WorldSSP: Krummenacher on pole after Caricasulo penalty!

Due to not acknowledging yellow flags, Federico Caricasulo (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) will start second on the grid, with teammate Randy Krummenacher starting on pole.

Continuing the dominance from Friday, the BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team duo of Federico Caricasulo and Randy Krummenacher remained at the top of the timesheets after World Supersport Tissot Superpole. Caricasulo took pole position with his final flying lap, whilst Krummenacher crashed at Turn 1, in a session that was peppered with fast crashes as track temperatures increased.

The WorldSSP Tissot Superpole session saw Federico Caricasulo take a sixth career pole position, his first since this season’s opening round at Phillip Island. The Italian took pole with a new lap record too, at a circuit he won at from pole in 2017. Can he achieve it again on Sunday? Teammate Krummenacher came second in the session but crashed immediately after his fast lap, up at Turn 1. Just under two tenths of a second split the battling Yamaha teammates ahead of their race tomorrow. Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) took a tumble on the exit of Turn 2 but remained third, to complete the front row.

Fourth place sees Raffaele De Rosa (MV AGUSTA Reparto Corse) take another strong grid position, as he will look to fight for his first WorldSSP win from row two. Thomas Gradinger (Kallio Racing) took fifth place, as the Austrian consolidates his front running pace, albeit nearly a second from Caricasulo’s blistering pole time. Completing the second row is Hikari Okubo (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) who, like his teammate, suffered a slow crash in the session, at Turn 6. He was OK and got back out to improve his time.

Kawasaki seemed to have found something at Jerez, as Ayrton Badovini (Team Pedercini Racing) heads up row three in seventh place, with championship challenger Jules Cluzel (GMT94 YAMAHA) only managing eighth position, after suffering a fast crash at the penultimate corner. Ninth position went to Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) as he was top Spaniard at home, whilst Peter Sebestyen (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) took top Honda honours on his way to a career best WorldSSP qualifying position.

Pole Position – Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team)
“Following the penalization inflicted to my teammate I got the Superpole here in Jerez. Of course, this is something that makes me happy, but I would have had preferred getting it by setting a got lap time on track. These are the rules and they must be respected. Regarding the race, I think nothing will change since we will both start from front row”.

#ESPWorldSBK WorldSSP at Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto:
Tissot Superpole
1. Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) 1’41.775
2. Federico Caricasulo (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) 1’41.965
3. Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)  1’42.349

Credits : Photos and content courtesy of WORLDSBK.com