In hot conditions at the 4.445km circuit, and with track temperatures reaching 59°C, Sofuoglu worked hard in the single qualifying session, taking a desired front row starting position and declaring himself ready to race on Sunday. He was only 0.142 seconds from the rider in front.
Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) was seventh on his Ninja ZX-6R while Switzerland’s Dominic Schmitter (Team Go Eleven Kawasaki) placed ninth on the grid for the first round of the new season.
PJ Jacobsen, Mahias’s team-mate, qualified in 13th place and Faccani was disappointed to be 15th, after some impressive testing performances.
Kenan Sofuoglu: “This is a satisfying qualifying result, on the first row, especially after some issues we had last night and again this morning. We achieved a good lap time and we tried out best. The team worked very hard. Tomorrow’s race should be held in very warm conditions, which will make it a very difficult race for everybody. Of course race day is my day and I think the tyres will be the main point to focus on. If we can manage the tyres well then I think we can win the race.”
Marco Faccani: “We have tried a lot of solutions on the bike to save the tyre but we need to keep working on that. There was not a lot of grip in the heat and I have a lot of chatter entering the corners. We have to choose the best solution for us to finish the race in a good way. Some of the riders in front are faster over one lap but I never had a tow from any other rider; I always rode on my own. Our race pace is good in a long run.”