WSBK Supersport Donington: (bad) news from Jules Cluzel

La first Supersport race at Donington Park was a chain of incidents perfectly, but unfortunately, illustrating the butterfly effect.

At the end of the warm-up round, Unai Orradre (MS Racing Yamaha WorldSSP) no longer has a visor and is evacuated from the grid, but this takes time and results in a new quick start procedure. As a result, the race is reduced from 19 to 18 laps.

When leaving, Jules cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) starts well from his 6th position, gains two places, everything goes well until turn #4, where several riders go out onto the grass and where Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) falls in the middle of the pack. His motorcycle, right in the middle of the track, is hit by that of Unai Orradre who started last following the previous incident. Debris and oil were spilled on the track, causing the race to be interrupted with a red flag and, again, after a moment's delay, a shortening of the event from 18 to 12 laps.

During the second start, everything went well but some drivers were perhaps more nervous than usual, due to the shortened race and the increase in moments of concentration-deconcentration.

Unlike the first departure, Nicholas Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) got off to a bad start and fell on the first lap after still managing to temporarily regain the lead. Three laps later, in the last corner, Jules cluzel suffered a slow but violent high side during re-acceleration, without us yet knowing the cause, while he was fighting in the group fighting for the podium.

Although announced “ride OK” by the authorities, the French pilot was evacuated on a stretcher, visibly unable to walk.

Un first assessment communicated by his team informs that he has “ two fractured metatarsals in his right foot, a fractured left heel, and a sore left shoulder which still needs to be examined by the medical team. A clear brake on this weekend full of hope. A convalescence time of approximately one month is expected, but this must still be confirmed following the next upcoming examinations. »

Jules cluzel is therefore obviously forfeited for the rest of the weekend and we sincerely wish him the quickest recovery possible.