The first practice of the Gaerne Qatar Round got underway at 16:30 local time (GMT+3) just as the sun began to set at the Losail International Circuit. 2016 WorldSSP Champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished the session in front, sporting all red livery to reflect his nation’s flag and recent World Title.

A rush of activity in the final minutes of the session saw many riders improve their times and gain momentum off of each other. Honda World Supersport Team’s PJ Jacobsen was one of the riders who put in a fast lap in the last minutes to finish second, ahead of MV Agusta Reparto Corse’s Jules Cluzel who finished in third.

Kyle Smith (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) set the pace early on and kept the fastest time for most of the session, but couldn’t further improve when everybody else did. He finally finished in fourth ahead of Ayrton Badovini (GEMAR  Balloons – Team Lorini) in fifth, while Ondrej Jezek (Team GOELEVEN) ended the session in sixth.

Randy Krummenacher (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) clocked the seventh fastest time on the timesheets with Federico Caricasulo (BARDAHL Evan Bros. Honda Racing) locking out the eighth quickest time. Lorenzo Zanetti who rides for GRT Racing Team this weekend, finished in ninth with Luke Stapleford (Profile Racing) locking out the top ten.

WorldSSP will be back on track at 19:45 local time (GMT+3) as they battle for entry to Tissot-Superpole 2 ahead of their final weekend of racing for the 2016 season on Sunday the 30th October.