DMC Panavto-Yamaha’s Kev Coghlan ended the World Supersport race at Donington Park on the third step of the rostrum but could not hold off Pata Honda’s Michael Van Der Mark or Yakhnich’s Jules Cluzel to take the victory. That accolade went to the Dutchman, who now leads the championship.
Sofuoglu initially set the pace followed by Coghlan and Zanetti. On lap four the Scot was able to close the gap on the Turkish rider by 0.3 seconds. CIA Insurance Honda's Jack Kennedy had a great start and managed to climb from eighteenth to tenth in three laps and was closing in on PTR Honda’s Wilairot.
On lap five Coghlan went wide, allowing Zanetti to make a move on the inside line to go into second, with Sofuoglu still heading the field. Yakhnich’s Jules Cluzel was powering on through the pack and went up to fourth, meaning Kawasaki Intermoto’s PJ Jacobsen fell to fifth after nine laps.
Coghlan at his home track went back into second on lap nine; but had Zanetti, Cluzel and Jacobsen hot on his heels. But while Sofuoglu had a one second advantage over the Perthshire rider he had a technical problem and smoke began to appear from his Kawasaki at Goddards, and on the Wheatcroft straight slowed down in what appeared to be another technical error, his third in a row, leaving Coghlan to charge on ahead to go into the lead - with the triple champ slipping to sixth.
Cluzel has gone underneath Zanetti on lap 12 and soon got the better of Coghlan, with the Pata Honda paring of Van Der Mark and Zanetti vying for the final spot on the podium. But Sofuoglu was not the only rider to experience a technical problem, Zanetti game to an abrupt stop at Coppice with four laps remaining, while in third.
With Zanetti pulling out his colleague, Van Der Mark snatched second from Coghlan at Melbourne, then the Dutchman passed Cluzel to go into the lead at Redgate. On the final lap Sofuoglu was creeping up on Coghlan in third, with the Scottish lad now a second off the pace of the leading bikes.
But Van Der Mark made an aggressive move at Goddards, to take the victory, followed by Cluzel, Coghlan and Sofuoglu, with Kawasaki’s Intermoto’s Florian Marino rounding off the top five.
Kennedy finished just behind Jacobsen in seventh, with wild-card rider, Motorpoint British Supersport’s Sam Hornsey narrowly missing out on a point in 16th. Com Plus Racing’s Fraser Rogers ended the afternoon in 18th.
