2017 Lausitzring World Supersport Race Results: Championship Implications?

World Supersport would be 19 laps with a slightly changed grid as Niki Tuuli was put back to ninth place for irresponsible riding. Kenan Sofuoglu started the race five points behind Lucas Mahias in the championship fight.

Sheridan Morais converted his pole position into the lead ahead of Federico Caricasulo, Jules Cluzel, Kenan Sofuoglu and Lucas Mahias. Gino Rea had a speedy start to get to sixth place, but he couldn’t keep with the front five riders. Cluzel was briefly second placed in the first turn, but his exit was a little wide and Caricasulo took the place from him.

Kenan Sofuoglu in fourth place set the fastest lap on lap two closing up to Jules Cluzel, and the lap later, he set it again only to have Lucas Mahias take it off him a tenth later.

The group of five bikes at the front were a single cohesive unit a few seconds ahead of Niki Tuuli who had carved through the field and broke through to sixth place just in time to see the gap ahead to the front four become insurmountable.

Seven laps in, Lucas Mahias took third place from Jules Cluzel setting the fastest lap again on an overtaking lap, having taken fourth from Kenan Sofuoglu while setting the fastest lap again on lap four. Three Yamahas ran at the front with Sheridan Morais fending off Federico Caricasulo at the front. The front five led Niki Tuuli by almost five seconds.

Approaching the halfway mark, Lucas Mahias was unfortunate with his braking. His front wheel bit hard and the rear lifted, removing his engine braking and causing him to slow down less than intended, and he ran off across the grass. He kept the gas on and rejoined behind Jules Cluzel and Kenan Sofuoglu, losing only a second and a bit and eleven laps in, as Federico Caricasulo was looking for a way through at the front, Mahias had closed the gap and the front five were together again.

On lap thirteen of nineteen, Kenan Sofuoglu pushed under Jules Cluzel into the left-handed turn one, but he carried too much speed to pull his Kawasaki back into line for the right-handed turn two and Cluzel was able to carry his speed round the outside of Sofuoglu and take second place back round the outside.

A lap later, Sofuoglu tried the same move, but made it stick and took third place. Lap fifteen and Lucas Mahias overtakes Jules Cluzel and, as has been his form on his overtake laps, he set the fastest lap again.

Lap seventeen of nineteen and Federico Caricasulo finally makes his move, taking first place from Sheridan Morais into turn one. Kenan Sofuoglu saw an opportunity and followed Caricasulo through, pushing Morais to third. As Jules Cluzel started snapping at the heels of Lucas Mahias, Mahias also made a move on Morais and suddenly, he was no longer on the podium.

Lap eighteen, Kenan Sofuoglu dipped underneath Federico Caricasulo into turn one and held the fast line into turn two. Caricasulo tried to keep up his speed but he found Sofuoglu isn front of him and inside to his right, where he needed to be. His front tyre finally reacted to the higher speed than it liked and gave up adhesion, sliding the Yamaha onto its side and dumping its rider into the path of Lucas Mahias. Mahias clipped Caricasulo’s bike and his bike fell onto Caricasulo, ending the race with a red flag as the medics had to put Caricasulo on a stretcher.

With the race red flagged so close to the lap start, it was rolled back to the end of lap sixteen and anyone who could get back to pit lane in five minutes would count as having finished.

Caricasulo didn’t make it back to the pits and was sent to the medical centre where he was diagnosed with multiple contusions while four riders sat on their bikes, confused as to where they finished.

Jules Cluzel was the rider who was left out of Parc Fermé, being awarded fourth place ahead of Niki Tuuli.

The winner of the race was the diminutive Sheridan Morais, his first win in World Supersport, and the organisers had to scramble to find the South African national anthem. Kenan Sofuoglu came second ahead of Lucas Mahias, bringing the reigning champion within a point of the plucky Frenchman.

All three riders on the podium thought they would have won, if the race had run its distance, with Morais saying he’d have preferred to win by taking the flag. Morais’s result brought him within just twenty points of the championship lead, in third place behind Mahias and Sofuoglu.

Results: