Complicated free practice for Tito Rabat

The eighth WorldSBK championship round got underway today at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in France. The two free practice sessions ran in cool and cloudy conditions. Tito Rabat and the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing technicians immediately got to work, setting up their Ninja ZX-10RR KRT Factory Replica, with the Spanish rider setting the twentieth fastest time, a 1’39”284, in FP1.

In the afternoon’s second practice, despite improving by a second and a half (1’37”720), Tito held twentieth position overall.

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours – France
Superbike World Championship
Combined free practice results: 1) Van der Mark (BMW) – 2) Bulega (Ducati) – 3) Razgatlioglu (BMW) – 4) Gerloff (BMW) – 5) Lowes (Kawasaki) ………20) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Tito Rabat: “Not an easy day. We had an issue with a tyre this morning and then in the afternoon, just as I started to push harder, I struggled to stop the bike. We weren’t able to complete all the work we’d had planned and so hope to be able to do that in tomorrow morning’s practice, so that we can be competitive in Superpole and Race 1.”

Twelfth for Can Oncu in World Supersport Superpole at Magny-Cours

Riders faced cloudy skies and cool temperatures as the eighth WorldSSP round got started today at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in France. This morning saw Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Can Oncu head out for the free practice, in which he worked with his team to find the best setup for his ZX-6R. The young Turkish rider closed the session in ninth place, with a time of 1’41”496.

During the afternoon’s Superpole, Can pushed to the max in the final stages, qualifying twelfth thanks to a best of 1’41”003.

He will therefore line up on row four of the grid for the weekend’s first race.

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours – France
Supersport World Championship
Free practice: 1) Manzi (Yamaha) – 2) Huertas (Ducati) – 3) Navarro (Ducati) – 4) Caricasulo (MV Agusta) – 5) Montella (Ducati) – 6) Mahias (Yamaha) ……… 9) Oncu (Kawasaki)

Superpole: 1) Huertas (Ducati) – 2) Mahias (Yamaha) – 3) Navarro (Ducati) – 4) Montella (Ducati) – 5) Manzi (Yamaha) – 6) Caricasulo (MV Agusta) ….. 12) Oncu (Kawasaki)

Can Oncu: “Unfortunately, I made a few small mistakes in Superpole that prevented me from putting together a clean lap. Hopefully I can take another step in tomorrow’s warm-up because I want to head into race 1 with real determination. I want to score a good result for me and everyone on the team, who have all done a great job again today.”

A crash stops Tito Rabat in Race One at Magny-Cours

Conditions were cool and wet at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in France today as the eighth WorldSBK round continues.

Yesterday saw Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Tito Rabat complete two practice sessions, in which he placed nineteenth with a time of 1’37”720, while this morning the Spaniard was back out for the Superpole, which ran in the rain and established the grid positions for Race 1.

It was an unfortunately qualifying for Tito, who was betrayed by the slippery track and crashed, closing twenty-first.

With this result, he lined up on row seven of the grid for the afternoon’s first race. Making a fast start, Rabat was up to sixteenth within the first three laps but then crashed during the course of lap four and was forced to retire..

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours – France
Superbike World Championship

Superpole: Superpole: 1) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 2) Bulega (Ducati) – 3) Redding (BMW) – 4) Gerloff (BMW) – 5) Van der Mark (BMW) – 6) Vierge (Honda) ……… 21) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Race 1 – 1) Van der Mark (BMW) – 2) Bautista (Ducati) – 3) Petrucci (Ducati) – 4) Redding (BMW) – 5) Iannone (Ducati) – 6) Lecuona (Honda) ………. DNF Rabat (Kawasaki)

Tito Rabat: “Today was very challenging due to the weather conditions, with rain making the track very slippery. We haven’t found an ideal set-up in the wet and I struggled in both Superpole and the race, where I crashed while making up positions. We’ll try to make up for this in tomorrow’s races. Thanks to the team for all their precious support.”

More championship points for Tito Rabat

Conditions were cool and sunny for the third and final day of the eighth WorldSBK round at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in France.

Yesterday, Tito Rabat completed Superpole in twenty-first place, while in Race 1, which ran in challenging, wet conditions, the Spaniard unfortunately suffered a crash.

This morning, he headed out for the Superpole Race, in which he placed P17, before returning to the track for Race 2 in the afternoon. Having made a good start and showing good pace, the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider finished fourteenth, replicating his best result of the season and scoring championship points.

The next WorldSBK round will take place on 20-22 September at the Cremona Circuit in Italy.

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours – France
Superbike World Championship

Superpole Race: 1) Bulega (Ducati) – 2) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 3) Petrucci (Ducati) – 4) Redding (BMW) – 5) Vierge (Honda) – 6) Bautista (Ducati) ………..17) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Race 2 – 1) Bulega (Ducati) – 2) Petrucci (Ducati) – 3) Gerloff (BMW) – 4) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 5) Van der Mark (BMW) – 6) Gardner (Yamaha) ……… 14) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Tito Rabat: “I didn’t immediately find the feeling with my bike in the Superpole Race and, with only a few laps available, couldn’t score a good result. Things went better in the second long race, that I finished P14, scoring points which was our goal. We still need to resolve a few electronics issues, but I’m confident for the next rounds, starting with Cremona, a home round for our team.”

Can Oncu scores his best result of the season so far

After rain postponed Saturday’s race, the sun shone once again at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in France on Sunday, as the eighth WorldSSP round drew to a close.
Yesterday, Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Can Oncu placed twelfth in Superpole and so lined up on row four of the grid for today’s Race 1, which ran during the morning on a track that was not fully dry.

The Turkish rider got away well and moved up into the chasing group. Showing strong pace over the 12-lap sprint, he made up many positions to cross the line fifth, his best result of the season so far. Oncu also set the fastest lap of the race, a 1’43”122.

In the afternoon’s 19-lap race, Can started from pole position after setting the fastest lap of Race 1. After leading for a few laps, Oncu lost ground after coming into contact with another race. He eventually finished ninth, scoring more important championship points.

The next WorldSSP round will take place on 20-22 September at the Cremona Circuit in Italy.

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours – France
Supersport World Championship

Race 1: 1) Tuuli (Ducati) – 2) Caricasulo (MV Agusta) – 3) Van Straalen (Yamaha) – 4) Huertas (Ducati) – 5) Oncu (Kawasaki) – 6) Montella (Ducati)

Race 2: 1) Montella (Ducati) – 2) Manzi (Yamaha) – 3) Huertas (Ducati) – 4) Booth-Amos (Triumph) – 5) Navarro (Ducati) – 6) Van Straalen (Yamaha) ………. 9) Oncu (Kawasaki)

Can Oncu: “This morning in Race 1 I obtained my best result of the season. The afternoon’s second race was positive too but contact with another rider saw me lose many positions and compromise my final result. Overall, I know I need to improve and that I need to work to do that. I hope to score even better results at Cremona, and I thank the team for their precious support.”