The Estoril circuit is hosting the third round of the Supersport World Championship this weekend. Both Kawasaki Puccetti Racing riders headed out on track today with the intention of improving on their previous performances and confirm their status as top riders in the category. Can Oncu is aiming for victory, having scored two third-place finishes to date, while Yari Montella wants to continue to move in on the frontrunners in what is his debut WorldSSP season. In the first free practice session, the Turkish rider stopped the clock on 1’40”963 to finish in fifth place, followed by his team-mate who, despite never having ridden at this track, was able to set a best of 1’41”201.
The afternoon’s second session was less positive for Oncu, who did not improve on his earlier time and rounded out day one in ninth place with a time of 1’41”061. Montella improved slightly on his best lap (1’41”167), finishing in eleventh place overall.
Tomorrow the two Kawasaki Puccetti Racing riders will take part in the Superpole followed, a few hours later, by the weekend’s first race.
Estoril Circuit – Lisbon – Portugal – Supersport World Championship
Combined free practice results: 1) Aegerter (Yamaha) – 2) Baldassarri (Yamaha) – 3) Cluzel (Yamaha) – 4) Verdoia (Yamaha) – 5) Van Straalen (Yamaha) ……….. 9) Oncu (Kawasaki) – 10) Manzi (Triumph) – 11) Montella (Kawasaki)
Can Oncu
“I’m fairly satisfied with my practice sessions today. After a break of more than a month, I’ve got back on my Ninja and there’s immediately good feeling. We had a few difficulties but we’ll surely be able to resolve those for tomorrow and so I’m feeling optimistic. I can’t wait for tomorrow when we’ll be out for Superpole. Thanks to the team for all their help today.”
Yari Montella
“The first session went well. In the afternoon, we tried a few solutions that we thought could give us a little extra, but unfortunately they didn’t work out and so tomorrow we’ll go back to the set-up we used in FP1. Overall, I’m pleased with the two sessions, also because we’d never ridden at this track. I’m feeling increasingly comfortable on the bike and am getting on really well with the team.”
