Submitted by Jared Earle on
World Supersport started with the same grid as race one, with championship leader Andrea Locatelli benefitting from his rivals being sent to the second row of the grid. Fifteen laps would not pass without incident.
Isaac Viñales took the lead ahead of Jules Cluzel and Andrea Locatelli, but could not hold it too long before Cluzel took the lead mid-lap as Lucas Mahias and Raffaele de Rosa toyed with fourth place, swapping places a few times. At the start of lap two, Locatelli took second place into turn one as De Rosa took fourth from Mahias. As the leading seven riders broke free from the rest of the pack, Manuel Gonzales in eighth place set the fastest lap.
On lap three, Raffaele de Rosa was on the move. Firstly, he passed Isaac Viñales, then he passed Andrea Locatelli and started to look for a way into the lead. At the start of lap four, De Rosa entered turn one a little over-ambitiously and he ran into the back of Jules Cluzel, lifting the race-leader's rear and sending both of them into the gravel.
Andrea Locatelli suddenly found himself in the lead of the race and celebrated by setting the fastest lap, a 1'54.238. Lucas Mahias was the only rider able to stay with Locatelli, and the pair took off at the front. Philipp Oettl led a group of six riders fighting for the last podium place, ahead of Isaac Viñales, Corentin Perolari, Hannes Soomer, Manuel Gonzales and Peter Sebestyen.
Locatelli had four seconds over Mahias who was four seconds clear of the six-way fight for third, with only three laps left. Oettl looked like he would hold third, with Perolari and Viñales swapping back and forth enough to keep either of them from challenging for third place. The last lap opened with Philipp Oettl holding a slight lead from Isaac Viñales as the pair dropped Corentin Perolari, Hannes Soomer, Peter Sebestyen and Manuel Gonzales. Viñales took the outside line down the long back straight and swept round the outside of Oettl, cutting in for a tight entry round the last pair of turns and the pair charged to the line with nothing in it.
Andrea Locatelli won his ninth race in a row, with his ninth fastest lap in a row from his fifth pole position in a row. He now holds the record for most victories in a season, passing Kenan Sofuoglu and Eugene Laverty's record of eight. Lucas Mahias's lonely second place was a second and a half ahead of Isaac Viñales with Philipp Oettl a tyre width behind.
Locatelli, gifted with an easier race than usual, is seventy nine points clear of Jules Cluzel after the Frenchman's fall at the hands of Raffaele De Rosa. Lucas Mahias, hoping for fourth or fifth place, gained twenty points on Jules Cluzel, twenty seven points behind him in the championship fight. Isaac Viñales in third place climbed to seventh place in the championship as Philipp Oettl took fourth place off Raffaele De Rosa whose DNF cost him his position.
The incident between De Rosa and Cluzel is under investigation, but the leading theory is that a blessing from the gods of speed favours Andrea Locatelli, as every incident inexplicably falls in his favour.
Update: Jules Cluzel suffered a left lower leg fracture (tibia and fibula) in his incident with Raffaele De Rosa.
Results:
Pos | No. | Rider | Bike | Gap |
1 | 55 | A. LOCATELLI | Yamaha YZF R6 | |
2 | 44 | L. MAHIAS | Kawasaki ZX-6R | 6.286 |
3 | 32 | I. VINALES | Yamaha YZF R6 | 7.876 |
4 | 5 | P. OETTL | Kawasaki ZX-6R | 7.908 |
5 | 38 | H. SOOMER | Yamaha YZF R6 | 9.420 |
6 | 56 | P. SEBESTYEN | Yamaha YZF R6 | 0.187 |
7 | 94 | C. PEROLARI | Yamaha YZF R6 | 9.657 |
8 | 81 | M. GONZALEZ | Kawasaki ZX-6R | 9.700 |
9 | 4 | S. ODENDAAL | Yamaha YZF R6 | 15.473 |
10 | 99 | D. WEBB | Yamaha YZF R6 | 15.549 |
11 | 12 | A. RUIZ CARRANZA | Yamaha YZF R6 | 21.285 |
12 | 9 | G. HENDRA PRATAMA | Yamaha YZF R6 | 22.842 |
13 | 47 | A. BASSANI | Yamaha YZF R6 | 23.234 |
14 | 22 | F. FULIGNI | MV Agusta F3 675 | 24.014 |
15 | 25 | A. VERDOIA | Yamaha YZF R6 | 29.699 |
16 | 84 | L. CRESSON | Yamaha YZF R6 | 29.794 |
17 | 6 | M. HERRERA | Yamaha YZF R6 | 29.932 |
18 | 83 | L. EPIS | Yamaha YZF R6 | 30.389 |
19 | 52 | P. HOBELSBERGER | Honda CBR600RR | 41.424 |
RET | 3 | R. DE ROSA | MV Agusta F3 675 | 10 Laps |
RET | 61 | C. ONCU | Kawasaki ZX-6R | 11 Laps |
RET | 16 | J. CLUZEL | Yamaha YZF R6 | 12 Laps |
RET | 34 | K. MANFREDI | Yamaha YZF R6 | 14 Laps |
RET | 2 | L. MONTELLA | Yamaha YZF R6 | |
NS | 78 | H. OKUBO | Honda CBR600RR |
Comments
Headline
The headline is a possibly apocryphal Napoleon quote. When choosing a general, it is alleged he replied "Yes, but is he lucky?" when being given his qualifications, Bonaparte valuing luck above all other qualifications.
My other choice was the golfing adage, attributed to most great players unsurprisingly, of "the more I practice, the luckier I get", but the fall of a French leader elevating another Frenchman to the podium won me over.
After my (thankfully last)
After my (thankfully last) golf tournament the old master that put it on gave me a consolation prize of a sleeve of balls and said seriously "were you breathing out your a$$hole?" I didn't know.
Ask Quartararo or Zarco?
Thanks Jared
I did not get the reference, but will take Napoleon over golf any day. Appreciate your recap.