WSBK – Haslam confirms, Haga is back! – Supersport race

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Haslam confirms, Haga is back !

WSBK - Haslam confirms, Haga is back! - Supersport race

Third round of the World Superbike this weekend in Valence: for the first time this season, the two Superbike rounds have given us two very distinct scenarios while in Supersport, the local of the stage has won.. Reports.

Supersport Race

Joan Lascorz got off to a great start and took the lead in "his" race ahead of Eugene Laverty, Kenan Sofuoglu, Chaz Davies, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Robbin Harms, Jason DiSalvo, David Salom, Fabien Foret, Michele Pirro and Matthieu Lagrive. But from the first loop, Eugene steals the command from Joan and tries to get the trunk.

While the two leading pilots apply as best they can, the next two engage in a fierce duel: Sofuoglu and Davies provide the show, which in no way prevents them from staying in contact with the former. Not easy to do !

Very quickly therefore, the quartet composed of a Kawa ‘of two Honda’s and a Triumph separated from the peloton. The latter also loosens quickly: after 5 laps, the drivers of the second half of the Top 10 are practically driving alone..

Fortunately in front, the four leading men seriously spice up the race! Chaz Davies, in particular, took 2nd position on the 6th lap and chased the local of the stage. So much so that the two Honda lose contact with the Daytona and the Ninja !

In the same lap, Matthieu Lagrive manages to climb to 6th position ahead of Robbin Harms. "I felt better on the bike than during practice", Matt will testify,"but this is only a first step, I hope to continue like this in Assen".

Leaving no respite to his pursuers – no more than to his ZX-6R for that matter – Joan Lascorz escapes alone in the lead from the 7th lap: "when I took control of the race, I only had to open the throttle", will summarize, one can not more clearly, the Ninja n ° 26 !

Unable to retaliate, Chaz Davies yields to the pressure of Kenan Sofuoglu at halfway and lets the Turkish pass in front of him: Kenan then has two small seconds behind Joan, and intends to fight him for the victory. !

"On the grid, I saw that the Kawasaki, who had been quick in free practice and time trial, had chosen the soft tire", will reveal Sofuoglu after the race,"but I opted for the harder option because we were worried about the temperature (high, editor’s note)".

If this pneumatic choice allows the Honda Ten Kate n ° 54 to get rid of the Triumph Parkingo n ° 7, it does not allow it to go back on the Kawasaki n ° 26 lead…

Two seconds behind Davies and Sofuoglu, the roles are reversed: it’s Salom’s Triumph honking behind Laverty’s Honda! The young Irishman resisted for eight laps but had to admit defeat in the 18th loop: the Irishman downgraded to 5th position.

"I struggled with my rear grip the whole race", will regret" You-jean "."These tires and settings are good in the sense that they give me a good feeling and work well on a fast lap, as our two poles prove it, on the other hand, they do not work in the race.".

Thus, even if it means cutting back on the feeling of his driving, the Parkalgar pilot plans to return to old settings offering him more grip over the entire race … The pilots and mechanics would not be bored not that much to fine-tune the settings of their bikes according to the sessions, conditions or even circuits ?!

In front, Joan Lascorz conscientiously lined up the laps and maintained his lead over Kenan Sofuoglu above 2 seconds. A few lengths behind the pilot Ten Kate, Chaz Davies gradually gives up his hand: he can no longer be caught by his Spanish teammate David Salom.

The Supersport race therefore ended relatively calmly: admittedly the drivers did not spare their horses, the rodeo was superb to watch, but the gaps between the leading men prevented any last-minute rebound..

Joan Lascorz thus won "his" event ahead of Kenan Sofuoglu and Chaz Davies. Three nationalities and three manufacturers therefore climb on the podium in Valencia. However, as a reminder, the tires are all Pirelli !

Naturally, Lascorz is delighted: "I’m so happy to win in Spain and take the lead in the championship"he knows uncompromising …"The championship will be long and I will try not to make mistakes to keep the lead".

Suffering from stomach cramps the days preceding this meeting, Sofuoglu is not unhappy to climb on the second step of the podium and pocket the 20 additional points allowing him to total 61, against 65 for Lascorz, 41 for Laverty and 33 for Davies.

Chaz Davies is also getting on a Mondial Supersport podium for the first time – in six participations – and hopes that he will "The first of a long series". His Triumph ParkinGo team is surely of his opinion, and certainly wants Salom, Lagrive or DiSalvo to join him soon. !

We note on occasion that Matthieu Lagrive is overtaken in the ultimate revolution by the fiery Gino Rea: our Frenchie finished 6th, not really delighted with Gino’s wild behavior…

"I do not condone his actions", insists Matt,"it’s sad that he has to come to this to overtake me. It’s not my way of seeing competition. I didn’t want to take any risks in the last corner and I preferred to let it pass". Do not take it again, otherwise the reception at Magny Cours may be cold !

Fabien Foret and his Ninja meanwhile cross the finish line in 10th position, just over a minute from the winner.

Finally, on the constructor side, the fight is intensifying between Honda (70 points out of 75) and Kawasaki (65). But beware, the third – and last – thief (Triumph) is not very far with 42 points.

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