The WorldSSP Superpole session saw yet more drama, speed and crashes as the picture for Saturday morning became a lot clearer. The Championship top three all replicate their positions in the standings on the grid, for what is sure to be an explosive Race 1.
TOP THREE CONTINUE TO PERFORM ABOVE THE REST: Montella on pole
The FIM Supersport World Championship has seen a dramatic first day back in action, whilst the pacesetters at the top of the standings continue to display their prowess and pace. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) was awarded pole position following the end of the Superpole session, whilst Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) finished the afternoon session the same way he did in the morning; fast. His time of 1’36.843s was enough to secure P2 in Race 1 tomorrow. He thought that he had done enough to secure pole, but found that he had exceeded track limits at turn 13, and was thus demoted. His crash saw the Spaniard collide into the back of Oli Bayliss’ (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team) Panigale V2, before suffering a highside at Turn 4. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) rounded out the front row by securing P3.
DIVERSE BATTLE FOR THE SECOND ROW: Can Oncu performs impressive comeback
Elsewhere, the second row took an interesting shape. France’s Valentin Debise (Evan Bros WorldSSP Yamaha Team) continued his impressive form to secure P4, whilst Finnish rider Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team) secured a spot in the top five. Locking out the second row was Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Team), with the Turk completing an impressive Superpole lap that, whilst initially seeing him stuck in P18, ultimately saw him jump to P6 for tomorrow’s race.
STRONG VARIETY IN THE TOP TEN: Bayliss moves into top ten
Rounding out the top ten was an interesting variety of riders on the grid. Italy’s Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) secured an impressive P7 on the grid, whilst Oli Bayliss (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team) showed impressive consistency to secure P8. P9 and P10 were rounded out by Spaniard Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) and Italy native Luca Ottaviani (Extreme Racing Service), who is wildcarding this weekend.
You can check the full results from the session here:
- Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) 1’36.876s
- Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) +0.029s
- Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) +0.613s
- Valentin Debise (Evan Bros WorldSSP Yamaha Team) +0.682s
- Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team) +0.757s
- Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.787s
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Source: WorldSBK.com