2017 Assen World Supersport Race Results: Don't Celebrate Too Soon

Round four of the World Supersport championship would be eighteen laps of Assen, the Cathedral of Speed.

Kenan Sofuoglu exploited his pole position to perfection, getting to the first turn first and letting the rest of the field fight for positions behind him. Lucas Mahias burst through from the second row to second place ahead of Sheridan Morais and Kyle Ryde. Jules Cluzel took fifth place off PJ Jacobsen toward the end of the opening lap.

The second lap was another good one for Jules Cluzel, passing Kyle Ryde for fourth place and setting the fastest lap, a plaudit that would hold for precisely one lap before Kenan Sofuoglu set a faster one on lap three.

Sofuoglu’s setting the fastest lap allowed him to break free of Lucas Mahias in second and turn the race into a race for second behind the World Champion. Jules Cluzel climbed to third place, a second behind his fellow Frenchman in second and by lap seven, he had caught Mahias and had brought a party with him.

Kenan Sofuoglu led the pack by over two seconds by the time Cluzel caught Mahias and a few laps later, by the time Cluzel passed Mahias, it was almost three seconds. At the end of lap eleven, Cluzel and Mahias had finally pulled away from the Sheridan Morias, Federico Caricasulo and PJ Jacobsen battle raging behind them and Mahias celebrated this by making a pass stick on Cluzel into the Geert Timmer chicane to take second.

By lap thirteen, the fight for fourth place caught up with the two Frenchmen and, after a mistake by Lucas Mahias, Jules Cluzel and Federico Caricasulo took second and third place off him but two laps later and he was back behind Cluzel. A lap later, Mahias was in second place.

On the penultimate lap, PJ Jacobsen, last in the five-man battle for second place, was on the move, starting at the end of the lap with a pass on Sheridan Morais pass for fifth place.

On the last lap, with Kenan Sofuoglu on the horizon, Jules CLuzel increased his pace, setting his sights on one last charge to the flag but unfortunately, Lucas Mahias had the same idea and Cluzel couldn’t find a way past until the end of the lap. As Mahias sliced neatly through the chicane, Kenan Sofuoglu already having take the chequered flag, he thought he had a half second lead over Cluzel and lifted his front wheel to the heavens to celebrate, only to see a green and white Honda blur past him at the flag. After a few heart-stopping seconds, his second place was confirmed, a mere five thousandths of a second ahead of Jules Cluzel. PJ Jacobsen missed out on the podium, but his late charge netted him thirteen points for his fourth place.

Kenan Sofuoglu finally finished a race in 2017 and starts his campaign to retain his title with a pole position, a fastest lap and a race win. Lucas Mahias’s second place keeps him at the top of the championship, twenty points ahead of Sheridan Morais. Roberto Rolfo’s solitary point this round dropped him to third place with PJ Jacobsen just two points behind him.

Results: