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Dominant Locatelli claims WorldSSP pole position

Saturday, 1 August 2020 10:16 GMT

    • Italian rookie Andrea Locatelli responds to early challenge from Philipp Oettl to claim his second WorldSSP pole position in only his second race

    FIM Supersport World Championship’s return to competitive action continued under the scorching sun at Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, with Italian rookie Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) taking a dominant pole position for the Pirelli Spanish Round, meaning Locatelli will start on pole for both WorldSSP races at Jerez as he qualified over half a second clear of second-placed Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha)

    Locatelli was running in fourth in the first half of the session but continued to lap the track and put in two stunning laps in quick succession to the top of the timesheets, with Locatelli and Cluzel the only two to lap in the 1’42s bracket. Locatelli did not get beaten once he moved to the top of the timesheets with Cluzel getting within two tenths of Locatelli’s time – only for the Italian to instantly improve the gap to almost six tenths. Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), who had set the pace in the early part of the session, completes the front row with third place.

    Oettl’s Kawasaki Puccetti Racing teammate, Lucas Mahias, will start fourth as the first rider more than one second away from Locatelli’s Superpole pace. Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) had a relatively quiet session to qualify in fifth place with Cluzel’s GMT94 Yamaha teammate, Corentin Perolari, completing the second row for both WorldSSP races.

    Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) qualified in seventh place to lead the third row, ahead of 2019 FIM Supersport 300 World Championship title winner Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) in eighth. Hikari Okubo (Dynavolt Honda) completed the third row with Axel Bassani, the highest placed WorldSSP Challenge rider, in 10th place.

    Estonian rider Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) was 11th just ahead of Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing) – who had been running at the top of the timesheets in yesterday’s Free Practice sessions. De Rosa’s MV Agusta Reparto Corse teammate, Federico Fuligni, was 18th on the grid with Indonesian rider Galang Hendra Pratama (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) in 20th.

    The top six following Tissot Superpole, full results here:

    1 Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) 1’42.214

    2.) Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) +0.574

    3.) Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.854

    4.) Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +1.054

    5.) Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) +1.122

    6.) Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) +1.147

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