Home hero Petr Svoboda (Fusport – RT Motorsport by SKM – Kawasaki) topped the Friday times in the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship as dry conditions greeted the riders in the afternoon. After a wet track in Free Practice 1, Svoboda took full advantage of the dry circuit in Free Practice 2 to top the times at the Autodrom Most for the Acerbis Czech Round as he looks to get his Championship challenge back on track at his home circuit.
CZECH REPUBLIC ON TOP: can Svoboda restart his title challenge?
With the track dry in FP2, every rider improved their time compared to FP1. Svoboda set a 1’46.492s in the closing stages of the 30-minute practice session to strike first at his home round, with Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing BGR) in second and 0.252s slower than his rival. Dirk Geiger (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) bounced back from an FP1 crash, where he didn’t set a lap time, to secure third, in FP2 after posting a 1’47.122s. Svoboda and Perez Gonzalez were the only two riders in the 1’46s bracket.
IMPRESSING ON DEBUT: Mahendra stuns on Friday
Wildcard Aldi Satya Mahendra (Team BrCorse) was impressive on his WorldSSP300 debut as he took fourth, 0.767s down on Svoboda’s fastest time. Lennox Lehmann (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) was fifth as two KTM riders finished in the top five at a circuit the Austrian manufacturer have traditionally gone well at, while Samuel Di Sora (ProDina Kawasaki Racing) completed the top six. He was 0.898s off the pace.
ALL TO PLAY FOR: nothing set in stone at Most…
Indonesia’s Galang Hendra Pratama (Sublime Racing by MS Racing) was seventh and missed out on a spot in the top six by just 0.009s, with less than a second covering the top ten in what is set up to be an unpredictable weekend. Daniel Mogeda (Kawasaki GP Project) was eighth after posting a 1’47.419s with Julio Garcia (Team Flembbo – PI Performances) and Fenton Seabright (Kawasaki GP Project) rounding out the top ten; Seabright had been second in the wet FP1 session.
HOUSEKEEPING: to note from FP2
Debutant Krittapat Keankum (Arco Motor University Team) and Kevin Sabatucci (Team Flembbo – PI Performances) were involved in a Turn 10 crash which ended their session early, with Keankum taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash. Juan Pablo Uriostegui (Team#109 Kawasaki) crashed in the closing stages of FP2 when he came down at Turn 2. The Mexican was classified in 22nd place.
WHAT HAPPENED IN WET FP1? Perez Gonzalez on top, Geiger crashes
Spanish rider Perez Gonzalez put the Accolade Smrz Racing BGR squad on top in FP1 in the wet conditions, lapping more than a second clear of his rivals. Fenton Seabright (Kawasaki GP Project) was another who mastered the tricky wet conditions, with FP1 starting on a damp track without rain before it started to fall as the session concluded, with rookie Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) in third. The trio were the only riders to lap under the two-minute barrier, while home hero Svoboda was fifth. Championship leader Geiger crashed out on his out lap and didn’t set a lap time.
The top six from WorldSSP300 action on Friday, full results here:
1. Petr Svoboda (Fusport – RT Motorsport by SKM – Kawasaki) 1’46.492
2. Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing BGR) + 0.252
3. Dirk Geiger (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) 0.630s
4. Aldi Mahendra (Team BrCorse) +0.767s
5. Lennox Lehmann (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) +0.864s
6. Samuel Di Sora (ProDina Kawasaki Racing) +0.898s
Watch WorldSSP300 Tissot Superpole on Saturday at 09:45 Local Time (GMT+2) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!
Source: WorldSBK.com