It is round ten of the FIM Supersport World Championship. We are at the Magny-Cours circuit in France. Kenan Sofuoglu of Turkey is on the verge of being a five-time WSSP champion. We have had a lot of variety in Supersport this year, with eight riders making front row starts, and a dozen different riders scoring podium finishes. We look at the post time weather conditions, before we go racing, (they will be updated again, before the start). Current temperatures are 16 degrees Celsius (60 degree Fahrenheit), air temperature, 20 degree Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit), track temperature. From nine races this year in Supersport, we have seen so much great racing, and we are at the penultimate European race of the season.
Kenan Sofuoglu currently holds a 53 point edge on his Kawasaki Racing team mate, Randy Krummenacher in the points standings. Should Sofuoglu win today's race, no one will be able to catch him, and he should have his fifth championship signed, sealed, and delivered. Sofuoglu has his sixth pole of 2016 and his 29th career pole. P.J. Jacobsen wants his first win of the World Supersport season. If he wins the race, he wins the title. Even if something unexpected happens to Sofuoglu, Randy Krummenacher would have to finish 12th or higher, and P.J. Jacobsen would need to finish fourth or higher, to keep their championship hopes alive. P.J. Jacobsen won this race in France, and set fastest lap, last year.
Honda did not finish on the podium last time out in Germany. Honda's podium streak came to an end when Jacobsen failed to finish on the podium at the Lausitzring. Qualifying was intense, and Jacobsen had a wobble on a greasy track during the session. The next nearest rider, Ayrton Badovini, was quite a bit slower than the top two. Randy Krummenacher became the first rider to win on debut in World Supersport, and the first Swiss rider to win in the class. Supersport debuted as the Supersport World Series, back in 1997. Jules Cluzel runs fourth in the championship standings right now which is the exact spot where he finished last year.
A championship for Cluzel is out of the question. But, he's doing his best to run down P.J. Jacobsen to break into the top three. Cluzel wants a second win. No rider other than Kenan Sofuoglu has won more than once this year. Cluzel did win in Thailand earlier this year, back in March. Federico Caricasulo didn't qualify as well as he'd hoped to. He starts 12th. Caricasulo is aboard the Bardahl Evan Brothers Honda CBR600RR. Randy Krummenacher has been going through some engine problems all weekend. We'll have to check and see how the track is. There was oil dropped by a bike during Superstock 1000 practice, (another race you will hear about here on 2 Wheelin'), making the going difficult.
Robbie Rolfo will start from pit lane as he's exceeded the engine limit and used a seventh motor during Free Practice 3 on Saturday afternoon. Rolfo had qualified 25th on the grid on his #44 Team Factory Vamag MV Agusta F3 675. Rolfo will have an agonizing wait at the end of pit lane. While the rest of the field goes by, he has to wait, and then, is held for a further five seconds. Then he can go join the race. The sighting laps have begun. You would expect Sofuoglu to be able to wrap up the title unless a true catastrophe occurs, even though P.J. Jacobsen can and will take the fight to Sofuoglu.
Ayrton Badovini on the Gemar Balloons - Team Lorini Honda could be a spoiler, and, there are some chaps up towards the front who we don't often see there. Illiya Michalchik has qualified well, while Gino Rea has had issues with his bike this weekend, but has still qualified his MV Agusta in fourth place. He is on a customer MV Agusta bike, the GRT Racing Team machine. Unfortunately, another customer MV rider, Alex Baldolini, will not race today, and instead, joins commentators Greg Haines and Steve English, in the broadcast booth.
Alex Baldolini hurt his wrist and hopes to race at Jerez in Spain next time out, for the penultimate event of the season. Kenan Sofuoglu starts from pole, as mentioned. P.J. Jacobsen in P2. Baldolini crashed, and is in pain, but will guest in the booth, and he'll have a checkup and recover from his wrist injury. Ayrton Badovini is third. Now, let's check out the title permutations. If Kenan Sofuoglu wins, it's over. He's the champ, no matter what. He needs to leave France with a lead of 50 or more points. Kawasaki could wrap up the constructor's championship. But, they also need 50+ points. Currently, Kawasaki is 42 markers ahead of Honda in the constructor's cup.
Jules Cluzel rolls off fifth. Cluzel needs optimism after not winning since Thailand as we've mentioned. So, the home fans should provide a boost for him. Illiya Michalchik is sixth. Alex Baldolini says the new electronics makes a difference. Last year, he was used to not having the traction control. Mika and Vessa Kallio are here. Mika Kallio is the test rider for KTM's new MotoGP bike, and will race it in the finale of the season at Valencia in Spain. Nikki Tuuli rolls off seventh. Tuuli had a great run to the podium in Germany last time out, and will finish the season out.
Eighth is Christian Gamarino. Alessandro Zaccone rolls off ninth. Axel Bassani completes the top ten. Axel Bassani leads the standings in the European Supersport Cup right now. Federico Caricasulo is 12th on the grid. The championship fight for ESS will go on to the finale in Jerez, Spain. Away goes the safety car, and so, we have five minutes until this race begins. Randy Krummenacher is 11th on the grid. Sweden's Christoffer Bergman is 13th. Cedric Tangre qualified 14th. This is Tangre's best qualifying effort, as he is the fourth best European Supersport Cup rider. Could Kenan Sofuoglu be a five-time Supersport World Champion? We'll find out, oh, an hour or so from now.
A few French wildcards are in this field. In 20th on the grid, look out for Spanish wildcard Xavi Pinsach. Watch out for another wildcard rider, too. Hannes Soomer of Estonia, is that rider. He is piloting the #38 Kallio Racing Yamaha YZF R6, as a team mate to Nikki Tuuli. Two riders we expected to see higher on the grid, won't be. Kyle Smith and Lorenzo Zanetti start 34th and 35th on the grid, respectively, in a 37 bike field. Away they go on the warmup lap. How will Kenan Sofuoglu approach the Adelaide hairpin? He can't be aggressive if he's going to win the championship. Once the race settles down to a one on one battle, he'll be fine. But, he has to be more conservative when dealing with a group of riders, and overtaking them.
75 points still available between this race, Jerez in Spain, and Qatar. Sofuoglu leads team mate Randy Krummenacher by 53 points, 171-118. P.J. Jacobsen is 62 points behind on 109 markers, and in fourth, 80 points back is Jules Cluzel, with just 80 points. Being on the inside line might be an advantage, according to Alex Baldolini. Sofuoglu, Jacobsen, and Badovini, across row one. We're set to race, here in France. Red lights on. Red lights, out! We're racing in World Supersport in France!
Kenan Sofuoglu gets a great start. Gino Rea has a storming start, too, and one of the PTR Honda bikes goes down on the starting line. Ayrton Badovini goes straight through on P.J. Jacobsen who runs wide. He makes a move on Jules Cluzel, too, headed through Estoril. The first couple corners are treacherous, but this race is 19 laps. So, there's time for people to make up ground. Oh dear! P.J, Jacobsen has crashed out at the Adelaide hairpin! Game over! Jacobsen won here last year but will not repeat, as he crashes out on lap one just as he did at Aragon in Spain. Sofuoglu leads over Gino Rea while a scrap ensues for third between Ayrton Badovini and Jules Cluzel.
Nikki Tuuli is now fifth. Axel Basani has passed Illiya Michalchik for sixth place. Jules Cluzel is trying to get by Gino Rea for second, into the Lycee corner. The two riders who have crashed are bikes #61 (Alessandro Zaccone, on the San Carlo Team Italia Kawasaki ZX6R), #65 (Michael Canducci on the sister GRT Racing Team MV Agusta F3 675, to Gino Rea). Zaccone is out and this means a big shuffle in the European Supersport Cup. There's still a lot of speedy dry down on the road from that oil spillage in the warmup for the Superstock 1000 bikes. Again, we will discuss that race, in another post.
Nikki Tuuli nearly runs into Axel Basani. Gently boys! But, it's good for Illiya Michalchik who says, "thanks, I'll play through", and passes on the outside. Randy Krummenacher is also making his way up from his 11th spot on the grid. Jules Cluzel is bridging the gap to Kenan Sofuoglu. In replay of the aforementioned crash, we can see that Alessandro Zaccone was clipped by Michael Canducci's front wheel, and this caused Zaccone's tumble. Zaccone is furious, because it's the second time this weekend he was wiped out by another rider at the Adelaide hairpin. In Friday practice, he had a tangle with Ondrej Jezek as well. We see now that it's Sofuoglu, Cluzel, and Badovini, 1, 2, 3. In the top three, Badovini is running the fastest at 1:42.821, followed by Cluzel at 1:42.949, and slowest, is the leader, Badovini at 1:43.250.
It's easy to have a wreck at the Adelaide hairpin. Braking too late, can cost you. Ayrton Badovini has not shown this kind of pace in the dry. He has in the wet, if you think back to the Sepang, Malaysia round. But, not in the dry. Will Kenan Sofuoglu go defensive like always? Randy Krummenacher is only eighth at the moment. Even if Sofuoglu falls to fourth, he'll still be world champ. Axel Bassani has now reset fastest lap. 1:42.511. Bassani is fifth. San Carlo Team Italia will be discontinued next year, and with Randy Krummenacher stepping up to World Superbike in 2017, that means that either Alessandro Zaccone or Axel Basani, will be team mates with Kenan Sofuoglu, next year.
Puccetti has Kenan Sofuoglu as their guaranteed #1 rider. But, who will be his team mate? That remains to be seen. Kenan Sofuoglu has now reset fastest lap at 1:42.384. Sofuoglu will begin to push and go faster, according to Alex Baldolini, guest commentator. With the sun shining, cooler temperatures, and a green race track (no rubber on the surface after rain), track conditions are different than the riders were used to in practice and qualifying. The asphalt is a little hotter, but not as hot as on Friday. Some riders will suffer more than others. Jules Cluzel makes a bit of a half hearted attempt, to pass Kenan Sofuoglu. Nikki Tuuli has now brought fastest lap down again to 1:42.182, running in fifth.
Tuuli has passed Axel Basani. Tuuli is now running behind Gino Rea. Ayrton Badovini tries to pass Jules Cluzel into 180. But, he couldn't make it. That's a tough corner to make a pass through, and you have to be pretty brave to do it. Gino Rea is in talks with different teams about next year, and do not forget (as mentioned in Superbike coverage yesterday), we have the FIM Supersport 300 class debuting next year, too. Lachlan Epis is running in the top 20 and he is confirmed to race in Supersport again next year. Cedric Tangre now runs 17th and is two spots away from scoring a point. Beyond the top ten, Christoffer Bergman is 11th followed by Lorenzo Zanetti. Kyle Smith is 13th. Zulfahmi Khairuddin is in 14th and Kyle Ryde, 15th.
Kyle Smith successfully passes Zanetti for 12th. Kyle Smith is quite a bit faster on his Honda than is Lorenzo Zanetti on the MV Agusta. The top six are all locked together. Kenan Sofuoglu followed by Jule Cluzel, Ayrton Badovini, Gino Rea, Nikki Tuuli, and Axel Basani. Sofuoglu goes defensive into Lycee, (high school corner). Nikki Tuuli and Gino Rea almost touch! Ayrton Badovini is hung out to dry! Axel Bassani has now moved up to fifth. Oh dear! Gino Rea is out of this race! Again, heartbreak for the British rider. Rea loses the front end of the bike into 180 and the bike flings him off! That was an odd crash. Rea kept the line and lost the front end of the motorcycle, unfortunately.
The top three riders are breaking away and Jules Cluzel almost runs into the back of Kenan Sofuoglu! Nikki Tuuli has made his way to third! Axel Basani is now fourth, oh, about a second behind. The Yamaha R6 has potential to be a good bike. Again, it is great to see three bikes in the top three. Kawasaki vs. MV Agusta vs. Yamaha. Ayrton Badovini is the leading Honda in fifth, and this is news in the constructor's championship. If things remain as is, Kawasaki could also leave France with the World Supersport constructor's title. Kawasaki Puccetti Racing has already won the teams title.
Tuuli slides the rear tire into the hairpin, like former champion Chris Vermuellen used to do. Wow! The order stays the same through the Nurburgring chicane. As we reach halfway, guest commentator Alex Baldolini's prediction is coming true. Tuuli tries Cluzel into the Imola chicane. No chance. Jules Cluzel is in the toughest position, having to attack and defend at the same time. He wants to pass Kenan Sofuoglu, but has to defend his spot in second from Nikki Tuuli. Through the Golf kink and into the Adelaide hairpin another time. Axel Basani has Ayrton Badovini all over him, but now, Nikki Tuuli is going to look for a way past Jules Cluzel, too. Tuuli runs really wide. The Yamaha does not have the top end speed or power that the MV Agusta does.
More surprises in the European Supersport Cup. Game over for Illiya Michalchik. He's crashed. So, Axel Basani would almost surely win the Cup title for ESS going into their final race in Spain. Someone has gone down, and, it's Kenan Sofuoglu! He's crashed out of this pivotal race in the Supersport series! Jules Cluzel, leads this race, with Nikki Tuuli in second. The championship battle moves on to Jerez. Sofuoglu will not clinch today. Sofuoglu loses the bike in Estoril, the right hand turn. Sofuoglu took a narrow approach into the first corner and was pushed outside slightly. He was carrying too much speed on the line he was on, and couldn't make the next corner at Golf.
It's all happening now. Jules Cluzel wiggles at Chateau D'Eau, and Nikki Tuuli takes the lead. If the results stay as they are, the championship lead comes down to 42 points. Randy Krummenacher in fifth has been handed a lifeline with his team mate's crash, and he'll grab onto it for sure. We look at the revised top three in points. Sofuoglu still leads the championship, 171-129. He's got 42 points on Krummenacher, and then, Jules Cluzel is third, but mathematically out of the picture, on 111 points total, 60 behind. Randy Krummenacher is fifth, and sixth is Federico Caricasulo. Cluzel has to ride hard, and be on the limit, as he tries to catch Nikki Tuuli.
Tuuli is on the limit all the time. Both Kyle's, Kyle Smith and Kyle Ryde, are now in the top ten. Axel Basani is third, and is the leading ESS rider. We have not seen an ESS competitor, score a podium yet. Today could be the day. Illiya Michalchik is now back in the race, running tenth. Oh dear. Spoke too soon. Ayrton Badovini gets around Axel Basani. Basani is not finished with Ayrton Badovini just yet. Niki Tuuli could be the first ever Finnish rider to win in World Supersport. But, the partisan French crowd knows they want their man, Jules Cluzel to pull it off.
Randy Krummenacher is now 3.4 second behind Nikki Tuuli. P.J. Jacobsen has been eliminated from title contention, while Krummenacher, has to finish 12th or better, to stay in the hunt. If he retires, his chances are done, and Kenan Sofuoglu could still win the title. Badovini and Basani get too close and almost touch through Chateau d'Eau. Kenan Sofuoglu was under pressure, and it's not often he makes a mistake. He was on the podium for every race, except for Phillip Island, Sepang, and here, at Magny-Cours. It's only his second retirement of 2016. Kawasaki has 45 points over Honda. Yamaha, MV Agusta, Kawasaki, Honda, 1-2-3-4. Before we get to the end, let's do a top 15 rundown.
1. Nikki Tuuli
2. Jules Cluzel
3. Axel Basani
4. Ayrton Badovini
5. Randy Krummenacher
6. Federico Caricasulo
7. Christoffer Bergman
8. Christian Gammarino
9. Kyle Smith
10. Illiya Michalchik
11. Lorenzo Zanetti
12. Zulfahmi Khairuddin
13. Kyle Ryde
14. Hannes Soomer
15. Ondrej Jezek
Luke Stapleford and Cedric Tangre are 18th and 19th. 32 riders still running. Rea, Canducci, and Sofuoglu are out. The final rider running, is French wildcard Felix Peron, on the #123 Team 23 Felix Le-Pilot by ASPI Yamaha YZF R6. Randy Krummenacher should get a decent finish. If Krummenacher finishes, he will get a good result. He's had a tough weekend. Three laps now remain in WSSP in France. If Krummenacher retires, Sofuoglu will still be champ. Sofuoglu lost the front end of the bike and had too much lean angle into the corner, causing his crash. Ayrton Badovini could spoil the ESS party and deny Axel Basani the first podium for an ESS rider.
Cluzel has more toip end with the MV. Tuuli has better drive on the Yamaha. The race comes down to who puts their bike in the right place. Ayrton Badovini has passed Axel Basani for third. Badovini may be on a late race charge, and is half a second behind Jules Cluzel. Cluzel, no matter where he finishes, would move ahead of P.J. Jacobsen in points, after Jacobsen had a DNF. Cluzel wants to win here in France just as he did in 2014. Two laps left. If Cluzel has anything left in the locker to go after Tuuli, he has to use it now. It could be game over for Christoffer Bergman on the PTR Honda.
Tuuli is running laps in the mid 1:42 range. Tuuli makes his Yamaha very wide and flicks the rear end of the bike like a dirt track racer. Tuuli has that experience from racing motorcycles on ice in his native Finland. Watch out into Chateau d'Eau. Bergman had mechanical issues and was shown the meatball flag (a black flag with an orange circle in the middle), meaning the bike has probably puked oil all over the pavement. Bergman wrecked and rejoined. But, did the engine in his Kawasaki go sour? Everyone gets through safely. No worries about oil. We're on the final lap. Tuuli will go full tilt boogie here, because he has nothing to lose except the race. Cluzel has points to worry about. Not a championship, but points nontheless.
Cluzel has lots of top speed, and Badovini takes a slightly different line. Christoffer Bergman wisely brings his sick Kawasaki into the pit lane so it can be mended. Into the Adelaide hairpin for the final time. Jules Cluzel goes inside, and the crowd goes nuts! Cluzel throws the block and makes the pass. Tuuli has to get his head down, and go after Cluzel. He's coming back on the outside. Brave inside move, doesn't stick for Tuuli. These two nearly touch! Keep in mind, if these blokes wreck, then Ayrtona Badovini can pounce. Half a lap remains. Cluzel might pull it off, with his experience on this track.
Cluzel runs wide. Tuuli is going to give it everything. Cluzel defends. Coming to Lycee, it may be too little too late, for Tuuli as Badovini wants by. This might leave Cluzel in the clear. Cluzel finally wins a World Supersport race for MV Agusta! The French fans, go bonkers!
World Supersport Race: #16 Jules Cluzel FRA. MV Agusta F3 675
Great second place for Tuuli. Badovini third. Axel Bassani gets fourth and keeps the Euro Supersport Cup alive into their final round at Jerez in the next race. Christian Gammarino has unfortunately wrecked on the final lap. So the top ten is Jules Cluzel, Nikki Tuuli, Ayrton Badovini, Axel Bassani, Randy Krummenacher, Federico Caricasulo, Kyle Smith, Illiya Mikhalchik, Lorenzo Zanetti, and Zulfahmi Khairuddin. Rounding out the points are Kyle Ryde, Hannes Soomer, Ondrej Jezek, Xavier Pinsach, the wildcard from Spain, and Luke Stapleford scores one point.
Wow. What a race for World Supersport in France! Randy Krummenacher is the only rider who can beat Kenan Sofuoglu. We head next, to the penultimate round of the championship at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in Jerez, Spain, next weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment