Podium The Aim For Sofuoglu And Kawasaki Riders
Kenan Sofuoglu continues his 2014 season with the San Carlo Puccetti Racing team he joined at the previous round in Spain but he is by no means the only Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R rider who will start the penultimate round of the season at Magny Cours capable of a podium finish.
Three-time world champion Sofuoglu is the lone Kawasaki race winner in 2014, having won the Motorland Aragon race back in April. With bad luck for Kenan from then on, and despite scoring two more podium results, he is now seventh in the championship standings.
Florian Marino (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) is the highest-ranked Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R rider this season, in second place after nine races have been completed. Florian moved up to second after the Jerez round, where he looked ready to record his first WSS win for some time, before another rider ran him wide at a crucial moment. Now approaching his home race he is more than motivated to win in front of his local fans.
Marino’s main ambition for the year is to make sure he can finish in second place in the championship, as he now has a two-point advantage over his fellow countryman Jules Cluzel, with two rounds to go including their home event.
America’s Patrick ‘PJ’ Jacobsen (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) has had a strong rookie season in WSS after two podium finishes in the most recent three races. His second place in Jerez last time out, just behind new champion Michael van der Mark, shows that he is now gaining confidence at the highest levels of global competition on his Ninja ZX-6R.
The other Kawasaki rider in the top eight in the championship is the highly experienced Roberto Rolfo (Team Go Eleven) with a best single race finish of fourth, which he hopes to improve on before the season finishes in Qatar in November.
Roberto Tamburini (San Carlo Puccetti Racing) is only two points off a top ten ranking as things stand, while his team-mate Alessandro Nocco is 14th. The third Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres rider at Magny Cours will be British rider Mason Law, replacing Tony Covena. Go Eleven Kawasaki rider Christian Gamarino completes the regular Kawasaki line-up.
Kenan Sofuoglu: “I will have my second race for the San Carlo Puccetti team this weekend and we did not have a lot of time to get ready for the previous round. The one-month break since then has been very good for us and the set-up and electronics are going to be fully ready. Unlike at the previous round, I do not have a penalty because of the number of engines used. That means I do not have to start from pitlane like I had to in Spain. I think we are all ready and Magny Cours is one of the best tracks for me, and my Kawasaki. We should be able to have a good weekend in France because we should have a good package. I would like to show in the last two races that we can still be there.”