First And Second Row Starts For Sofuoglu And Krummenacher

2016-04-30 11:10
After a busy Superpole 2 session at Imola Kawasaki Puccetti Racing riders Kenan Sofuoglu and Randy Krummenacher placed second and fourth respectively and will now start from strong grid placings close to the top of a field of 37 riders.

On a dry track surface the competition was hot for final start positions for Sunday’s 17-lap race, which will be the fifth of the 2016 season. Sofuoglu was looking to improve his best lap time to take pole but was caught out by when he came around to start his final lap and missed his chance to have his fastest lap count.

Always a rider aiming for a front row start as it puts him in an ideal position for raceday itself, Sofuoglu is already satisfied with his overall pace. He feels ready to push himself to try for his second race win of the season on Sunday.

Similar to Sofuoglu Krummenacher, the championship leader after four rounds, is looking for his second race win of the year. He found a different feel than he expected from his rear tyre in Superpole, however, when he took to the track for one final push for a grid position.

He still put in a good Superpole qualifying time and went fourth on the grid as a result. Randy worked on race pace once he had learned the layout of the complex and undulating Imola circuit, which he rates very highly in terms of its layout. This weekend is his first race experience of Imola.

With changeable weather forecast for Sunday the possibility of a wet race remains, which will mean some sharp and decisive work will be needed to prepare for the 17-lap WorldSSP race. If it is dry both Kawasaki Puccetti Racing riders are confident in their current set-ups allowing them to compete strongly for the podium places.

Kenan Sofuoglu stated: “I expected to get pole position at the end but honestly I made a mistake to stay for a long time on track with the same tyre. I came back to put the second tyre on, to go for a lap time. I did my fastest lap time but it was too late. When the time board went out I had done one lap too many. Anyway, we had a fast pace and we knew we could stay in some very fast lap times. Tomorrow we are hoping for some dry track time. We will see what we get and for me it is not really a big problem if it is a wet race. For sure the most important thing is who gets the 25 points tomorrow.”

Randy Krummenacher stated: “Qualifying for Superpole did not go perfectly. My rear tyres had two different feelings. The same tyre choices, but completely different in feeling so I could not push in the right way, which confused me a bit. Anyway, I felt that even with this problem I could push in every lap. I think my consistency is very good and I am ready to be at the front. I feel confident for tomorrow. Fourth position is OK on the grid and I think at the end it was all good. We have a competitive package and good consistency so I am ready. I never expected this track to be so difficult but I have learned it and I think every lap helps me to do better and better. I love the track, but you have to know it well to be competitive and to push hard.”

Ondrej Jezek (GoEleven Kawasaki), Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) and Alessandro Zaccone (San Carlo Team Italia Kawasaki) made a running flush of Kawasaki riders from tenth to 12th place on the WorldSSP grid. Axel Bassani (San Carlo Team Italia Kawasaki) was 17th after Superpole and Jezek’s GoEleven team-mate Christian Gamarino was 18th.

Source: Kawasaki Racing Team

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