News

Sabatucci takes maiden WorldSSP300 pole position in tricky conditions at Most

Saturday, 30 July 2022 08:30 GMT

    • The Italian rider was more than a second clear of his rivals as the track dried out throughout the Superpole session

    The FIM Supersport 300 World Championship Tissot Superpole session took place in tricky, damp but drying conditions at the Autodrom Most with the times tumbling throughout the 20-minute session. It was Italian rider Kevin Sabatucci (Kawasaki GP Project) who took pole position for the Prosecco DOC Czech Round to take his first pole position, while the entire front row is made up of riders who have not started there before.

    MAIDEN FRONT ROW STARTS: the top three with their best results

    Sabatucci posted a lap time of 1’47.921s to claim pole position, with his best lap time coming at the end of the session as the track dried out following overnight rain. Sabatucci was the only rider to lap in the 1’47s bracket as he became the 22nd different polesitter in WorldSSP300 history and took Kawasaki’s 25th pole in the class. Sabatucci will be joined on the front row by rookies Humberto Maier (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing) and Alex Millan (SMW Racing) with bother riders taking their first front row start.

    A TIGHT FIGHT BEHIND: a tightly packed chasing group…

    In fourth and fifth were Harry Khouri (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) and the returning Jose Luis Perez Gonzales (Accolade Smrz Racing), with both riders posting a 1’49.193s. Under the rules, when riders have set the same best time, their second best time is used to determine the order with Khouri in fourth ahead of Perez Gonzales, with the Spanish rider making his comeback from injury. German rider Dirk Geiger (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) will complete the second row in sixth place.

    STRONG RESULTS: rounding out the top ten

    Local rider Petr Svoboda (Accolade Smrz Racing), Racing as a wildcard for his home round, claimed seventh spot on the grid ahead of Troy Alberto (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) in eighth and Iker Garcia Abella (Yamaha MS Racing) in ninth. Less than one tenth separated the riders on the third row of the grid, while Ton Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing) will start tenth.

    HOUSEKEEPING: to note from WorldSSP300

    It was a difficult session for some of the Championship contenders. Marc Garcia (Yamaha MS Racing) will start 11th after setting a time of 1’49.583s, with Samuel Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) in 13th and Championship leader Alvaro Diaz (Arco Motor University Team) in 14th. A crash for Ruben Bijman (MTM Kawasaki) at Turn 10 left him down in 25th place but, with yellow flags out for his crash, impacted other riders at the end of the session. Lennox Lehmann (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) had set the fourth fastest time but had that time deleted due to yellow flags, and will therefore start in 17th place; one place behind Friday’s pacesetter, Victor Steeman (MTM Kawasaki).

    After his crash in Free Practice 2 on Friday, Inigo Iglesias (SMW Racing) was declared unfit with a concussion and did not take part in any further action throughout the Czech Round.

    The top six following WorldSSP300 Superpole, full results here:

    1. Kevin Sabatucci (Kawasaki GP Project) 1’47.921

    2. Humberto Maier (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing) 1.137s

    3. Alex Millan (SMW Racing) +1.204s

    4. Harry Khouri (Team#109 Kawasaki) +1.272s

    5. Jose Luis Perez Gonzales (Accolade Smrz Racing) +1.272s

    6. Dirk Geiger (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) +1.286s

    Watch WorldSSP300 Race 1 LIVE and UNINTERRUPTED at 12:40 Local Time (GMT+2) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!