Yakhnich Yamaha’s Sam Lowes missed out on the World Supersport pole by only four tenths of a second from rival, MAHI Racing’s Kenan Sofuoglu. The Derby rider was at the sharp end all of yesterday and today, but the Istanbul Park circuit is the local track of the Turkish rider, and the reigning champ just had the edge this afternoon.
Pole setter Sofuoglu and Lowes were the only two riders to challenge for the number one spot on the starting grid, as the pair were the only racers to lap inside the 1'58 barrier. Lowes best time of 1'58.762 was only good enough to place him second on the grid, compared to Sofuoglu's 1'58.380. But the place for third changed throughout the 45 minute session.
Lowes will not be the only Brit on the front row, ParkinGO MV rider Christian Iddon managed to out pace Kawasaki Intermoto rider Florian Marino to start from the front row, after an impressive 1’59.438. But the British domination did not end there, DMC Lorenzini rider Kev Coghlan starts the race tomorrow from the second row, after his 1’59.665 lap means he starts from fifth on the grid. The Perthshire lad is sandwiched between both Intermoto team-mates, with David Salom completing the row.
It turned out to be a battle of the Pata Honda team-mates, as both Michael Van der Mark and Lorenzo Zanetti were clocking nearly identical lap times, but when the chequered flag came out it was the young Dutchman who clinched seventh place, with his Italian garage buddy ending the final qualifier in eighth. Team Lorini's Raffaele de Rosa and Suriano Racing’s Roberto Tamburini rounded off the top ten.
The session was red flagged with just over three and a half minutes to go, after a crash involving MAHI Racing’s Fabien Foret and VFT Racing’s Fabio Menghi. Both riders were declared OK at track side. Rivamoto’s Jack Kennedy did reach as high as tenth in the timesheets, but ended the afternoon in thirteenth and heads up row four with his 2’00.179 lap. PTR Honda’s Danny Webb starts from 23rd on the grid.
