Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki San Carlo Puccetti Racing Team) and the usual strong entry of Ninja ZX-6R riders will be in highly motivated at the final round of the WSS championship this coming weekend in Qatar, looking for more podium success.
Losail gave Kenan his first WSS podium in 2006 and he went on to win the 2007 WSS race there. A Kawasaki rider since 2012, Kenan is keen to score his and Kawasaki’s first WSS race win at Qatar, particularly as he feels that the current Ninja ZX-6R is an ideal machine to take on the fast curves of the expansive 5.380km Losail circuit.
Kenan, who now has three podium finishes this year Including his race win at Motorland Aragon early in the season, is the record holder in terms of race victories in the WSS class, with 27 in total – part of a remarkable tally of 60 podium places of all kinds. He is currently eighth overall in the points, after a season punctuated by bad luck that sometimes struck when Kenan was fighting for wins or podium places.
The season finale offers Frenchman Florian Marino (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) the chance to move up to second in the final championship rankings but he has to overhaul a 12-point deficit to his fellow countryman Jules Cluzel in Qatar. He has scored four podiums in 2014 so far but is looking for that elusive first win.
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Marino is the highest placed Kawasaki rider in the championship, in third overall, and his team-mate Patrick ‘PJ’ Jacobsen (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) is sixth after securing two podiums in his rookie season in this class. Once more the Intermoto Ponyexpres team will expand to field young British rider Mason Law on a third bike, as they did at Magny Cours last time out.
Roberto Rolfo (Team Go Eleven Kawasaki) scored a highly creditable wet weather third place in the previous round in France and as a result moved up to seventh place overall, just a point and one place ahead of Sofuoglu. In all, four Kawasaki riders have now scored podium finishes of some kind in 2014.
Roberto Tamburini (San Carlo Puccetti Racing Kawasaki) rounds out the current top ten on his Ninja ZX-6R meaning that 50% of the top ten riders use Kawasaki power.
Recently crowned Superstock 600 FIM European Champion for Kawasaki, Marco Faccani (San Carlo Puccetti Racing Kawasaki), will ride alongside the experienced Tamburini at this round.
Christian Gamarino (Team Go Eleven) is currently ranked 17th but could jump up several places in the championship rankings if he can post some good points in Qatar, as he is currently only five points behind the rider in 13th place.
Kenan Sofuoglu: “I have had a good history in Qatar in Supersport so I will be happy to race there again. I have raced in a night race in Moto2 but I have never ridden my Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R at Losail. If I look at the character of the bike and the Qatar track layout I think this could be a good combination. Fast corners are very good for our bike. It would be nice to finish the season with a strong final race. I hope we can get the kind of result we deserve at the final round.”
via Kawasaki
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