ROAD RACE
FIM WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 13 / OCTOBER 28-30, 2016
LOSAIL INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT / DOHA, QATAR
P58
regulars, Jules Cluzel scared
Randy Krummenacher out of
an overall second-place finish
in the championship by taking
third place in Qatar, to Krumme-
nacher's fifth.
Randy had issues with bike
setup that limited his pace and
he had to just see it out and
hope for better luck. With Cluzel
second in the points, third for
Smith dive inside and start the
drag race to the flag. Smith was
to win it, but both riders were
drifting towards pit wall as they
looked for an advantage down
the long straight. The margin
of victory was 0.006 seconds
in favor of Smith, in a final-day
slice of excitement the class had
been waiting on.
"A big win and a bit of a repeat
from last year," Smith said. "I
think even more exciting than
last year the race was a little bit
tighter."
With no Yamaha rider Niki
Tuuli this weekend to scare the
ally raced a green one.
He intended to win for the hell
of it and he nearly did, but he
reckoned without the last-round
push of Kyle Smith (CIA Landlord
Insurance Honda).
The English rider had been
fifth in qualifying but stormed into
the lead after six laps. Unable to
push hard in the early laps, as
his grip was not what he expect-
ed, Sofuoglu worked hard to get
to the front with Smith, and they
entered the final lap together.
A small mistake from Sofuo-
glu in the final entry, caused
by chatter from his bike, saw
PJ Jacobsen was hoping for
more at the final. He had second
in the championship in his sights
but had to settle for fourth.
