2015 World Superbikes

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Was a shame for Cluzel, he rode flawlessly but was stoked for Wilairot. With all the pressure he was under from being the hometown hero, he did great not to crack. His brother came 5th too so would've been a happy night at home for them.

Pretty happy with a Kawasaki double win. Johnny Rea is proving a lot of people right at this early stage of the season, who were saying that he's the most talented rider in the paddock and has been held back by machinery. Sykes won't be enjoying the first couple of rounds but he's smart enough to know there's a long way to go.
Guintoli had a good second race, finishing sixth after starting last because of bike problems before the race but I'm stuffed if I can work out why Van Der Mark was relegated a position from passing Guintoli in the last corner. Just looked like a hard pass to me, certainly no worse than his pass on Sykes at Phillip Island which was deemed acceptable.
Finally, Bayliss has announced his permanent retirement. Did a great job for a 46 year old who has been retired for 6 years!
 

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The Assen supersport race was a ripper - Kenan v Jules
They battled it out right to the end.Funny thing happened 3 laps from the end - Kenan leading looks over his shoulder to see how close Jules was.Jules,right up his clacker,waves back to him.Coming into the final chicane Jules was leading but Kenan dive bombed him to win.Jules was quite pissed at him.

The 2 SBK races were just as exciting with both races having a 5 way battle for the lead for the race [Rea,Sykes,Haslam,Davies & VDM]
 
JUBJUB said:
The Assen supersport race was a ripper - Kenan v Jules
They battled it out right to the end.Funny thing happened 3 laps from the end - Kenan leading looks over his shoulder to see how close Jules was.Jules,right up his clacker,waves back to him.Coming into the final chicane Jules was leading but Kenan dive bombed him to win.Jules was quite pissed at him.

The 2 SBK races were just as exciting with both races having a 5 way battle for the lead for the race [Rea,Sykes,Haslam,Davies & VDM]
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What did you think of the Supersport final chicane? At first I though Kenan was a bit unfair forcing his way through but I can also see that perhaps Jules left the door open a bit and tried to close it but too late. Hard racing incident I think.

Johnny Rea is really running away with the superbike championship. He's won 6 of 8 races now I think and the two he didn't win, he came second. It would be pretty difficult to stomach for my boy Sykes, his teammate, who's on struggle street a bit. Rea certainly proving that it was the Honda that has held him back all these years. Would be wishing he made the move when Kawasaki chased him a few years ago I'm sure. Good to see van der Mark get on the podium too, the first dutchman to do so.
 
Klyntonius said:
What did you think of the Supersport final chicane? At first I though Kenan was a bit unfair forcing his way through but I can also see that perhaps Jules left the door open a bit and tried to close it but too late. Hard racing incident I think.
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You knew Kenan was going to do it as it's what Kenan does.Not sure there's much officials could do.Jules didn't crash out and didn't even lose any spots.
That is the best chicane in world motorsport.Always provides entertaining finishes.
 

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Yeah, Kenan has form on those type of hard passes. He even tried to stick the leg out to stop Jules from passing into the chicane but Jules pushed through anyway, while it was aggressive by Kenan it would be harsh for race direction to take action on it. Jules made a ripper pass around the outside through the chicane just a lap before, probably should have saved that move for the last lap. Took Kenan by complete surprise.
 
36Crazyfists said:
Yeah, Kenan has form on those type of hard passes. He even tried to stick the leg out to stop Jules from passing into the chicane but Jules pushed through anyway, while it was aggressive by Kenan it would be harsh for race direction to take action on it. Jules made a ripper pass around the outside through the chicane just a lap before, probably should have saved that move for the last lap. Took Kenan by complete surprise.
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That pass around the outside was amazing. Ruined his run down the straight though (from memory). There certainly wasn't much room to move on the run to the line.

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Klyntonius said:
That pass around the outside was amazing. Ruined his run down the straight though (from memory). There certainly wasn't much room to move on the run to the line.
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Yeah it was an amazing move. You're right it did ruin Jules' drive down the straight and Kenan passed him at T1 but Jules passed the line in first! Should have saved it for the last lap. Easy for me to say though! Kenan was riding some very defensive lines and was not expecting the pass from the outside. Gotta feel for Jules, He ran 30 or so laps less than Kenan throughout practice due to the fact they didn't want to put too much mileage into the engine and risk another blowup!
 
Johnny Rea continues to dominate this championship with another double win taking his tally to 8 out of 10 races! Tom Sykes looks to be rediscovering his form with a pair of second places and if not for a small mistake late in the first race, he may have had his first win of the season. It was a bad day for Chaz Davies, two mechanical DNFs from strong positions whilst his teammate, Davide Giugliano, returned from 3 months off healing from a fractured vertebrae with a 3rd and 4th placings to go with a pole position. Spanish Elvis, Jordi Torres, broke through for his first WSB podium in race 2.

The Supersport race was a hard fought affair with Kenan Sofuoglu again coming home first ahead of Jules Cluzel. Jules made a small mistake on the last lap that gave Kenan some breathing room and allowed him to take an emotional win. Sofuoglu nearly didn't make the weekend as his baby boy is in a serious condition in hospital.
“Last Saturday, during the night, my new son Hamza became ill and we took him to hospital. They found out that he had a problem with bleeding in his brain and his heart stopped for a while. The doctors worked hard with him and because his situation was so critical we took him to hospital in Istanbul. The doctors did not give him much chance but he had an operation on Tuesday morning. After the operation he started to move his fingers and started to react with his arm. He is still on a machine to help his breathing and his general condition is still critical but we believe he is improving. My plan was not to be at this race but after the operation I saw that he is really fighting to survive. I got so much support from the President of Turkey and from others in Turkey to help my son after he took ill, and when I saw my son was fighting so hard to survive, I thought I should not give up in my job. The situation is not good, being here is very difficult and I am living beside my phone. My wife and my wife’s father felt I should come here and every hour they call me with an update. This weekend everyone has been asking me about Hamza like usual, because they did not know he was ill, so this why I am giving this detailed comment. It is a difficult situation but I have come here to fight for the championship.” http://www.worldsbk.com/en/news/2015/Kenan+Sofuoglu+racing+on+despite+personal+concerns

It was good to see Cluzel and Sofuoglu seemingly have buried the hatchet, perhaps realising that there are more important things in life.
 
Am very happy to see Sykes finally find his mojo, he's had his arse handed to him by Rea. Hopefully it can be a big battle between them for the rest of the year. The first race fight was pretty entertaining. Rea also saved a massive highside in race 2 (which wasn't televised on Fox :mad:).


The supersport race was won by Kenan Sofuoglu again. Australian, Glenn Scott came 16 whilst compatriot Aiden Wagner crashed out of a strong 10th place with about 3 laps to go.
 
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