Sofuoglu Wins at Portimao - Laverty Crashes

Eugene Laverty was the man to beat today as the World Supersport riders lined up on the grid. The WSS leader was dominant in Phillip Island and throughout the qualifying rounds at Portimao, and through the first 15 laps during the event today, it didn’t look like anyone would catch the Honda Parkalgar rider.

Enter Kenan Sofuoglu. The former WSS champ overtook Laverty at lap 15 and was followed by a quick Joan Lascorz. Laverty was now forced to play catch-up, and on lap 17, just three laps before the finish, Laverty hit a curb and lost control of his bike.

“When they passed me I was trying hard to stay with them and drove hard out of turn three up to the blind turn four,” said Laverty. “I just touched the curb slightly but that was enough to lose the front end.”

Laverty was able to pick up his Honda CBR600R and finish the race in 11th, as Sofuoglu managed to fend of Lascorz for the race win.

Sofuoglu and Lazcorz both move ahead of Laverty in the overall standings. Sofuoglu now has 41 points. One more point than Lascorz, and eleven more than Laverty.

Sofuoglu’s Ten Kate Honda teammate, Michele Pirro, managed to pull into third place. It is Pirro’s best finish at a WSS event in his young career.

1 54 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 35'21.143 (155,871 kph)
2 26 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 0.031
3 51 Pirro M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 8.879
4 7 Davies C. (GBR) Triumph Daytona 675 15.270
5 99 Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 22.096
6 37 Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 23.041
7 127 Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 30.830
8 4 Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 35.171
9 55 Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 35.225
10 25 Salom D. (ESP) Triumph Daytona 675 35.239
11 50 Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 49.540
12 40 DiSalvo J. (USA) Triumph Daytona 675 49.628
13 5 Lundh A. (SWE) Honda CBR600RR 1'08.602
14 8 Chesaux B. (SUI) Honda CBR600RR 1'13.455
15 9 Dell'Omo D. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'30.738
16 33 Cazzola P. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'30.852
17 36 Hunt M. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6
18 24 Blokhin E. (RUS) Yamaha YZF R6
RET 117 Praia M. (POR) Honda CBR600RR
RET 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Triumph Daytona 675