After heavy rains and high winds caused a delay of the start of WorldSSP in Malaysia, Kawasaki Puccetti Racing riders Kenan Sofuoglu and Randy Krummenacher got on track to defend their lead in the Championship after WorldSBK Race 2, with the track wet but weather improved. Heading the grid after a 1-2 in Tissot-Superpole 2, the conditions in the Race were harder for reigning Champion and his quick rookie teammate and the duo finished in P6 and P8 respectively.

“We had quite a lot of bad luck today,” lamented Sofuoglu. “We were in pole position, and the fastest, but just before the race we had rain. It was OK but they delayed the race. The final race was wet but when it rains you know it is really wet on the track. This was somewhere between wet and drying. It was very slippery and you could see on the podium people who were going for a top three, because this was a chance for them. They took their chances but we have to take care of the Championship. This is why I looked who was in front of me and all except PJ Jacobsen were not my Championship competition. He made just a few points more, so not a problem.”

Teammate Krummenacher, Sofuoglu’s closest chaser in the title fight after Round 6, also found conditions difficult.

“I was very surprised at the speed the others went at early on,” explained the Swiss rider. “This race was a big learning process for me. I wanted more from the race, but it is useful to have collected this experience together. For sure around halfway through the race I started to trust more and push more and did similar lap times on the front guys, which is definitely positive. Now I´m looking ahead to Donington, where I know the track well. Maybe there’ll be another chance to get more experience in the wet, depending on the English weather…”

The next WorldSBK race weekend at Donington Park sees the paddock head back west to Europe for Round 7, from the 27th to 29th May.