The Supersport World Championship made a stop in the Iberian territory, more precisely in Barcelona where the ninth round of the season took place on the Montmelò circuit. Here too the weather, especially the rain, surprised the paddock with night showers that partly affected performances on the track in the practice sessions. First day took place with the track in dry condition but with some patches of wet. Niki Tuuli and Bahattin Sofuoglu started the weekend in the best possible way immediately obtaining excellent chronometric results. Niki finished both sessions in third position, fourth in the combined on Friday, while Bahattin obtained an excellent eleventh position just a few hundredths from the top five. It rained again during the night but the Superpole was luckily held on a dry track but with temperatures below 20 degrees in the air, and a few more on the asphalt in conditions that were again different from Friday. Tuuli and Sofuoglu faced the qualifying round with the right determination constantly battling for the front rows. Unfortunately their goal had faded by a few hundredths with the drivers of the Mv Agusta Reparto Corse team starting in tenth position with Tuuli, and thirteenth with Sofuoglu in a very short ranking, as per the tradition of the category, with only the exception of Aegerter. Race 1 began with the now "usual" double start after the red flag was shown at the end of the first lap, this time to free the track from Sebestien's bike. Restart on the length of 12 laps with Tuuli and Sofuoglu immediately fighting for the first few positions after an almost perfect start. After the first three laps of skirmishes with Huertas' Kawasaki, the two riders of the Mv Agusta Reparto Corse team stabilized in fifth position with Sofuoglu and sixth with Tuuli. Huertas' resistance caused the Finnish driver to lose a few meters too much, forcing him to force his pace to reach Sofuoglu in full battle for the podium with Baldassarri, Oncu and Caricasulo. Bahattin made every effort to enter the brawl for second and third place but despite his excellent pace he was unable to get close enough to complete his attack. A very short group as usual, with a sprint finish under the checkered flag, which saw Bahattin and Niki close Race 1 in fifth and sixth position respectively just over 1 ”from the second step of the podium. A solid race for both Mv Agusta Reparto Corse drivers, concrete and ever so close to the podium. For Sofuoglu another victory in the WorldSSP Challenge and a new extension in the overall standings. An excellent performance therefore for the two F3800RCs, which bodes well for tomorrow’s Race 2
Niki Tuuli #66 Superpole P10 / Race1 P6 "At the beginning of the first race I felt strong. After the first red flag we decided to continue with the same tyres. In the first laps of the second race I thought this might be a mistake but as the laps went by I improved my pace and I felt better and better in the saddle. I had a good feeling with the bike, it worked really well here. Everything is going well. The team is working for the podium and we are getting closer. We will try again tomorrow!”
Bahattin Sofuoglu #54 Superpole P13 / Race1 P5 / WorldSSP Challenge P1 "I started well. I didn't expect to be so fast and when I realized I could stay with the leading group I decided to keep the tyres and control the race. In the last laps I had no grip left and I said to myself." ok, let's get the points and go tothe podium of the WorldSSP Challenge”. I am really happy with this result. In the next races I want to push myself even more. I thank the Mv Agusta Reparto Corse team and all my team!”