WSBK – WSSP Australia: Surprise podium for the start of the season –

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WSSP Australia: Surprise podium for the start of the season

WSBK - WSSP Australia: Surprise podium for the start of the season -

The first Supersport race of the 2016 season smiled on the Krummenacher and Caricasulo rookies, as well as the West wildcard! The favorites, on the contrary, were roughed up at Phillip Island. The championship is – funny – launched… Supersport Phillip Island Race 2016 PJ Jacobsen got off to a very good start and took the lead. The rookie Federico …

The first Supersport race of the 2016 season smiled on the Krummenacher and Caricasulo rookies, as well as the West wildcard! The favorites, on the contrary, were roughed up at Phillip Island. The championship is – funny – launched…

Supersport Phillip Island Race 2016

PJ Jacobsen got off to a very good start and took the lead. The rookie Federico Caricasulo also leaves like a cannonball and settles in second position in front of the quadruple champion and pole-sitter Kenan Sofuoglu! Starting from 8th place on the grid, Cluzel climbs to fifth position behind Randy Krummenacher.

Kenan and "Julo" gain a place respectively in the braking of the Honda hairpin. The two men – very strong in the category – still progress by one place in the MG cup. At the exit of this same turn, Lorenzo Zanetti is very hot, failing to go high-side.

Cluzel took the lead by driving the straight line at full speed for the first time. Krummenacher moved up to second, followed by Jacobsen. Sofuoglu is fourth ahead of "Carica". But the Italian devil overtakes the Turkish in the Honda corner.

In the 2nd lap, Jules was surprised by PJ and Randy but our "Coq Supersportif" climbed back to second position at the start of the 3rd lap. Starting from thirteenth place on the grid, guest driver Anthony West moved up to fifth place and continued his ascent in the following loop !

The F3 n ° 16 and the CBR600RR n ° 2 isolated themselves in the lead on the 4th lap. The two main rivals of the No.1 Kawasaki are just a second ahead of the No.14 R6 driven by West. The latter, however, managed to make the junction in the middle of the 5th lap, closely followed by six drivers: Sofuoglu, Baldolini, Caricasulo, Zanetti, Khairuddin and Gamarino !

Anthony overtakes the two leading drivers with the same MG braking! In the following lap, Jules and Patrick recover their due, but they are warned … Kenan climbs back to fourth position in front of his new Swiss teammate and observes the magnificent battle between his dolphins and the Australian wildcard.

Baldolini, in the wheel of Sofuoglu for several laps, decides to pass in front of the Turkish champion. Maybe he feels that Kenan is content to follow the leaders and saves – intelligently – his Pirelli … The men of the leading group (nine pilots) actually turn in 1 ’35, one second off their best start times. race.

Halfway through the race, Cluzel and West accelerate and momentarily move away from the peloton. Fearing a breakaway, Sofuoglu immediately moved to third position and saw our n ° 16 pick up his MV Agusta in Southern Loop! The Frenchie ends his straight ahead by stumbling gently in the tires, drops his F3 and starts again in penultimate position.

A few seconds later, the official MV Agusta team helplessly witness the fall of its second driver: Caricasulo’s yellow CBR600RR has just hit the lever of the F3, has blocked its front wheel and leaves Lorenzo Zanetti no chance…

In front, Sofuoglu takes the race in hand, releasing the horde of drivers on the 12th lap, while the rain appears in the first sector of the circuit! The white flags – with red crosses – are quickly waved there. One lap later, the second sector is also declared wet….

This does not prevent the pilots from continuing to attack: Sofuoglu to stay in the lead, Krummenacher to get ahead of the peloton made up of West, Caricasulo, Jacobsen, Rea (Gino), Gamarino and Baldolini. Four laps from the end, drops hit the back of the track but the race continues.

At the head, Sofuoglu had to manage Krummenacher’s ascent … and was trapped: the "Number One" fell in Siberia and handed over the reins of the race to his young teammate! West inherits second place while Caricasulo virtually climbs to his first podium.

At the start of the last lap, Krummenacher was two seconds ahead of Caricasulo. But the young Italian is dismissed by West in the Honda hairpin and lets Jacobsen pass. Federico does not give up, positions himself outside attacking Lucky Heights and double PJ in the descent of MG! The sensational No.64 finally overtakes Anthony in the last leg !

Randy Krummenacher wins his first Supersport race on the handlebars of his n ° 21 Kawasaki Pucetti. Federico Caricasulo also climbs to his first podium, ahead of experienced and local Anthony West. Christian Gamarino, Patrick Jacobsen, Alex Baldolini and Gino Rea follow in that order in the same second.

Jules Cluzel finished this first race in an anonymous 17th place, relieved – and a little happy! – that his enemy n ° 1 did not score a single point in Italy! This one is already in its box when the checkered flag is waved.

Naturally disappointed by this first Australian event, Kenan Sofuoglu invokes "the explosion of the rear tire" to explain his fall. Case to follow on MNC … Ditto for the second Superbike race which will be launched in a few minutes: stay tuned !

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