We have reached the final round of this wonderful season in the 2016 FIM World Supersport championship. World Superbike and World Supersport, have raced in Qatar since 2005. We have a new rider and new manufacturer on pole, and there's a three way shootout for second spot in the championship. Stay tuned, fans. The World Supersport finale, under the lights, in Losail is, next!
Temperatures are dropping on this very good evening to you, with the moon shining down. Post time weather conditions are 29 degrees Celsius (84 degrees Fahrenheit), air temperature, and 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), track temperature. We have a northeast breeze of 4 kilometers, 2 miles per hour. We have a slightly smaller grid for the season finale, and that is for obvious reasons as the European Supersport series riders are not competing here in Qatar. The bikes are on their sighting lap. Kenan Sofuoglu has had an amazing year in 2016. Six race wins. Eight podium finishes. Seven pole positions. Quite the stats if your into the whole numerology thing.
Sofuoglu has 196 points and is now a five-time World Supersport champion. Second place is still up for grabs as it will be decided between two-time 2016 race winner Jules Cluzel on the MV Agusta, and Randy Krummenacher who won at Phillip Island in Australia at the start of the season. Cluzel is looking for his third career second place finish in the world championship standings. Krummenacher, meanwhile, is out to steal Jules Cluzel's thunder and make it a 1-2 in the points for Kawasaki Puccetti Racing. Kawasaki won the teams title in Germany and the manufacturers cup in Jerez, Spain. Will Krummenacher finish runner-up? It seems likely, in his one, and it turns out to be, only season in World Supersport, before he moves up to World Superbike in 2017.
P.J. Jacobsen looks to finish strong as he is four points behind Jules Cluzel. Only seven points separate the top three riders in the championship. Kenan Sofuoglu leads Randy Krummenacher by 67 points. It is all to play for here in Qatar. P.J. Jacobsen is the dark horse here. He won two races in 2015 but has not won in 2016. Jacobsen and Cluzel, both these chaps need to secure their future in top level motorcycle road racing, and are making a darn good effort to try and do that for 2017. We have a surprise pole sitter in this race. Luke Stapleford on the Triumph has qualified fastest.
Stapleford, remember, won the 2015 British Supersport championship. Stapleford's qualifying time was 2:01.621. Kenan Sofuoglu rolls off second. Stapleford gives Triumph their first ever WSSP class pole. Randy Krummenacher wants to get a podium place as he has not finished on the rostrum since mid-season at Donington Park in England, back in May. Randy Krummenacher rolls off third this evening. Alex Baldolini rolls off fourth. He is nursing an injury to his right hand. Alex Baldolini has the Dalmatian livery on his motorcycle and on his helmet for this race. Baldolini crashed twice at Magny-Cours and hurt himself, also smashing two helmets. So, his wife Nouria said "why don't you paint Dalmatian spots on the helmet, Alex." That's what he did.
Kyle Smith rolls off in fifth. That is where he is in the championship. Smith won earlier in the year at Assen in Holland, and won this race in Qatar, for Ten Kate Honda, last year. Judging from practice speeds, Smith, and Kenan Sofuoglu are the two to watch out for in this race ahead of us. Seven races have been run by the World Supersport class in Qatar. Guess what? Honda, has won six of them. Jules Cluzel rolls off sixth. Cluzel is amazed he could finish second in points despite all his troubles this year. The one question is, will he have a ride in the championship for 2017? That remains to be seen. Ayrton Badovini will roll off eighth.
Zulfahmi Khairuddin is seventh on the grid. Former Moto3 racer Arthur Sissis is here this weekend, and he raced Khairuddin in Moto3, a few years ago. You likely read about those battles here on 2 Wheelin'. P.J. Jacobsen is ninth. 15 laps scheduled for the World Supersport season finale here in Qatar. Jacobsen has been speaking with teams in World Supersport, Superstock 1000, and the British Superbike/British Supersport championships, about riding for them in 2017. He will not be back with Ten Kate, and this puts into question whether Ten Kate will have a 600cc bike entered for Supersport next year. Honda have ceased production of their race ready CBR600RR.
Ten Kate hopes to be on the WSSP grid next year. Great World Superbike riders such as Jonathan Rea and Michael van der Mark, have won WSSP titles for them. Christoffer Bergman rounds out the top ten. Kyle Ryde rolls off in 11th place. Schmidt Racing, whom Kyle Ryde races for, has been given an extra motor according to the Technical Director for FIM World Superbike, Scott Smart. Ryde has been given a special dispensation for engine mileage because he's ridden three different motorcycles this year, including the MV Agusta F3 675, the Honda CBR600RR, and the Kawasaki ZX6R.
Only 15 laps left to run in the World Supersport season. Roberto Rolfo has exceeded the engine allocation for a third time this year. Rolfo will do just as he did at Jerez, and start this race from the pit lane. Both PTR bikes wrecked in the morning warmup. Hikari Okubo and Stefan Hill have had their bikes repaired and will start. With the smaller grid (because of no European riders), we have a 24 bike field for this race. Lorenzo Zanetti has replaced Gino Rea for the season finale, and Gino Rea will join our commentators for this race, Greg Haines and Steve English, in the broadcast booth.
In the points, Kenan Sofuoglu has sewn up the championship. But there is a hotly contested scrap for second, third, and fourth. Sofuoglu leads Randy Krummenacher by 67 points (196-129). But, the next three riders (Krummenacher, Jules Cluzel, and P.J. Jacobsen), are merely separated by seven points, while remaining 70, and 74 points, respectively, behind Kenan Sofuoglu. Qatar is a very flowing race track and if you make a mistake in one corner, it messes up your entire lap. We revisit the weather conditions and they are exactly the same as when we came on air for this race, oh, a quarter of an hour ago. Loris Cresson is also in this field, along with Lorenzo Zanetti on the MV Agusta and Michael Canducci.
Loris Cresson is on the motorcycle, with the same pit crew, that Kyle Ryde began the season on. In the booth, the boys have picked Kenan Sofuoglu or Luke Stapleford to get the hole shot at the start. What will happen? We're almost ready for the finale of World Supersport 2016. 15 laps ahead. The final 15 laps in World Supersport in 2016! Red lights, on. Red lights, out! Away we go! Alex Baldolini gets a good start. Our guesses were right. Stapleford and Sofuoglu run side by side into turn one. Alex Baldolini, coming back from injury, has taken the lead of this race. Deary me. Luke Stapleford has sunk like a stone, down to sixth spot. Alex Baldolini leads with Randy Krummenacher in second place.
Jules Cluzel is third, as Kyle Smith and Kenan Sofuoglu run side by side for fourth and fifth. Side by side stuff between Ayrton Badovini and Federico Caricasulo. Kenan Sofuoglu is now fifth. P.J. Jacobsen is moving through the field as well. Honda has been strong at Losail in the past. But, MV Agusta cureently holds the lead. Oh dear. If Roberto Rolfo didn't have bad luck, he wouldn't have any. He's on his ninth engine of the year, started from pit lane, and has already crashed out of this race. Game over. Baldolini leads Krummenacher. But, Jules Cluzel wants to put a move on Randy Krummenacher, and I mean, now. This is a battle for second in the race, and second in the championship.
Oh no! More riders down and out, and it appears Luke Stapleford is one of them! Stapleford and Ayrton Badovini are both out of the Supersport finale! This crash happened in turn ten. Correction. Badovini did not crash. It was not bike #86, and rather, it was the #80 of Spaniard Xavier Pinsach on the second Gemar Balloons - Team Lorini Honda CBR600RR. Kyle Ryde may also have mechanical issues with his bike. There's a huge fight for second through fifth place! Stapleford rejoins the race, but is caboose on the field. Baldolini leads while the scrap for second is hotting up between Krummenacher, Cluzel, and Smith. P.J. Jacobsen has passed Kenan Sofuoglu. Baldolini is beginning to pull away.
Randy Krummenacher wants to pass Jules Cluzel, and Kyle Smith is ahead of them both. No rider jumped the start. That's good to hear. Smith makes an inside pass on Baldolini. Cluzel has also gone around Baldolini. Don't forget that Baldolini hurt his right wrist, which is surely making the bike more difficult to ride. Cluzel has quite the slipstream on Ryde. Will the MV pass the Honda? We have had seven different winners in WSSP here in Qatar between 2005 and 2015. The points situation has shifted again. At this moment, Cluzel passes Krummenacher for second in the standings, and has a six point cushion over the Kawasaki rider. Cluzel is 60 points behind the champ, Sofuoglu, and Krummeancher is 66 behind, with P.J. Jacobsen now 71 points out.
Here is the top ten in the race so far.
1. Kyle Smith
2. Jules Cluzel
3. Alex Baldolini
4. P.J. Jacobsen
5. Randy Krummenacher
6. Kenan Sofuoglu
7. Christian Gammarino
8. Zulfahmi Khairuddin
9. Federico Caricasulo
10. Ayrton Badovini
You wonder if there are team orders at Kawasaki Puccetti Racing. Kenan Sofuoglu is running behind Randy Krummenacher right now. Kyle Smith sets the first fastest lap of this race at 2:02.443. Cluzel seems to carry more corner speed on the MV Agusta than the Honda can. The MV has a good chassis and a good electronics package. Game over for Michael Canducci on one of the GRT MV Agusta's. Xavi Pinsach has gone to the medical center for a precautionary checkup. Pirelli is a little late to the party, with the tire selections for this race. All these boys are using the same SC0 compound rear tire. All the riders are using the SC1 compound front tire. But, there are two options. Either they can choose the development front tire, or the standard front tire.
Kenan Sofuoglu blows by Randy Krummenacher down the front straight. Sofuoglu can see the gap developing between the top riders as you have Alex Baldolini in third, P.J. Jacobsen who is fourth, and yes, Sofuoglu passes Krummenacher for fifth spot. Who completes the top fifteen? We looked at the top ten earlier. Eleventh is Federico Caricasulo of Italy, followed by Christoffer Bergman from Sweden, and behind them are Ondrej Jezek, Lorenzo Zanetti, and Hikari Okubo. Jezek is from Brno, in the Czech Republic, and thus, that speedway is his home track. Zanetti is from Italy, and Okubo hails from Japan.
Jules Cluzel has a new team mate, who has made it to tenth place. Italian, Massimo Roccoli, on bike #52. We are now 1/3rd of the way through this race. Jules Cluzel runs with Kyle Smith and he's in the pound seats to earn second in the championship over Randy Krummenacher. New fastest lap of the race. Jules Cluzel sets a 2:02.710. Kenan Sofuoglu meanwhile, has to deal with passing P.J. Jacobsen. Zulfahmi Khairuddin runs right behind Randy Krummenacher. Gammarino, Badovini, and Roccoli, round out the top ten. Krummenacher has run here in Qatar in Moto2, and Khairuddin has had experience here in Moto3.
Kyle Smith ducks out from the slipstream to get a run on Jules Cluzel, and does it! Cluzel comes back on the outside and Alex Baldolini is keeping watch of all this, too. Kyle Smith leads with ten laps left. The race pace, however, has dropped significantly from what it was earlier. Smith, Cluzel, and Baldolini, are still your top three. Kenan Sofuoglu has now run the fastest first sector time of anybody in this race. Sofuoglu has caught Baldolini. His team mate Randy Krummenacher is doing the same with P.J. Jacobsen. Game over for the second GRT Racing MV Agusta. Lorenzo Zanetti. Out of race. Christian Gammarino is falling down the order, and Kenan Sofuoglu goes underneath Alex Baldolini for position.
This puts Sofuoglu in third. They are dropping like flies towards the end of this race. Luke Stapleford, our polesitter, is the last running motorcycle, way down in 18th place. Make that 19th. With eight laps left in the race and the season, Kyle Smith, is on target for a second straight WSSP win. That is, a second straight win here at the Losail International Circuit, which no rider in WSSP has accomplished. Krummenacher is trapped behind Jacobsen in sixth spot. There's a good scrap for the tenth place now, too, between Roccoli, Bergman, and Badovini. These three are just behind Federico Caricasulo.
Then comes Ondrej Jezek, Loris Cresson, Lachlan Epis, and Hikari Okubo. Epis made a pass on Okubo. We are halfway home, with Smith 9/10ths of a second ahead of Jules Cluzel, and Sofuoglu also gaining on the MV rider. Krummenacher has not bounced back from bad luck, because he won his first and so far only WSSP race at Phillip Island at the beginning of the year, back in February. You have to go way back to Donington Park in May to have seen Krummenacher have a podium finish. Cluzel lets Kenan Sofuoglu go by. Cluzel slots in behind Sofuoglu. It is now well and truly game over for our pole man, Luke Stapleford.
A disappointment to be sure, for the Triumph rider. Seven laps now remain. Can Sofuoglu bridge the second and a half gap to Kyle Smith? Shades of last year, when Smith rode for Ten Kate Honda and was able to edge out Sofuoglu for a Qatar WSSP win. The gap is down to 1.4 seconds with six laps left in the World Supersport season for 2016. Baldolini and Jacobsen are fighting for position, too. Jacobsen has the position. Baldolini wants it. Krummenacher has a better pace than some of his rivals, but he's kind of just laid back and hasn't started to overtake the competition. He's running out of time.
If Jules Cluzel stays third, Krummenacher cannot gain enough points to make a move in the championship before the final points are settled. Krummenacher cuts past Baldolini like a hot knife through butter. Krummenacher has reached the top five. Khairuddin, Caricasulo, Badovini, and Bergman, are the next bikes in line. PTR Honda's book end the top ten at the present time. The gap is down to half a second between Smith and Sofuoglu, who has just run another personal best lap. Cluzel is third and hanging right with Sofuoglu. Honda, Kawasaki, and MV Agusta are all right together.
Depending on the bike you ride, it is harder to tuck your elbows in in front of your knees to reduce aerodynamic drag on the motorcycle. It depends on how much space you have for your arms, and it's almost more of a comfort factor. Kyle Smith does not tuck in his elbows. Jules Cluzel, does. Kyle Smith and Kenan Sofuoglu also battle for the Pirelli Best Lap Award. Nikki Tuuli was eligible. But, he isn't racing here in Qatar this weekend. If Smith wins, it is his second win of 2016. If Sofuoglu does, it is his seventh. Cluzel falls a full second behind Sofuoglu. Cluzel cannot take advantage of the lead battle.
They're side by side over the start/finish line once again! Sofuoglu takes the lead, with three laps left in the season. Smith has to play catch up. Kawasaki leads Honda and the five-time world champ will make Smith earn his second win at Losail, should he get it. MV Agusta runs third. Working lap 13 of 15. Just a couple to go. Sofuoglu and Smith are the only riders in this whole 24 bike field who have won at Qatar before. Smith backs it into the corner and makes a pass. Game on. Two laps remain in the 2016 season. Cluzel is going to settle for third place. There's been less than a tenth of a second between these two. Cluzel appears to have second in the championship, locked up.
It is the final lap of the year in World Supersport! Who's going to win it? Smith is chasing Sofuoglu. Will he pass into one of the tight hairpin turns on this speedway? Will he sit behind Sofuoglu and slingshot Sofuoglu to the finish line? It does not look as though Smith's Honda has the oomph to outshine the Kawasaki until these two get to the start/finish. Sofuoglu looks to have the full advantage right now. Federico Caricasulo makes it to the last lap, but falls out of the race, with mechanical woes. Smith can't go through at turn ten. This is Sofuoglu's race to lose.
Smith closes up. Don't run wide and exceed track limits. Two corners left in WSSP 2016! Smith isn right behind Sofuoglu! Sofuoglu runs wide. Here comes Smith! Smith slides by on the outside! Here's the run to the checkers! Smith has the advantage! It's a drag race! By the tiniest of margins, Smith wins the FIM World Supersport season finale in Qatar! He wins by six thousandths of a second!
World Supersport Race: #111 Kyle Smith GBR. Honda CBR6000RR
Krummenacher finishes fifth and drops to third in the final points. Smith wins the Pirelli Best Lap Award of the season. Smith, Sofuoglu, Cluzel, is your podium at the World Supersport finale! Cluzel beats Krummenacher for second in points. Randy Krummenacher is now off to World Superbike in 2017 with Kawasaki Puccetti Racing, the same team he races for now. Only seven points separate second and third in points.
P.J. Jacobsen went winless this year. Jacobsen's tire has a small tear in it probably due to suspension setup. Alex Baldolini finishes sixth in his 50th race start. Ayrton Badovini jumps past guest commentator, Gino Rea, in the points. Kawasaki are the manufacturer's champions. Poor old Luke Stapleford could have won this race from pole. Jules Cluzel scores his 27th WSSP podium, two away from tying Stephane Chambon in the overall rankings for fourth on the all-time podium finishes list. Again, this is Kyle Smith's second consecutive win in Qatar.
Smith has lived in the south of Spain since he was seven years old and his family moved from England. So, we conclude the 2016 FIM World Supersport championship. Sofuoglu is champ. Kyle Smith, wins two races. Honda has won 106 World Supersport races. What a great season of World Supersport racing it has been. The victory margin of sixth thousandths of a second is the fifth closest finish in World Supersport history. Lachlan Epis is the last classified finisher. Kenan Sofuoglu is five-time champion, with Jules Cluzel second.
Axel Bassani wins the FIM European Supersport Cup. Kawasaki is the manufacturer's champion in World Supersport. So, that was the 12th and final chapter in World Supersport. Thanks for joining us on 2 Wheelin'. Kyle Smith is a two-time winner in Qatar after the fifth closest finish in World Supersport history! We'll see you, next year, in 2017, for more awesome World Supersport action right here on 2 Wheelin'. So long, for now.
No comments:
Post a Comment