Supersport 600, Jerez, J1: Free practice favors Federico Caricasulo

This weekend in Jerez Jules Cluzel is competing in his 75th race in the Supersport World Championship. His first engagement was at Phillip Island in 2012. So far he has had 18 wins (a quarter of all his races), 42 podiums (56%), 21 poles (28%) and 48 front row starts (64 %). This Spanish weekend sees him once again battling his two main adversaries Randy Krummenacher and Federico Caricasulo.

Corentin Perolari recovered after his Imola crash. Recovering his senses during a first stay at the medical center, Corentin then had to reassure his team despite a broken collarbone. “ I underwent an operation the Wednesday following Imola in order to have a plate fitted and recover as quickly as possible. » he explained. According to Rémi Guyot, who are " Corentin took a while to regain his senses because the shock was also violent on his head. He could thank his helmet manufacturer and the airbag in his suit that really protected him. His collarbone was badly broken, but the recovery time quickly began and this mishap is nothing more than a bad memory.” To Corentin Perolari, “I lost consciousness and I don’t remember anything. It was by analyzing the videos that I was told that I had gone highside right in front Krummenacher. It was the first day of free practice and I didn't yet fully master the track. I was in a good rhythm and it's a very nice route which seemed to suit me. But that’s how it is, those are the risks of motor sports.” In Jerez, Corentin had to carry out a medical check which he passed successfully.

To Jules Danilo, « I am very happy to be in Jerez this week. I trained very well. It's a track that I know, so it's already positive because Imola was difficult to learn. My main goal is to be consistently in the top 10 and we were far from that in Imola, apart from the race. The objective is to be fast from the first free practice session on Friday. We have to work on the pace of the race because it will be a hot race, then fight at the front with the second group. I think it's important that we can achieve this this weekend ».

Two wildcards were present with the Frenchman Loïc Arbel and the Spanish Borja Quero Martinez on Yamaha R6s from the Emperador Racing team.

Pirelli took advantage of the tests to compare the standard 180/60 to a new, larger development rear tire: 190/60. In this WorldSSP category there are four solutions for the dry, two front and two rear. For the front, as in Aragón, Assen and Imola, the choice is between the standard SC1 and the SC2 X0582 development, which offers better grip and lower wear compared to the standard SC2. At the rear, the development SC0 Y0328, increased in size 190/60, joins the standard size 0/180 SC60, developed to provide greater stability and longer life.

Federico Caricasulo strikes first

Currently ranked second in the provisional ranking of the World Championship, the young Italian is only 22 points behind the leader, his teammate the Swiss Randy Krummenacher, 18 ahead of third Jules cluzel. The title is far from being decided but above all we must avoid any poor performance for these three men which could be fatal for the 2019 world crown.

Caricasulo won in the first free practice, ahead of Randy Krummenacher and Lucas Mahias. They preceded Thomas Gradinger, Jules Cluzel and Raffaele de Rosa. Corentin Perolari ranked twelfth, Jules Danilo fourteenth, Loïc Arbel twenty-second and Gaëtan Matern twenty-eighth.

Results of the first free practice session:

Corentin Perolari was the first to improve at the start of the second session, which was a good sign for the recovering Frenchman. Hikari Okubo, Lucas Mahias' teammate on Kawasaki, moved up to sixth position just behind Jules Cluzel. Randy Krummenacher set the best time of this second session in 1'42.712, but remained second in the combined standings of the two sessions behind his teammate Federico Caricasulo.

Lucas Mahias fell without gravity, clearly furious. Then Maria Herrera broke down 16 minutes from the checkered flag, for the second time in the session. Very few drivers were driving then, waiting for the last minutes. Caricasulo was the first of the leaders to return to the track 9 minutes from the checkered flag. Krummenacher imitated him shortly after, followed shortly after by Cluzel and most of the competitors. The track was slightly cooler than at the start of the session. Maybe it was an opportunity to get a set of new tires.

Krummenacher achieved a good 1'42.260, best time of the second session, but slower than in the morning. Raffaele moved into third position (overall) on his MV Agusta in 1'43.136. He then preceded Lucas Mahias by a hundredth.

In the very last minute, Federico Caricasulo set the best time of the day in 1'41.948. He set a new record and beat his teammate Randy Krummenacher by four hundredths.

Jules Cluzel placed magnificently third in 1'43.083, ahead of Raffaele de Rosa and Lucas Mahias. Corentin Perolari finished the first day in thirteenth position, just ahead of Jules Danilo. Loïc Arbel was twenty-first and Gaëtan Matern twenty-eighth.

Combined result of the two sessions: