2016 Misano World Supersport Race Results: The Sun Comes Out

The last World Supersport race before the summer break, the smaller bikes not racing at Laguna Seca in July, was at a colder Misano but the threat of rain had gone.

The three riders at the front, Federico Caricasulo, Kenan Sofuoglu and PJ Jacobsen, jostled for position in the first two turns and came out in the order they qualified with Randy Krummenacher, Jules Cluzel and Christian Gamarino scrapping behind them, Cluzel having got a very quick start. A few turns in, Gamarino and Cluzel touched as Gamarino braked to avoid ploughing into Krummenacher, Gamarino lifting Cluzel's front wheel up as both bikes were leaned over.

Cluzel somehow didn't crash and recovered in eleventh place. On the second lap, as Caricasulo tried to tease out a gap at the front, Jacobsen took second place from Sofuoglu. A couple of laps later, Caricasulo had a visible gap, but five laps in, Jacobsen and Sofuoglu had closed in on the Italian rookie, and the front three started to break away from ESS rider Alessandro Zaccone and Randy Krummenacher.

On the seventh lap, the front three were over two seconds clear of what had become a seven-bike battle for fourth place. A few laps later, Krummenacher and Gino Rea broke free from that group and set about making their own two-bike pack three seconds behind Jacobsen, Caricasulo and Sofuoglu.

Briefly, it looked like Jacobsen and Caricasulo were breaking away from Sofuoflu, but one lap later, he was back with them and looking for a way past Caricasulo. The front three concertinaed with Jacobsen sliding the rear cleanly, Caricasulo sliding the rear messily and Sofuoglu neatly keeping both wheels in line.

Six laps to go, Jacobsen had a second lead over the two bikes behind, but Sofuoglu messed up a corner and gave Caricasulo enough of a breather to try to close on the American in front. Sofuoglu regrouped and, as Caricasulo fluffed turn 13, he went past and showed the youngster how to do it, closing down Jacobsen's Honda tenth by tenth. Caricasulo took advantage of the pace and set the fastest lap of the race, Honda's 100th in the class, on lap sixteen.

On the penultimate lap, Sofuoglu found a gap and pried it open enough to get through and take Jacobsen's corner exit. A lap later, ever the student, Caricasulo copied the exact same move and the three charged to the flag.

No more passes were possible and Kenan Sofuoglu took another victory, ahead of Federico Caricasulo and PJ Jacobsen.

Celebrating both Ramadan and a race win, Sofuoglu still bemoaned his mid-race performance, citing the rising temperature as a problem. Gino Rea took fourth place from Randy Krummenacher, jumping two places in the title chase to fourth, inadvertently helping Sofuoglu to increase his lead at the head of the championship to forty points from Randy Krummenacher and fifty-four from PJ Jacobsen. Jules Cluzel, having fought back to eighth place, crashed out halfway through the race and lost fourth place in the championship to Rea.

Results: