WorldSBK

There was a new twist in the fight for the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship title. Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) won the second race of the Pirelli Round of France. His rival, Dirk Geiger (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) crashed on the last lap. The Dutchman takes the lead overall. 13 points now separate the Top 3 with four races still to go.

DEVELOPMENTS: Two title contenders fall

Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) was in the leading trio, but he lost the front of his Yamaha in the final chicane and found himself at the back of the pack. He then chose to surrender. Vannucci’s fall allowed Geiger to take a lead of more than a second, but the chasing group, led by Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) quickly caught up?

As in Race 1, there were around nine contenders for victory, including Geiger who crashed on the last lap at turn 5, but was able to recover and finish ninth. The German’s fall allowed Buis to open up a gap on the chasing group, and he took the victory 0.668s ahead of a group of six drivers. Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) finally finished second followed by Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing BGR). Buis becomes the first driver to score ten WorldSSP300 victories.

SO CLOSE AND YET SO FAR: Seven drivers in 1.5s

Daniel Mogeda (Kawasaki GP Project) took fourth place and missed the podium by just over two tenths. Veneman completed the Top 5. One would have thought that the Dutchman would celebrate his 17th birthday on the top step of the podium. Kevin Sabatucci (Team Flembbo – PI Performances) was sixth ahead of Jose Manuel Osuna Saez (Deza-Box 77 Racing Team).

TITLE CONTENDERS LOSING GROUND: Will Geiger’s fall be costly?

Fenton Seabright’s (Kawasaki GP Project) good weekend continued as he finished eighth with the fastest lap, ahead of Gieger’s KTM. The latter lost the lead in the Championship and fell to third place behind Buis and Perez Gonzalez. Humberto Maier (Yamaha MS Racing/AD78 Latin America Team) closed the doors to the Top 10, four seconds behind Geiger.

A LITTLE FURTHER: Svoboda now 25 points in the title fight…

Petr Svoboda (Fusport – RT Motorsport by SKM – Kawasaki) lost further ground in the fight for the title with his 11th place. He had to resist Ruben Bijman (Arco Motor University Team) on the last lap. Galang Hendra Pratama (Sublime Racing by MS Racing) was 13th ahead of Marc Garcia (China Racing Team), who continues to score points for Kove, and Samuel Di Sora (ProDina Kawasaki Racing).

TO NOTE…

Juan Pablo Uriostegui (Sublime Racing by MS Racing) crashed on the second lap at turn 13. Devis Bergamini (ProGP Racing) also fell just a few laps after clashing with Marco Gaggi (Team BrCorse) at turn 7. Brian Hart (Team LRP Poland) retired in ninth, as did Cees Koelewijn (Koelewijn Racing).

The Top 6 (Race 2)

1. Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki)

2. Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) +0.668s

3. Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing BGR) +0.787s

4. Daniel Mogeda (Kawasaki GP Project) +1.013s

5. Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) 1.182s

6. Kevin Sabatucci (Team Flembbo-PI Performances) +1.342

Best lap : Fenton Seabright, Kawasaki – 1’52.868

Championship

1. Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) 149

2. Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing BGR) 144

3. Dirk Geiger (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing) 136

4. Petr Svoboda (Fusport-RT Motorsport by SKM-Kawasaki) 121

5. Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) 117

6. Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) 108