Kawasaki WorldSSP Team riders Jeremy Alcoba and Dominique Aegerter finished a very short final Race Two at Magny-Cours in fifth and 15th places respectively, after the first attempt at running the race was red-flagged.
It was a very busy final day of action in France for both Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 636 riders, as the first race came to a halt after just over half race distance. Another rider’s crashing machine punctured the protective air-fence barrier around the circuit and as a result the race had to be halted on safety grounds.
After the track was made ready again, a five-lap full race restart was called, leading to a very intense competition that delivered full points, as if it were a full-distance race.
Starting from sixth position in the restart – because that is where he was at the end of the red-flagged ‘race’ – Jeremy was in the contest for a podium finish for the whole five laps, ending up fifth and just over one second from the race winner.
Dominique ended up scoring a point for 15th place in the final Magny-Cours race, as he stuck to his task in what was a particularly tense race over such a short distance.
In the championship standings, Jeremy is eighth with 138 points, while Dominique is 18th, with 38 points.
The next round of the championship will take place at the Kawasaki WorldSSP Team’s second home venue of the season, Cremona. Race weekend will take place between 25-27 September.
Manuel Puccetti
“Today’s race was a difficult one, in that a bad start compromised Alcoba’s chances of fighting for victory and the podium. His fifth-place finish nevertheless confirms the competitiveness of our bike and rider. Aegerter scored a point and I think that’s probably the most he could do this weekend at this track.”
Jeremy Alcoba
“I am happy about myself and the work of the team to be as fast as we were on Sunday, but we had some issues during the weekend. Yesterday and also today we had some technical issues. In the Sunday race I had some problems with the brakes. I am happy because I made a really good comeback and the pace was amazing in the red-flagged race. In the final race I was there, fighting for the victory, but with my small problem I could not attack until the end. We were a bit unlucky this weekend but we have our heads up and we are working for the next one, which will be a home race for the team.”
Dominique Aegerter
“We took one point today, which is better than nothing, but for sure it is not where we wanted to be. I can say that I gave everything that I pushed very hard. Race Two was red-flagged in the middle, so we had a small sprint race over five laps. We had a big fight with many different riders and took away one point. We will work hard with the team and I will work hard at home to be better and give even more. Everybody works very hard but the results don’t show it. Big congrats to Jeremy because he made a great job and he shows that the bike can be fast. We never give up and in three weeks there will be the Cremona race weekend, the home round of the team and a little bit of a home round for me as well.”
