WorldSBK: Davies Does the Double for Ducati in Aragón
Chaz Davies took Race 2 to complete his second double at MotorLand
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider Chaz Davies took another incredible win at MotorLand Aragón in Race 2, crossing the line 6.471 seconds clear of the nearest bike on track after another sublime ride. Kawasaki riders Tom Sykes and Jonathan Rea completed the podium in Spain after being locked in another head to head.
Home rider Xavi Forés took his Barni Racing Team Panigale R into fourth once again, equaling his best career result, gained in Race 1 at MotorLand. His compatriot Jordi Torres achieved his best result of the year after joining his new team for 2016, crossing the line in fifth ahead of the Ducati of Giugliano and proving the lead BMW by an impressive margin.
Sykes and Rea dueled over P2
Giugliano recovered from a small incident on track to hunt down Honda rider Michael van der Mark and re-pass him, putting himself into P6 by the end of the race. Van der Mark, after an uncharacteristically difficult Saturday, kept his Honda in the mix in Race 2 to grab another great haul of points, crossing the line in seventh after a good start from 11th on the grid, unable to hold off Torres and Giugliano by the end of the race.
Van der Mark’s teammate Nicky Hayden dropped down through the order with Yamaha’s Alex Lowes after an incident on track, with the 2006 MotoGP World Champion unfortunately suffering a mechanical problem later in the race and finding himself unable to see the flag.
Fores (Ducati) and Torres (BMW) led the home charge at MotorLand
Yamaha duo Sylvain Guintoli and Alex Lowes, after starting from the front row, finished the race in P9 and P10 respectively after a difficult start to the race, with the new YZF R1 not yet able to match its one-lap pace over race distance.
Aprilia rider Alex DeAngelis came home in 8th to make great progress after Race 1, with the San Marino rider recovering from recent surgery and surely happy with another top ten result. MV Agusta’s Leon Camier finished just outside the points, with the Italian factory hoping to get back up the grid when WorldSBK gets to Assen for the next Round.
Winner Davies on the podium with Sykes in P2 and Rea P3
Pirelli Aragon Round – Race 2 Results
1. Chaz Davies (GBR) Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
2. Tom Sykes (GBR) Kawasaki Racing Team +6.471
3. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Kawasaki Racing Team +9.161
WorldSBK Championship Standings after the Pirelli Aragon Round
1. Jonathan Rea – Kawasaki Racing Team 131
2. Chaz Davies- Aruba.it Racing – Ducati 105
3. Tom Sykes – Kawasaki Racing Team 102
WorldSSP: Sofuoglu Gives A Masterclass in Spain
Reigning Champion Kenan Sofuoglu took a commanding victory at MotorLand as the FIM Europe Supersport Cup riders joined the WorldSSP grid for the first European race of the season, with 7 nationalities in the Top 8 by the end of the race. Turkish Puccetti rider Sofuoglu cut the Championship lead of his Swiss teammate Randy Krummenacher as fellow contender Jules Cluzel struggled slightly to find pace, crossing the line in P4 just behind home rider Nico Terol, who gained his first podium in WorldSSP.
Pole sitter Kenan Sofuoglu got away in the lead, with Honda rider PJ Jacobsen his closest immediate challenger after a great start for the American. He then attacked for the lead after Sofuoglu ran wide, unfortunately losing the front and sliding early out of the race.
A high rate of attrition in the first few laps saw Roberto Rolfo first forced to leave his 11th place grid spot before the getaway, before a multi-rider incident at Turn 1 saw debris litter the run off area. Wagner, Licciardi, Rea and Orellana all found themselves suffering the same fate as Jacobsen. MV Agusta rider Lorenzo Zanetti was then unfortunately forced to pull off the circuit with a technical problem, as Sofuoglu began to pull away in the lead ahead of Cluzel, Krummenacher and Baldolini. The number 25 of the Italian then pulled off the racing line along the start-finish straight as a plume of smoke from the back of his MV Agusta announced an early end to his race.
San Carlo Team Italia riders Bassani and Zaccone were the key players from the new FIM Europe Supersport Class as they challenged the regulars in the top 5, with Schmidt Racing’s local rider and former 125 Champion Nico Terol getting past both and able to get himself into podium contention before pulling away to find a margin to breathe, crossing the line for his first rostrum of the year.
Malaysian rider Zulfahmi Khairuddin, who had begun the race from 17th after a problem with the foot rest on his Orelac Racing VerdNatura machine in Tissot-Superpole, made progress up into the top 5 before finally crossing the line in 8th for a great haul of points, with teammate Nacho Calero also coming home in the points.
Randy Krummenacher retains his points lead in WorldSSP after MotorLand, with the Swiss rider adding another 20 and forcing teammate Sofuoglu to play catch up. The action will get underway again in two weeks in Assen as Cluzel and Jacobsen look to bounce back and Sofuoglu looks to keep cutting that gap.
Pirelli Aragon Round – WorldSSP Race Results
1. Kenan Sofuoglu (TUR) Kawasaki Puccetti Racing
2. Randy Krummenacher (SUI) Kawasaki Puccetti Racing +1.486
3. Nico Terol (ESP) Schmidt Racing +2.943
WorldSSP Championship Standings after the Pirelli Aragon Round
1. Randy Krummenacher – Kawasaki Puccetti Racing 58
2. Kenan Sofuoglu – Kawasaki Puccetti Racing 45
3. Jules Cluzel – MV Agusta Reparto Corse 38
