FIM Supersport World Championship
TT Circuit Assen, Netherlands
April 17, 2016
Restarted Race Results (wet conditions, all on Pirelli tires):
1. Kyle Smith, UK (Hon CBR600RR), 6 laps, Total Race Time 12:17.543, Best Lap Time 1:58.225
2. Gino Rea, UK (MV F3 675), -0.831 second, 1:58.811
3. Kenan Sofuoglu, Turkey (Kaw ZX-6R), -2.424 seconds, 2:01.023
4. Randy Krummenacher, Switzerland (Kaw ZX-6R), -8.255, 2:02.502
5. Alex Baldolini, Italy (MV F3 675), -26.801, 2:05.178
6. Illia Mikhalchik, Ukraine (Kaw ZX-6R), -36.940, 2:06.378
7. Ayrton Badovini, Italy (Hon CBR600RR), -42.670, 2:03.975
8. Axel Bassani, Italy (Kaw ZX-6R), -42.971, 2:05.945
9. Ondrej Jezek, Czech Republic (Kaw ZX-6R), -44.025, 2:04.363
10. Christian Gamarino, Italy (Kaw ZX-6R), -44.321, 2:06.126
12. Luke Stapleford, UK (Tri Daytona 675R), -44.887, 2:07.464
18. Jules Cluzel, France (MV F3 675), -51.046, ran off track, 2:05.897
29. Lorenzo Zanetti, Italy (MV F3 675), -106.736, crash, 2:11.967
31. PJ Jacobsen, USA (Hon CBR600RR), -2 laps, DNF, crash, 2:00.900
World Championship Point Standings (after 4 of 13 races):
1. Krummenacher, 71 points
2. Sofuoglu, 61
3. Smith, 41
4. Cluzel, 38
5. Rea, 36
6. Federico Caricasulo, 34
7. Baldolini, 31
8. Jacobsen, 27
9. Gamarino, 25
10. Nico Terol, 24
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:
WorldSSP: Smith Takes Victory as Assen Gets Wet
Red flagged and restarted race sees British 1-2 beat Sofuoglu over the line
Kyle Smith has won the WorldSSP race at the TT Circuit Assen, with the podium completed by GRT rider Gino Rea and Puccetti reigning Champion Kenan Sofuoglu in incredibly difficult conditions.
With the clouds battling the sun for supremacy and the harsh wind of Saturday replaced by a cooler breeze, Sunday seemed to promise better weather would hopefully hold out for the WorldSSP grid as they lined up for another battle.
It was Sofuoglu who got the best start, with PJ Jacobsen slotting into P2 off the second row, leaving poleman Krummenacher in P4 chasing the Triumph of Luke Stapleford. Cluzel began his fight back and was inside the top ten before a sudden deluge hit the track and the red flag came out.
With conditions suddenly treacherous, Jacobsen lost the front before slowing for the red flag and was given the task of pushing his damaged Honda back to the pits to see if it would make the restart. With a quick restart procedure and riders lining up on the grid for that restart in the order in which they saw the red flag, Jacobsen did manage to begin from P1 on the repaired Honda.
With a run off for Cluzel and Jacobsen encountering some smaller issues, it was Puccetti pairing of Krummenacher and Sofuoglu carefully heading the race as GRT rider Gino Rea fought to keep up with the pair on his MV Agusta, with Jacobsen, led by Smith, trying to get back in the podium fight.
Krummenacher suffered a run off at the final chicane that saw him out of podium contention, before Jacobsen lost the Honda in the treacherous conditions. The last lap battle to decide the podium conditions saw Brits Rea and Smith fight off reigning Champion Sofuoglu, with Kyle Smith crossing the line 0.8 seconds clear of Gino Rea to take the victory. Sofuoglu, locking out the podium in P3, gains another small margin of points on teammate Krummenacher, who came home fourth. Assen lap record holder Cluzel will be wanting to forget about the weekend after crossing the line in P18, the second title rival not adding to his Championship tally at Assen.
More, from a press release issued by CIA Insurance Honda:
Smith shines with win at Assen
Sun, 17 Apr 2016
Kyle Smith gave CIA Landlord Insurance Honda its first win of the 2016 season with a thrilling last lap podium battle which saw him fight off reigning World Supersport Champion Sofuoglu.
Kyle was in 6th position in the dry race when a sudden cloudburst deluged the track bringing the red flag out and forcing a wet race re-start. With everyone struggling with the tricky conditions in the 6 lap dash, Smith showed great skill and confidence to claim the win, crossing the line 0.8 seconds ahead of Rea
Kyle Smith: “It was a difficult race. I’ve had good pace in the wet all weekend but today the track was much more slippery. The last two laps felt a lot better, I had to work for the win. I am really happy for myself and the team, it’s great to be on the top step.”
Youngster Stefan Hill was running well in the points in 12th position when he slid off in the difficult conditions, finishing the race 30th.
Hikari Okubo and Christoffer Bergman also struggled in the challenging conditions. For Hikari, learning the circuit and Christoffer, his first time on the bike with the team, it was always going to be a weekend to gain experience. Hikari and Christoffer finished the race 24th and 25th respectively.
CIA Landlord Insurance Honda Team Manager Simon Buckmaster: “An absolutely fantastic job by Kyle and the entire team. I’m so pleased for Kyle, his crew Stu Millen, Matia Roli and the whole team for all the hard work they have put in. This win now puts Kyle 3rd in the Championship, we will continue to work hard and push from here. Stefan has shown he has potential this weekend and I am sure he will continue to improve. Hikari has to learn many tracks this year and the difficult conditions here at Assen didn’t help but he is gaining experience as the season progresses. Christoffer has done a good job his first time with the team, he is a good guy to work with and I am confident the points will come soon.”
More, from a press release issued by Honda:
Heroic performance by Jacobsen ends in heartache for the Honda WorldSSP Team at Assen
Round 4 – The Netherlands
TT Circuit Assen, Netherlands
PJ Jacobsen and the Honda WorldSSP Team go home empty handed after a heroic performance in what was a dramatic and unpredictable World Supersport race at Assen. The race was re-run over just six laps in wet conditions following a stoppage when heavy rain drenched the circuit nine laps after the first start.
The New York-born rider had another great launch from fourth place on the grid in the dry race and, by turn one, he was running in second place. He then set his sights on first and, with a perfect overtaking manoeuvre at turn six on Kenan Sofuoglu, took the lead on lap five. Jacobsen was still at the front of the field on the ninth lap, when the race was red flagged due to sudden heavy rain that began falling on the 4.542km Dutch track. Unfortunately, Jacobsen lost the front of his Honda CBR600RR and ended up in the gravel as the red flag was being deployed.
With just a few minutes available, the Honda WorldSSP team crew did a fine job to get the bike fixed and, only few seconds away from the closure of the pit-lane, Jacobsen was able to get back on track for the sighting lap.
The action resumed for a six-lap sprint race in wet conditions, with Jacobsen running in third during the early stages of the restart. After a moment on the second lap, the 23-year-old American lost some ground but was able to fight back to the front with two laps to go. While in the lead, Jacobsen had another tumble, this time at turn seven, which put an unfortunate early end to his race.
Round five of the 2015 FIM Supersport World Championship will take place at Imola’s Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in a fortnight’s time.
Patrick Jacobsen 2
DNF
I’m really sorry for how the race went in the end, because the team did an amazing job in getting the bike fixed in such a short time to allow me to line up for the restart. It really wasn’t my day, even though I was able to race at the front both in dry and wet conditions. I can’t thank my crew enough and I hope the next round will bring us better luck.
Pieter Breddels
Technical Manager
That was a really hectic race. We couldn’t believe our eyes when on lap nine it started raining and then even hailing. Unfortunately PJ was caught out as he was the first rider to encounter the very wet left-hand corner and he fell, but despite the damage, the guys were able to put the bike back together and everything seemed to be working well. PJ was really comfortable on the bike in the dry and it was clear that our early problems with the rear tyre were in the past. Unfortunately such a promising performance translated into zero points, but we need to keep working hard and I’m sure the results will come soon.
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Podium For Sofuoglu As Krummenacher Keeps Championship Lead
Weather issues affected many aspects of the Assen FIM Supersport World Championship round but Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team-mates Kenan Sofuoglu and Randy Krummenacher performed strongly in the eventual six lap wet race to record third and fourth place finishes respectively. Randy still leads the championship, with Kenan second in the points after four rounds.
The wet conditions found during Friday practice proved to be useful in the final six-lap WSS race at Assen. The scheduled 18-lap race had started dry but at around half race distance heavy rain appeared and the red flags were brought out to stop the race. A re-run was called, of only six laps duration, with that ‘second’ wet race being the only one that counted in the results. Full championship points were awarded.
Krummenacher led the race for the first two laps until Sofuoglu went past him. Krummenacher was to lose track position at the chicane and run off track, dropping back and finally matching the leading pace. Just too far back to try and get back into contention for the podium places Krummenacher posted a positive fourth place finish, and with it he remains on top of the championship rankings.
Not finding the feel from his rear set-up in the wet race that he expected Sofuoglu led from lap three until the final lap, when he had to run wide after locking the front momentarily, getting passed by the two following riders. In finishing third he moved to within ten points of his team-mate Krummenacher and 20 points ahead the next nearest challenger in the standings.
Kenan Sofuoglu stated: “When the very hard rain came on the track the grip levels were unbelievable. I never saw anything so slippery in the rain. I do not know if something was wrong but I was sliding so much from the rear. The good thing was that I could brake really hard which meant that I could control the race and hold the pace. On the last lap, under braking, I locked the front and missed the next right and lost the two riders who got ahead of me. One mistake and lost the win but I wanted to stay on the bike. Today was difficult, but I still took 16 points and I am happy. It is a long season. You will have a good race, a hard race, and wet and dry races. You have to balance those out if you want to win championships.”
Randy Krummenacher stated: “I dropped back and then got pushed straight at the final chicane. That’s OK, that’s racing. I was as fast as the front group after that but I could not go any faster than them. Sure, this disturbed me a bit in my race rhythm. It was a very positive day because first of all I improved my set-up a lot in the rain compared to Friday. Also now in the rain I was also at the front, which is very positive for me. I still lead the championship and I only lost three points today. We made a lot of points compared to some others so now I am 30 ahead of third place. That is very good so we have to keep this feeling and go to the next one.”
Part-time rider Ilya Mikhalchik (DS Junior Team Kawasaki) was the next best Kawasaki rider in sixth place overall. He was top ranked ESS rider this weekend. Fellow ESS rider Axel Bassani (San Carlo Team Italia Kawasaki) was eighth, with series regulars Ondrej Jezek and Christian Gamarino, both from Team GOELEVEN Kawasaki, completing the top ten positions.
Alessandro Zaccone (San Carlo Team Italia Kawasaki) was 19th and Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki), 20th.