Lucas Mahias clinched the 2017 World Supersport Championship after pipping Jules Cluzel to victory in Qatar, while Kenan Sofuoglu valiantly fought through to third.
Mahias came into the finale 20 points clear of the injured Sofuoglu – who is just five weeks after multiple fractures to his pelvis in France – and needed just six more points than the Turk to become the first French WorldSSP champion since Sebastien Charpentier in 2006.
Mahias came close to blows with Yamaha stablemate Niki Tuuli at the first corner at the start and had to relinquish the lead to the Finn, while fellow Frenchman Jules Cluzel stole second at the start of the next lap.
Sofuoglu did not get away well from fourth and found himself down in eighth by the end of the first lap, but mounted a heroic comeback and was up to fourth by the eighth lap – 2.6 seconds from Mahias.
To win the title, Sofuoglu had to finish inside the top two and hope Mahias dropped out of the race if was second, or outside of the top 10 if he won.
The GRT Yamaha rider recovered the lead on the third lap, and had to contend with intense pressure from Cluzel for much of the race. However, he kept his composure as the PTR Honda rider looked for any opportunity to pass.
The pair exited the final corner side by side, with Cluzel taking to the grass by the pit wall as he sought to draft past Mahias. But the Yamaha rider prevailed by just 0.023 seconds to clinch his second WorldSSP win and the world championship in his debut season.
Sofuoglu locked horns with the sister GRT R6 of Federico Caricasulo, and pipped the Italian on the run to the line to complete the podium on his comeback from injury.
The Puccetti rider’s team-mate Ant West came from 12th on the grid to complete the top five ahead of Tuuli, who appeared to have encountered an issue with his quick-shifter in the early stages of the 15-lap Losail encounter.
His Kallio Racing team-mate Sheridan Morais took the chequered flag in seventh ahead of the British trio of Luke Stapleford, Gino Rea and Kyle Smith.
Lorenzo Zanetti, Christian Gamarino, Alex Baldolini, Xavi Cardeleus and Stefan Hill took the final points of the 2017 season. MV Agusta’s PJ Jacobsen dropped out on lap seven with a technical issue while he was battling inside the top eighth.
