MV Agusta’s PJ Jacobsen will start the opening race of the 2017 World Supersport Championship from pole position ahead of CIA Landlords Insurance Honda’s Jules Cluzel.
Jacobsen has been untouchable throughout the weekend so far, so pole position was almost assured for the American. However, the competition was tight right to the chequered flag.
At the end of the first laps, its was Puccetti Kawasaki’s Kyle Ryde who led the way having come through Superpole 1, though Jacobsen was only half a tenth adrift as they boxed for fresh rubber halfway through the 15-minute session.
As the clock counted down into the final minutes, GRT Yamaha’s Federico Caricasulo took over at the head of the pack, though only very briefly as he chucked his YZF-R6 at the scenery just seconds after.
Cluzel edged ahead by two hundredths, before Jacobsen twisted the screw and went just over a tenth clear to take pole on his debut with MV Agusta. Despite his crash, Caricasulo still put the new R6 third on the grid.
Ryde just missed out on the front row in fourth, but will be nonetheless pleased with his performance after struggling on Friday outside of the top 15 on the time sheets. Lucas Mahias, on the second GRT bike, completed the top five.
Alex Baldolini took his ATK MV to sixth on the grid ahead of Britain’s Gino Rea. Roberto Rolfo will start eighth on his Factory Vamag MV, with Kyle Smith and the unfortunate Hikari Okubo, who crashed early doors having looked quick, completing the top 10.
Orelac Racing’s Zulfhami Khairuddin was unlucky to miss out on a place in SP2 after crashing out at Turn 2 in the closing minutes of the session. The Malaysian was unharmed in the spill and will line up 13th, with team-mate Nacho Calero and Kallio Racing’s Sheridan Morais completing the fifth row.
Morais’ team-mate Niki Tuuli will be left feeling slightly disappointed at only qualifying 16th on his Yamaha R6. The Finn starts ahead of WorldSSP debutante Robin Mulhauser, who steps over from Moto2, Stefan Hill and Chirstian Gamarino.
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