With only two races remaining in Argentina and Qatar, the final sprint is on between Randy Krummenacher (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) who is 10 points ahead of his teammate Federico Caricasulo and 38 over Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha). The situation does not seem favorable to the Frenchman, but his two opponents scored 0 points each at Magny-Cours due to falls. So everything remains possible for Jules.
Leader of the World Championship, Randy Krummenacher arrived in South America after narrowly escaping the catastrophe at Magny-Cours: “ Of course, it's not the result I expected, I fell in the first lap and couldn't continue. A difficult accident to explain, but fortunately I only had bruises. I was unlucky but also lucky because my advantage over my teammate remained the same and I am still leading the Championship. Before leaving for Argentina, I focused on my physical condition because I am still not in great shape after the accident in Portimão. ».
For his teammate Federico Caricasulo, second, 10 points behind the Swiss, “ I felt comfortable on the bike at Magny-Cours. I was leading the race and had already gained a slight advantage over my pursuers. Everything was going well when I suddenly lost grip and slipped. I tried to start running again, but in an attempt to recover quickly, I probably pushed a little too much, and fell for the second time, unable to start again. Too bad because I missed an opportunity. However, as Randy didn't take any points, everything remains more or less as before and I will try my luck again here in Argentina. »
For Jules cluzel, after Magny-Cours: “Great qualifying, two good starts but unfortunately we were missing something to be able to hold on until the end. Despite everything, we come home with 10 additional points and we remain mathematically in the title race. I hoped for better for my national race but also for the public and the whole team. I will have the opportunity to do better in Argentina! »
According to his teammate Corentin Perolari, “I'm quite divided because I had my best race of the year at Magny-Cours, but I was hampered by the fall of a competitor. Despite everything, I had a pace that could have given me a place on the podium. My confidence is growing for Argentina, a circuit that I really like. »
According to Lucas Mahias, “I’m ready for a new round on another continent. I don't know this Argentinian track yet on my current bike*, so I don't know how it's going to go, but we're going to give it 100%. I am ready to work in the same direction as in Magny-Cours with the team and ready to fight for victory. »
*Lucas set the test record on his Yamaha in 2018.
For Jules Danilo, « This weekend is a new circuit for me, but I've done my homework, watched a lot of videos and it looks like a pretty normal GP style circuit. Maybe the grip won't be as good initially because it's not a place where a lot of championships are held, but it's up to me to adapt as quickly as possible. We really messed up at Magny-Cours with some things, so we'll have to react quickly here because I really need to have a strong weekend and get some decent points to keep this potential top 10 in the Championship. So you have to start from Friday and build until Sunday, learn more about the bike and how to ride it on this type of track and do the best you can.”
During the first free practice session, Kyle Smith quickly took the lead in 1'50.069, closely followed by Corentin Perolari, Raffaele de Rosa and Jules Cluzel. The British leader's time was not extraordinary, but could be explained by abundant dust on the track which considerably reduced grip.
Smith improved to 1'48.654, ahead of Jules Cluzel by 0.486. At mid-session, Perolari was eighth, Lucas Mahias tenth and Jules Danilo nineteenth. Mahias took command in 1'48.262, but Smith replied in 1'48.209.
Smith progressed again in 1'48.000, 0.2 ahead of Mahias, 0.5 ahead of Krummenacher and 0.8 ahead of Cluzel.
The final advantage in this FP1 went to Ayrton Badovini in 1'47.437, 0.4 ahead of Krummenacher, 0.5 ahead of Perolari and Smith, 0.6 ahead of Viñales and Mahias, and 0.7 ahead of Cluzel.
Results of the first free practice session:
During FP2, Federico Caricasulo moved up to eighth position at the start of the session, after a disastrous FP1 which saw him only finish twelfth. He thus came to place himself in the wheels of Lucas Mahias sixth and Jules Cluzel seventh (in the classification of the two sessions combined).
Ayrton Badovini, definitely in great spirits, improved his own best time to 1'47.177, while Jules Cluzel moved into second, 0.6 behind the Kawasaki Pedercini. Then Jules improved further with his GMT 6 R94 with a time of 1'46.565, 0.6 ahead of Badovini and Kyle Smith, and 1.3 ahead of Randy Krummenacher and Corentin Perolari.
Lucas Mahias came in second position behind Jules Cluzel in 1'46.832. There remained a little more than ten minutes before the checkered flag. Jules Danilo moved up to thirteenth place.
Caricasulo moved up to third place behind Cluzel and Mahias, then his teammate Krummenacher moved to fourth ahead of Badovini, Smith and Perolari. In the last two minutes, first place changed owners several times, and finally it was Corentin Perolari who managed to win in 1'46.246. He managed the end of the session perfectly despite a track with complicated grip and this should give him, and his entire team, great morale for the rest of the weekend. Forza Corentin!
Mixed results from the first day of free practice :
Reference times:
Test record: 1'43.026 by Lucas Mahias (Yamaha) in 2018
Lap record: 1'43.818 by Sandro Cortese (Yamaha) in 2018
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
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