Keenan Sofuoglu took the win in a close Supersport race at Miller Motorsports Park.
Hannspree Ten Kate’s Keenan Sofuoglu took the
World Supersport checkers at Miller Motorsports Park. The Turkish rider claimed victory after a battle with his usual nemesis, Parkalgar Honda’s Eugene Laverty. Taking the final rostrum, in predictable fashion, was the third man in the trifecta battling for this year’s title, Kawasaki’s Joan Lascorz.
Starting from pole position, Sofuoglu won a fierce battle with his main rival in the opening laps. Laverty actually held the advantage early, with the duo swapping the lead on Lap 3. The Turkish rider soon took the front for good, however, and opened up a one-second gap by Lap 5.
After a good start Chaz Davies ran as high as second, before falling adrift of Sofuoglu and then Lascorz. Ten Kate’s second SS rider, Michele Pirro, challenged Davies and the two sparred over fourth. Right behind Davies and Pirro, Lascorz teammate Katsuaki Fujiwara and Triumph’s David Salom joined the fight.
Eurgene Laverty could not track down Sofuoglu at Miller, though the Honda man led the opening laps.
In the closing laps the race looked much like the title as the front three, Sofuoglu, Laverty and Lascorz, cruised far ahead of the remaining class. Speaking of which, Davies led the B-group throttling his Triumph 675 around the Utah circuit – the Daytona’s rear skipping and hopping on downshifts into the corners as Pirro breathed down the Welsh rider’s neck.
In the end, Sofuoglu fended off Laverty by a full second, with Lascorz only 1.673 off the leader. Davies held fourth, with Pirro a second back in fifth followed by Fujiwara and Salom.
The American contingent were a non-factor for the win. Jason DiSalvo, after impressing with top-fives in practice and early qualifying, was relegated to 11th-place. Erion Honda’s Tyler Odom was a distant 16th, while Melissa Paris crashed her MPH Racing Yamaha on Lap 7, a similar fate to her World Supersport wild card run at last year’s event.
World Superbike Miller Race 1 Results:
1. Keenan Sofuoglu (Honda)
2. Eugene Laverty (Honda)
3. Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki)
4. Chaz Davies (Triumph)
5. Michele Pirro (Honda)
6. Katsuaki Fujiwara (Kawasaki)
7. David Salom (Triumph)
8. Robbin Harms (Honda)
9. Gino Rea (Honda)
10. Fabien Foret (Kawasaki)
World Supersport Championship Points:
1. Keenan Sofuoglu - 142
2. Eugene Laverty - 136
3. Joan Lascorz - 128
4. Chaz Davies - 84
5. Michele Pirro - 58
6. David Salom - 58
7. Gino Rea - 54
8. Robbin Harms - 51
9. Katsuaki Fujiwara - 48
10. Matthieu Lagrive - 44
