Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/574129
IN THE WIND P36 into 2016, even if Rea is on a Ka- wasaki again. "My plan from race one worked this time and I am glad that we did not change any- thing," said Davies, after winning his fifth of 2015. "On the chassis side it was the right way to go about it. Tenth by tenth the gap to Tom [Sykes] in the lead came down and I knew it would be a grip management game, but while pushing too. I was well on the limit but we made it home and dry." In a day of surprises surround- ing the inevitability of Rea's title win, the Pata Honda team made some changes in the backroom and Michael van der Mark took the immediate benefit, scoring a fair and square third, to add to his double podiums from Assen. In race two, with Davies out in front, the warring Aprilia Racing Red Devils pair of local men, Jordi Torres and British-as-they- come Leon Haslam, had a hard scrap, with Torres winning out, but Haslam having a last-corner lunge a long jump champion would have been proud of. It nearly worked, but Torres held on for second place and local pride, in what was his best finish in World Superbike so far. Haslam had his first podium since Misano with third in race two, but is probably too far (45 points) behind Sykes for a stab at third place overall. Gordon Ritchie WORLD SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP SHAKE-UP T he chances of Kawasaki Puccetti Racing's Kenan Sofuoglu taking possession of a fourth title went up exponentially when his nearest and closing rival Jules Cluzel broke his leg so badly that the MV Agusta Reparto Corse rider's season is probably finished. With Cluzel out of the Spanish race, it was up to America's Patrick 'PJ' Jacobsen on the Core" Motorsport Thailand Honda to try to haul back Sofuoglu. On the back of a win at Sepang last time out he had every hope to be confident, but third in qualifying turned into a hard and slippery second behind Sofuoglu, who used his new bike specs from Kawasaki and his team to great effect. He won, easing up by over a second. "Today the tarmac was very warm but I knew this race was very important for me and I had to take maximum points," said Sofuoglu. "We did a lot of work and at Jerez we were fast in every session. We are very happy and today we got the results for all the good work we did in the summer break." In second, despite all his efforts on a setup that was just not quite right, Jacobsen was still the next best thing to the best-ever World Supersport rider. "I just could not get the gap to him and he rode really well today," Jacobsen said. "Kenan [Sofuog- lu] beat us fair and square today and he just looked like he had some better tire life at the end. I kind of wrecked my tire and with five laps to go I could not find the grip in the front or the rear. I have a chunk of rubber just sitting there on my swingarm." Third place went to the other factory MV Agusta rider, Lorenzo Zanetti, just another second back. Gordon Ritchie PJ Jacobsen (left) and Kenan Sofuoglu (right) are the last dogs left in the World Supersport title fight after Jules Cluzel broke his leg in practice. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE