Ducati's last year. Christian Gammarino is now ready to restart this race from 18th on the grid. We will restart and run this race for eleven laps. The riders are out on their warm up lap. Gino Rea will start from pit lane for the restart. Will he start? Or, does he have a problem? A bitter disappointment for Gino Rea. He was on the podium in Holland, last time out. This should be a three man race, between Sofuoglu, Jacobsen, and Cluzel.
We're ready, for a restart in WSSP at Imola! Go! Kenan Sofuoglu shoots up alongside Jules Cluzel. Cluzel dives into Tambarello later on the brakes, and takes the race lead. The field goes cleanly through Tambarello for the first time. Through the Villeneuve chicane, Sofuoglu is all over Cluzel like el cheapo suito here. Cluzel leads, Sofuoglu second, Jacobsen third, and Ayrton Badovini is also moving up. He is up to fourth spot on bike #86. Alex Baldolini is fifth, with two more Italian riders in hot pursuit. Lorenzo Zanetti and Federico Caricasulo. Sofuoglu leads. Will he and Jules Cluzel be able to break away from P.J. Jacobsen and Ayrton Badovini?
Zanetti passes Baldolini running deep into the corner. Sofuoglu has the advantage at the moment. Federico Caricasulo is seventh. Alessandro Zaccone is the leading ESS rider. He is running eighth. Ondrej Jezek and Nico Terol complete the top ten. Assen winner Kyle Smith is way down in 15th. P.J. Jacobsen has moved up to second place. P.J. Jacobsen runs ahead of Jules Cluzel, and meanwhile, Cluzel is falling into the clutches of Ayrton Badovini on the #86 Gemar Balloons - Team Lorini Honda CBR600RR. Badovini has lots of experience.
Right behind them, is Lorenzo Zanetti followed by Federico Caricasulo, and Alex Baldolini is also there. Through Aqua Minerale, Cluzel hesitates to put the power down on that MV Agusta F3 675. Badovini is gaining on Cluzel. Caricasulo passes Alessandro Zaccone through Rivazza. Zulfahmi Khairuddin is in trouble. He's sinking like a stone, as Kenan Sofuoglu sets fastest lap of this race so far at 1:52.512. Lorenzo Zanetti (who won for Honda in WSSP here at Imola in 2014), has passed his MV Agusta team mate, Jules Cluzel. Game over for Zulfahmi Khairuddin. If a rider overshoots one of the chicanes, they have to wait five seconds and then, they are released by the marshal.
Jacobsen and Zanetti are closing on Sofuoglu. New fast lap. Federico Caricasulo runs a 1:52.350. Caricasulo is seventh as Zanetti wants to dive by Badovini into the Villeneuve chicane. Badovini has done well. Hikari Okubo and Braeden Ortt have both crashed out. Into Aqua Minerale, Ayrton Badovini and Baldolini battle with Zannetti. Stefan Hill is also having issues. Hill has pulled off at Rivazza where he also had a wreck on Friday. P.J. Jacobsen is faster during the first part of the lap, and then, on the second half of the course, Kenan Sofuoglu has the edge.
Gino Rea continues to have issues as he crashes through Rivazza, rejoins the race, but can't keep the motorcycle together. Gino Rea, lays his bike down through Rivazza and he's right up against the motorcycle of Christian Gammarino who has already wrecked once in this race, grinding along the pavement. Gino Rea has actually managed to rejoin this race after that little incident. Fastest lap for Sofuoglu. He brings it down to a 1:51.986. Jules Cluzel has caught P.J. Jacobsen as we approach the halfway mark in this race.
Yellow flags are out at Variante Bassa, because of all the gravel that has been kicked up there. Looking at the trap speeds, Zanetti is fastest of all, running 258.6 kilometers an hour (161.625 miles an hour). Oh dear! Another crash! Italian wildcard rider Michael Canducci has crashed his #65 Green Speed Kawasaki ZX6R. Kyle Ryde also crashes at turn one, Tambarello. No. Ryde has not gone down. Ondrej Jezek is running well. His name, translates, to... get this!... Andrew Hedgehog! There was a car racer, named Giovanni Lavaggi, and his name, translated to, Johnny Carwash, in English. So, we have Andrew Hedgehog, and Johnny Carwash! Oh dear! How embarrassing!
Ondrej Jezek came up through Superstock 1000 racing, a class you will hear about, from their race, here at Imola as well. Cluzel is now right behind Jacobsen. Kenan Sofuoglu is likely going to extend his lead. P.J. Jacobsen is pushing, and Jules Cluzel is struggling with the MV Agusta at the moment. Track conditions continue to change. Jacobsen slides the Honda CBR600 as he mashes the gas. Tosa and Variante Alta are the two places where this happens the most. Looking at the fastest laps of four of the top six riders, Alex Baldolini has the fastest one at 1:52.429.
This race, signals a change in the points lead. Kenan Sofuoglu, will take the points lead away from Randy Krummenacher, who has led since the season opener in Australia at Phillip Island, back in February. The next race, is in Malaysia. Stay tuned for further details, after this thrilling race at Imola, concludes. Ayrton Badovini has dropped back behind Federico Caricasulo. He has also lost a spot to Alessandro Zaccone. Ondrej Jezek, our buddy, Mr. Hedgehog, is catching Ayrton Badovini for eighth spot. Tenth through fifteenth is Nico Terol, Robbie Rolfo, Kevin Wahr (on the team bike to Ayrton Badovini), Kyle Smith, (who has had a real costly weekend here at Imola), Axel Bassani, and Ilya Mikhalchik.
Kyle Ryde is still racing, in 17th spot. Jules Cluzel passes Lorenzo Zanetti. Kyle Smith, who won at Assen, last time out, is only going to score three points, finishing 13th. 13 is not his lucky number today, folks. We have yellow flags waving at Piratella. Kenan Sofuoglu is gapping his competition. Now, about the yellow at Piratella. Hungarian rider Janos Chrobak has crashed out of this one. Chrobak is on the #119 Schmidt Racing MV Agusta F3 675. He is team mates with Nico Terol on that Schmidt Racing squad. Baldolini and Caricasulo, meanwhile, nearly have a coming together. Those two got through Tosa corner cleanly. Correction, it was Lorenzo Zanetti.
Baldolini has broken away from Zanetti. Caricasulo and Lorenzo Zaccone battle for sixth and seventh. Rather, Caricasulo has sixth, and Zaccone, wants it. Cluzel is chipping away at Sofuoglu. But, the charge, for Jules Cluzel, has perhaps come too little too late. Zanetti, Caricasulo, and Zaccone, have not finished their scrap for position yet, even though this race, is drawing to a close. Sofuoglu leads Cluzel by 1.1 seconds. Caricasulo wiggles and holds onto his bike. It is the final lap. Zaccone is looking to fight Caricasulo through Piratella on the run down to Aqua Minerale.
Cluzel has put up a good fight. But, he is one second behind Kenan Sofuoglu. Kenan Sofuoglu will become the first repeat winner in FIM World Supersport in 2016. P.J. Jacobsen will have his first podium finish, since Thailand. Into the Variante Bassa for the final time, Kenan Sofuoglu wins for the second time, leading the points! Ondrej Jezek has passed Caricasulo. Zaccone also passes Zanetti.
#1 Kenan Sofuoglu TUR. Kawasaki ZX6R
Sofuoglu has his second win, his 73rd podium, and the 34th win of his WSSP career. The next race for FIM World Supersport, happened at the Sepang Circuit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Stay tuned, for that race report, coming soon.
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