26 Mar KAWASAKI PUCCETTI RACING TEAM EN WSSP BARCELONA
KAWASAKI PUCCETTI RACING TEAM, ISB SPORT MOTORSPORT AMBASSADOR, EN WSSP BARCELONA
Eighth in race 1 for Can Oncu at Barcelona
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain today hosted the first race of the second WorldSSP round. Can Oncu was on track yesterday for free practice, after which he set a very fast time in Superpole to qualify second.
The Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider therefore lined up on the front row of the grid for the afternoon’s 18-lap race.
The young Turkish rider got away well as the lights went out, holding second position until around the mid-race point, when a drop in tyre performance forced him to slow his pace. This caused Oncu to slip back a little, but his eighth-place finish was nevertheless a strong result.
Tomorrow Oncu will return to the track for the second and final race of this Catalan round.
A physical problem limits Oncu in WorldSSP race 2 at Barcelona
With race 2, the second WorldSSP round drew to a close today at the Circuit de Barcleona-Catalunya in Spain. Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Can Oncu completed an excellent Superpole session yesterday, qualifying second. Later in the day, unexpected tyre wear meant that the Turkish rider had to settle for eighth position in Race 1. Today, in cool, cloudy conditions, Oncu was back on track for the final race of the weekend.
Having made a good start, Oncu was lying seventh when the race was interrupted with a red flag following an incident for another rider. The race was restarted but reduced to just six laps. As the lights went out, Can again made a good start and had moved up into the front group when a sudden hardening of the muscles in his right arm forced him to slow his pace and drop positions. The Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider gritted his teeth and finished the race in ninth place. He will travel to Italy this coming week to have surgery to remedy this compartmental syndrome that limits performance.
The next Supersport World Championship round is scheduled to take place on 19-21 April at the Assen TT Circuit in The Netherlands.