From the start of his 100th career WSS race Sofuoglu found a relative lack of rear grip compared to his main rivals and he had to work hard on the entry of corners to make up for it. The three-time world champion was involved in a fight with Lorenzo Zanetti for much of the race and after passing his rival on the second last lap Kenan tried to open up a gap to take a definite third.
Kenan was to fall at turn four of the final lap, losing the front, but he restarted and ended up 11th, securing five points that minimised his losses on a tough day under the Italian sun. He now has 155 points to Cluzel’s 135.
After Sofuoglu’s bad luck the best-placed Kawasaki rider was Christian Gamarino (Team Go Eleven Kawasaki) taking seventh place inside a warring group of seven riders, which included eventual ninth place rider Marco Faccani (San Carlo Puccetti Racing Kawasaki).
Dominic Schmitter (Team Go Eleven Kawasaki) took points again, this time for 13th place.
Kenan Sofuoglu: “I found out in the race that the rear was spinning a lot and everybody around me had better acceleration than me. I tried to do everything on the front brake and front tyre but for 20 laps you cannot do it every time. Finally I crashed but got some points after I restarted. If you want to be the champion you cannot accept fourth place in races and today it was only possible to finish third.”