Yakhnich Yamaha’s Sam Lowes fought till the bitter end with MAHI Racing’s Kenan Sofuoglu in the World Supersport race at the Istanbul Park circuit, but it was the reigning champ who snatched the victory from the Derby lad.
The fight for the win really started on the penultimate lap. Lowes did lead from lap two, but towards the end Sofuoglu closed in and began to challenge for the top spot on the rostrum. On lap thirteen the Turkish rider when into the lead, only for Lowes to get to the front seconds later on the straight.
On the final lap the lead changed numerous times, but it was the local lad that made a move on turn 12, and Lowes was unable to get ahead, and missed out on being crowned Supersport champion by two one-hundredths of a second.
Pata Honda’s Michael Van der Mark ended up having quite a lonely race. The Dutchman started off well and in the early stages of the race on lap two Van der Mark was even as high as second after a move on Sofuoglu. But that did not last and the Honda rider ended the day in third, nine seconds behind the leading duo.
There was an epic battle for fourth place, and that was between ParkinGO MV’s Christian Iddon, Kawasaki Intermoto’s Florian Marino, Pata Honda’s Lorenzo Zanetti and Scottish rider DMC-Lorenzini’s Kev Coghlan.
The place for fourth did change multiple times through the sixteen laps. First it was Marino who went out ahead. Then Stockport rider Iddon made a charge on Perthshire lad, Coghlan. Both riders were side by side, but on lap thirteen Iddon made a pass that placed him in fourth ahead of Marino and fellow Brit, Coghlan.
Iddon did pull away from the trio, but his good form was not to last, as he experienced a technical problem on lap sixteen on turn eleven, which permanently ended his chances of coming away from the race with some solid points.
In the end it was Zanetti who finished eleven seconds behind team-mate Van der Mark in fourth, followed by the two Roberto’s of ParkinGO MV’s Rolfo, and Team Lorini’s Tamburini. Marino experienced a problem and on the last lap slipped back to nineteenth.
Coghlan ended the race in seventh in front of Kawasaki Intermoto’s David Salom and Rivamoto’s Jack Kennedy. The Dubliner did not have the best of starts but clawed his way through the grid from fifteenth, to tenth and crossed the finishing line in ninth. PTR Honda’s Danny Webb ended the race in 18th.
