Luca shows PTR potential in Australia
PTR HONDA'S Luca Marconi went from 27th on the grid to 12th in the race at the opening round of the World Supersport Championship at Phillip Island in Australia.
The Italian has been enjoying his first weekend with PTR and showed real speed as he comfortably eclipsed his qualifying lap time as he came through the pack in the short 15-lap race.
David Linortner crashed out while fighting for 17th on the third lap. His pace in warm up suggested a top 10 finish was possible but he is unhurt and will return to action at the next round more determined than ever.
Nacho Perez started 31st on the grid and fought through to a respectable 19th, just ahead of his teammate Matt Davies in 20th. Both racers showed maturity to finish their first WSS race and will only improve from here.
Sheridan Morais suffered another technical failure right at the start of the race with his rear wheel speed sensor. His team fixed it and he returned to track to get test laps under his belt after a forgettable weekend, eventually finishing 24th.
The second round of the Championship is at Aragon in Spain on Sunday April 7th.
Luca: "I started really bad in the race and I had to recover lap by lap - I am happy with 12th place as a result. Next time I need to improve my qualifying, because it was not good. The PTR bike is today perfect. Also the tyre is good. I need more testing for starting the race. I started without launch control by myself and lost time. If I can improve qualifying and my start then this will be good."
Simon Buckmaster, PTR Honda Team Manager: "Luca had a strong ride after a bad qualifying and he needs to work on that. Credit to him though, he rode a good race from 27th on the grid, well done.
"Matt to finish in 20th is good. At just 17 years old this was a big first event in WSS and he has done well. The same is true for Nacho; they both have learnt a lot and will go forward from here.
"David has a lot of speed but he made a mistake and crashed, luckily unhurt. He has lots of potential if he stops crashing so we will be working to help him with that.
"Sheridan has had the worst possible start with the testing problems and now a speed sensor failure in the race. It has been an unlucky event but I am sure he will be running at the front where he and PTR expect to be at Aragon. It's been a hard start and things will only get better."
Race Result
1. Kenan Sofuoglu TUR Mahi India Kawasaki ZX-6R 23m 32.480s
2. Sam Lowes GBR Yakhnich Yamaha YZF-R6 +1.899s
3. Michael van der Mark NED Pata Honda CBR600RR +6.771s
4. Fabien Foret FRA Mahi India Kawasaki ZX-6R +11.095s
5. David Salom ESP Intermoto PonyExpres Kawasaki ZX-6R +12.076s
6. Luca Scassa ITA Intermoto PonyExpres Kawasaki ZX-6R +12.943s
7. Andrea Antonelli ITA Go Eleven Kawasaki ZX-6R +23.968s
8. Lorenzo Zanetti ITA Pata Honda CBR600RR +24.536s
9. Massimo Roccoli ITA Pata by Martini Yamaha YZF-R6 +24.782s
10. Jack Kennedy IRL RivaMoto Honda CBR600RR +24.809s
12. Luca Marconi ITA PTR Honda CBR600RR +33.028s
19. Nacho Calero Perez ESP PTR Honda CBR600RR +48.398s
20. Matt Davies AUS PTR Honda CBR600RR +51.343s
24. Sherian Morais RSA PTR Honda CBR600RR +4laps
Championship Positions after one of 13 rounds
1: Sofuoglu 25
2: Lowes 20
3: VD Mark 16
4: Foret 13
5: Salom 11
6: Scassa 10
12: LUCA MARCONI, PTR HONDA 4.
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