108 amcn.com.au
Round 07Brno, Czech Republic – 8-10 June 2018 World Supersport ChampionshipJULES CLUZEL (NRTYamaha)
fairly blasted to his third win of
the year, running out front for
the whole 16-laps of a warm
and sunny race and holding off
the close and sometimes tactile
attentions of championship
leader, Sandro Cortese (Kallio
Racing Yamaha). The French
rider has now won three races,
and this one may have been
the pick for sheer tenacity and
controlling both his machine
and his rivals for all 16 laps.
He and Cortese hit on the final
lap, but it put Cortese off more
than Cluzel.
“I expected he (Sandro)
would try to fight and on the
last lap I was really struggling
with the rear grip,” said Cluzel.
“I just tried my best and tried to
close a little bit the door. When
we hit I have a big mark on my
leathers! It was funny because
we both stayed on the bike and
I think everybody enjoyed it.”
An original four-rider groupcontained eventual third-place
finisher Raffaele De Rosa’s
MV Agusta Reparto Corse by
Vamag three-cylinder bike, and
the reigning champion Lucas
Mahias and his GRT Yamaha.
As the front two ran away
to a contest on their own,
De Rosa finished third, with
Mahias scoring good points
but watching his points
disadvantage to the top-three
riders in the standings remain
too big for comfort. It is still
close at the top of the standings,
but Randy Krummenacher
(Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP
Yamaha) slipped a bit today, in
fifth, and over seven seconds
from the win in hot conditions.
Cluzel’s NRT teammate Thomas
Gradinger was a revelation
compared to previous rounds,
sixth, but still 18 seconds back
on the winner.
But for a tussle with another
rider in the early laps, Anthony
West was turning in times thatwould have put him in the
leading mix, even when he
was getting blasted up the hill
approaching the start/finish
in a fight with Kyle Smith (CIA
Landlord Insurance).
Eemeli Lahti (Sterkman
Motorsports by HRP) was top
ESS Rider, and on a Suzuki too,
with the second Kallio Racing
Yamaha of Belgium’s Loris
Cresson 10th.
An unlucky finish to a
sometimes-difficult weekend
for stand-in rider after the
retirement of Kawasaki’s Kenan
Sofuoglu, Sheridan Morais, saw
him fall as he tried to pass a
faster machine.
In the championship, the
two Brno protagonists Cortese
and Cluzel are first and second
respectively, with Cortese on
122 points and Cluzel on 120.
Krummenacher has 105 and
Mahias 103. De Rosa, after
four third place finishes in
succession, has 83 points.Main. Cluzel (16) is finding his
groove and has reduced Cortese’s
(11) lead to just two points- A smiles (and helmets)
- Aussie Ant West was the only
Kawasaki in the top 10 places
Three out loud
Round 7
Finishing positions
WSS / 16 laps
POS RIDER NAT BIKE TIME
1 J CLUZEL FRA YAM 33m15.783s
2 S CORTESE GER YAM +0.148s
3 R DE ROSA ITA MVA +3.368s
4 L MAHIAS FRA YAM +6.735s
5 R KRUMMENACHER SUI YAM +7.764s
6 T GRADINGER AUT YAM +18.651s
7 A WEST AUS KAW +20.773s
8 K SMITH GBR HON +22.576s
9 E LAHTI FIN SUZ +30.575s
10 L CRESSON BEL YAM +31.323s
11 R HARTOG NED KAW +33.589s
12 H SOOMER EST HON +34.857s
13 H OKUBO JPN KAW +36.627s
14 A COPPOLA ITA YAM +40.124s
15 A BALDOLINI ITA HON +41.687s
16 M CANDUCCI ITA HON +44.774s
17 A IRWIN GBR HON +46.924s
18 L STAPLEFORD GBR YAM +46.958s
19 M ENDERLEIN GER YAM +47.154s
20 W TESSELS NED KAW +50.844s
21 N CALERO ESP KAW +58.652s
22 L MORCIANO ITA KAW +1m05.705s
23 J ITURRIOZ ARG KAW +1m10.285s
24 M CHALUPA CZE YAM +1m39.058s
25 P COPPA CZE HON +2m13.032s
DNF G MOLNAR (HUN, HON), S MORAIS (POR, KAW), S HILL
(GBR, TRI), A BADOVINI (ITA, MV), F CARICASULO (ITA, YAM)
POLE POSITION
S CORTESE 2m03.626s
FASTEST LAP
L MAHIAS 2m03.886s
RIDER STANDINGS AFTER 7 OF 13 ROUNDS
1 S CORTESE 122, 2 J CLUZEL 120, 3 R KRUMMENACHER
105, 4 L MAHIAS 103, 5 R DE ROSA 83, 6 F CARICASULO
79, 7 L STAPLEFORD 45, 8 A WEST 41, 9 T GRADINGER 40,
10 N TUULI 38race
report
①
②
It’s three wins for the fast Frenchman, but
it’s the ex-GP star who retains the title lead