Despite two crashes on Friday, including one in the Tissot Superpole session, Valentin Debise (EASTROC ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing) was the fastest on the day at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, where the FIM Supersport World Championship disputed their first Superpole sessions since the conclusion of the summer break. Fellow ZXMOTO rider Federico Caricasulo wasn’t far behind him, as he landed his first appearance on the front row in since Cremona last season. Joining them, fellow Frenchman Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) returns to the front row for the first time since Most.
ZXMOTO’S LATE MOVE
Debise got off to a bumpy start after he crashed for the second time on the day, once again at Turn 15. He returned with 19 minutes remaining, and with the session about to expire, he and his teammate Caricasulo got the job done, taking P1 and P2. The 1’39.585s pole lap arrived as the #53’s first pole position in his professional career, and the first 1-2 ever for the Chinese manufacturer. ‘Carica’ has had his share of struggles atop their ZXMOTO 820RR, but things at last clicked for him on Friday, landing his first front row of the season. Debise and Caricasulo’s late move largely stole Mahias’s thunder as they took pole from the #94, but it was still a great ride to get his mojo back and return to the front row after not qualifying better than P17 over the last three rounds.
TOUGH BREAK FOR GARCIA
It looked like Roberto Garcia (GMT94 Yamaha) was going to make his return to the front row for the first time since Aragon; however, with the ZXMOTO riders’ dramatic late attack on the top two, the Spaniard was shuffled down to P4, his time just over a tenth slower than his teammate. Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) led the session early on, and while four riders slid past him on the timesheets, his 1’40.107s time held on for P5 despite a late crash at Turn 2, to see him take a second-row start for the second consecutive round. Replacement rider Jorge Navarro (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) didn’t need much time to acclimate as he hit the ground running in France, earning a P6 with a time just two hundredths slower than Alcoba.
ARENAS FALLS TO P10
In P7 was French rider Corentin Perolari (Honda Racing World Supersport) as his 1’40.258s time saw him land his best Superpole session result since this same French Round last season. Filippo Farioli (VFT Racing) clocked in a time just seven hundredths slower than the Frenchman, his best Friday result since Balaton Park. Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) took P9, not quite on his Donington Park pace, but his 1’40.425s was good enough for a third-row start on Saturday for the Brit. Salvaging his rough opening day, Championship leader Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) spent most of the session outside the top ten before he corrected course with a late 1’40.537s to snag P10. Not quite so lucky was Can Oncu (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing), who suffered a tech issue at Turn 14 early on; he returned to the session, however, despite sitting in fourth in the Championship standings, fell to P13 on Friday afternoon.
OETTL SIDELINED; JESPERSEN PENALISED
Sixth place in the Riders’ Championship, Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) crashed at Turn 12 just minutes into the session, and he was unable to return, meaning he did not set a time in the session. Simon Jespersen (EAB Racing Team) will have to face a Back of Grid penalty for not respecting Yellow Flag Procedure during their Free Practice session earlier in the day. The Superpole session was no kinder to him, as he suffered a late tech issue from P12.
The top six from the WorldSSP Tissot Superpole session, full results here!
- Valentin Debise (EASTROC ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing) 1’39.585s
- Federico Caricasulo (EASTROC ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing) +0.059s
- Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) +0.217s
- Roberto Garcia (GMT94 Yamaha) +0.118s
- Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) +0.128s
- Jorge Navarro (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) +0.027s
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