WSSP Portugal: Faced with Sofuoglu, Mahias bends but does not break
Sofuoglu had to pull out all the stops to win over Mahias and Cluzel this afternoon in Portimao. The five-time world champion takes advantage of his new victory to take control of the provisional, but our Yamaha "rookie" n ° 144 remains in ambush…
Departure : Lucas Mahias took off perfectly from his second place on the grid and passed pole-sitter Kenan Sofuoglu in acceleration. The Yamaha rider takes several meters in advance by crossing – very – quickly the first curve. The championship leader is in great shape !
Less explosive, Sofuoglu was overtaken by Patrick Jacobsen (MV Agusta n ° 99) when braking from hairpin n ° 4. Follow Jules Cluzel (Honda n ° 16), Federico Caricasulo (Yamaha n ° 64), Sheridan Morais (Yam n ° 32), Niki Tuuli (Yam n ° 66), Gino Rea (Kawa n ° 4), Christian Gamarino (Honda # 11), Kyle Smith (Honda # 111), etc.
Jacobsen in turn quickly broke away from the peloton and joined Mahias halfway through. The American plunges his F3 under the R6 in the penultimate corner and rushes ahead to complete the first lap. After having stumbled a little on Kenan, "Julo" passes at the start of the 2nd round. Winner of the last Supersport race in Portimao (in 2015), Cluzel in turn moved away from Sofuoglu and picked up Mahias.
The two French cross the straight line elbow to elbow but Lucas wins under braking. PJ Jacobsen only has a few steps ahead. Soguoglu accelerates in the 3rd lap. Cluzel managed to overtake Mahias at the very start of the 4th lap on the brakes. In the middle of the pack, Kyle Ride falls and has to retire.
Cluzel takes the lead at the start of the 5th lap, opening the door to his – our! – compatriot Mahias! Jacobsen finds himself third just ahead of Sofuoglu. Morais whips his R6 to join the leading quartet. A big second behind, Caricasulo and Tuuli are fighting for sixth place. Gamarino occupies a lonely eighth place, Smith and Rea fight for ninth.
In front, Mahias takes control of the race at the start of the 6th lap. Very late on the brakes, the Yamaha rider almost got off the track, relaunched moderately from the first curve but stayed ahead of Cluzel … One lap later, it was "Julo" who took advantage of the suction to dislodge Lucas at the end of the straight line…
But this time, Sofuoglu invites himself to the party: like Jules, Kenan overtakes Lucas! The Turkish champion virtually leads the championship! Just behind this fabulous trio, Jacobsen and Morais also delight the public with many overtaking.
Sofuoglu decides to raise the tone from the 8th lap: the Ninja attacks funny, his ZX-6R slips under acceleration and braking! Mahias hangs on and sets a better time than his great rival in the next loop. Slightly behind, Cluzel remains in the rhythm, unlike Morais and Jacobsen who let go.
Seven seconds behind the top three, Tuuli, Gamarino and Caricasulo are fighting for sixth place. Mahias’s teammate (Caricasulo) gets lost at the start of the 10th lap, momentarily leaves the track and starts again just in front of Zanetti, Bergman, Rea and Hartog.
If Sofuoglu’s acceleration at halfway allowed him to break the leading group (Morais and Jacobsen are more than two seconds away), it did not allow him to get rid of our sacred French: Mahias and Cluzel remain in its wake. The Turkish gives a new boost in the 13th lap…
Lucas and Jules respond to Kenan again by equaling his time, but at a distance … The n ° 144 is even stronger in the 15th lap: Mahias manages to pick up Sofuoglu and puts pressure on him in the straight line but does not trigger no attack. Cluzel, on the other hand, loses contact.
With three laps to go, the championship leaders find themselves together at the head of the race. The two men elbowed in the straight line but Sofuoglu regained the advantage under braking. Faster in the curve, Lucas cannot find an opening in the winding.
The last round is launched! Housed in the aspiration of the Kawa, the Yam driver remains behind when braking the first curve … Imperial, Sofuoglu leads the 18th lap with several steps ahead. Very well out of the long last curve, Lucas crosses the finish line in his opponent’s wheel.
Lucas Mahias must also bow in the provisional standings: the counter of the blue "rookie" indicates 140 points, that of the green "giant" 145. Kenan Sofuoglu has above all five victories in seven starts, against one victory and five second places for his main rival.
Jules Cluzel climbs on his fourth podium of the year and takes the opportunity to grab three points from Sheridan Morais (104 and 114 points respectively). Disappointed not to have been able to fight to the end for victory, "Julo" will meet at Magny-Cours in two weeks. Stay tuned !
WSSP 2017 race result in Portimao
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