[Supersport] Buriram Superpole: Jules Cluzel dazzling

After a major tire imbroglio during the first event at Phillip Island, Randy Krummenacher celebrated his birthday by beating Jules Cluzel, and his teammate Federico Caricasulo who could have done better if he had not rushed to leave the pits with his rear stand attached to his motorcycle.

Before launching into this Saturday's Superpole, let's take stock of several of the favorites:

Jules cluzel (GMT94) was solidly motivated when he arrived in Thailand: “ The objective here is the same as in Australia: a podium if possible and the points that go with it. We had a bit of a fight at Phillip Island. The two guys from Bardahl Yamaha were faster than us, so we were working to improve the bike. After the race we know better where we need to improve, but it's not something we can do overnight. I have good memories of this Buriram track. I've always been fast here and could have won more than one race if not for bad luck and an early crash last year ».

The Swiss Randy Krummenacher on his Evan Bros. Bardahl Yamaha quivered: « At Phillip Island, it really couldn't be better! The pit stop was special, but I tried to stay calm when I arrived and my team did a fantastic job changing the tire. It was perfect: Winning the first race at Phillip Island was a great way to start the season and celebrate my birthday! »

Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) said : “The Thai event is always good, with many fans in the stands transmitting their passion. I think the Buriram track suits our bike and so I want to continue working with our team and adapting to our Ninja ZX-6R. I trained hard to be in top shape for this second round of WorldSSP.”

Corentin Perolari (GMT94) rejoiced in Australia: “ I finished seventh, so for me it was only positive. In the end, I do a start like I know how to do, then a crazy comeback. I'm very satisfied because we're scoring big points and that makes me really happy. The team works a lot, we get along really well, and I think things will progress quickly for me in any case. »

To Jules Danilo (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda), “I'm really looking forward to this weekend. We left positively at Philip Island and I want to continue on this path here in Thailand. It's a track that I discovered for the first time in MotoGP last year. It's not a very difficult track, which means everyone is fast, making it difficult to tell the difference. The objective is undoubtedly to work on the pace of the race, as this round will not be interrupted by tire problems. We are working on it, but I am confident that we can do a good job here in Thailand ».

During the Superpole, in the first series of runs, with 34° for the air temperature and 51° for the track, Jules Cluzel took the lead in 1'37.176, ahead of Federico Caricasulo by 0.032.

Then Caricasulo took command in 1'37.024, which was faster than the lap record set in 1'37.620 by Randy Krummenacher (Yamaha) in 2018. Cluzel approached to within 0.152 of Caricasulo, then the riders returned to the stands to fit new tires. Lucas Mahias was 7th, Jules Danilo 9th and Corentin Perolari 13th.

In the second part of this Superpole, Caricasulo improved to 1'36.915, but Randy Krummenacher was even faster in 1'36.855. Cluzel was then fourth at 0.321, behind Hikari Okubo, Lucas Mahias' teammate.

Jules Cluzel took the best time 3 minutes from the end in 1'36.826. Randy Krummenacher and Federico Caricasulo were unable to beat him and completed the first row with him. Lucas Mahias qualified 9th, Jules Danilo 12th and Corentin Perolari 15th.

Supersport Superpole results:

Reference times :

Test record: 1'36.738 by Lucas Mahias (Yamaha) in 2018

Lap record: 1'37.620 by Randy Krummenacher (Yamaha) in 2018

Provisional ranking of the Supersport World Championship:

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