Jules Cluzel is a boy with impressive courage and will, and he proved it again this Friday by finishing second in the first free practice session in the Supersport World Championship in Thailand, in front of 25 opponents, with a fractured tailbone.
Such generosity in the effort would deserve a great reward at the Championship – especially since Kenan Sofuoglu is out – but unfortunately Jules, in addition to being injured, was unable to score points at Phillip Island. His team manager Simon Buckmaster, boss of the CIA Landlords Insurance Honda team, believes that Federico Caricasulo who hit Cluzel should have been sanctioned, which was not the case.
Simon Buckmaster knows what he's talking about when it comes to racing accidents because he suffered a severed leg and amputated foot during the 1993 Bol d'Or. He was riding the Phase One Endurance team's Kawasaki there. of Russell Benney and was engaged in a magnificent duel with Michel Graziano on the SERT Suzuki when he fell in the Esses de la Verrerie and his left leg came into contact with the edge of a metal rail at the edge of the track. Doug Poland was crowned Driver's World Champion that year, having raced with Pierre Cascarino's Moto Sport Courneuvien and Phase One Endurance.
For Buckmaster, “ Jules came into false neutral entering Turn 1 and went wide, causing him to drop back to seventh with just three laps remaining. The way he managed to come back, without causing any problems for the other drivers, to arrive in third position in turn 10, the bottom of Lucky Heights, gave him a chance of victory.
“That’s where the big problem started. An out-of-control Federico Caricasulo slid backwards at the top of Lucky Heights, and instead of riding normally and trying to get the best possible result, he decided to open the throttle again, arriving in bottom of the descent too quickly, where he hit Jules very violently. If Jules hadn't been there, he would have definitely gone off the track. This irresponsible action hurt Jules.
“Dorna is doing an excellent job as is the FIM, so I expected a very severe sanction. I was stunned to learn there was no penalty for Caricasulo. This does not discourage this type of conduct, which will not end well if it is allowed to continue. Perhaps Race Direction should consider looking at rider data in cases like this to make the best decision. It's a bit like in football, if the penalty is not severe enough, some will continue to use unprofessional and dangerous tactics.
Title photo: Simon Buckmaster and Jules Cluzel (© CIA Landlords Insurance Honda)
