Success has arrived early in the WorldSSP career of Swiss rider Krummenacher, who won in Australia first time out and was only a fraction of a second from the podium places in the previous round in Thailand. He is the current championship leader as he approaches a track layout in Spain he knows well from his recent career in the Moto2 class.
After a blameless fall while leading the opening race of 2016 Sofuoglu was second in Thailand, placing him fourth overall in the championship rankings. The four-time champion has been training hard at home in Turkey as he prepares for what he hopes will be another successful outing at a circuit he has been victorious at for the last two seasons with his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R.
After technical changes in the realm of electronics and the adoption of a WorldSBK-style Superpole qualifying session since last season the Aragon WorldSSP round is the chosen venue for the latest initiative from the organisers. The FIM Europe Supersport Cup (ESS) competitors will appear for the first time in 2016 at the expansive Spanish circuit. This new ESS class runs alongside the full-time WorldSSP series, but only at the European based events on the calendar.
ESS features riders on identical specification machinery to the full-season regulars and will boost the numbers of race starters at Motorland to well over 30. The race itself will take place at 11.20am on Sunday morning, 3 April.
The Motorland Aragon circuit features a 5.077km long layout with everything from a long back straight to hairpins and chicanes, with some significant changes in elevation adding to the variety. This is the sixth season of consecutive competition at the venue near the town of Alcaniz for the WorldSSP series.
Randy Krummenacher stated: “The first two races of the year have gone well and coming to Europe as the championship leader is a nice feeling. I am really happy to start again and also as it is in Aragon. I know the track well and as I have seen Kawasaki has been strong and competitive here. I really like the track layout and with my Kawasaki, which gives me great confidence and feeling. I am sure I will be fast there and we will continue improving our package. We learned a lot in Thailand, in the race itself, and I think it will make us stronger in Motorland.”
Kenan Sofuoglu stated: “I have been training hard and from the conditioning side I feel very good. Motorland Aragon is also one of the better tracks for us and we won there last year. I think we can make another good result because the team has found some improvements on the bike. After the Thailand race they have worked on the suspension to give us even more grip. Now we are just waiting to get going at Motorland. This year it looks like being an even more competitive class and I like that. If you only have one main competitor then the championship is more difficult. If you have four riders fighting then everybody has more chance to win the title. It should be an exciting season.”
GO Eleven Kawasaki WSS riders Ondrej Jezek and Christian Gamarino complete the current top ten riders in the points standings, with Ondrej ninth and Christian 10th. Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) is only one place behind after two races in the points on his Ninja ZX-6R. Nacho Calero (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) and Lachlan Epis (Response RE Team Kawasaki) are also full season regulars appearing at Motorland Aragon this weekend. Japanese wildcard rider Hiromichi Kunikawa (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) has also been added to the Motorland Aragon line-up this weekend.