Randy Krummenacher clinched the World Supersport Championship after finishing the final race of the season in fifth place at the Losail International Circuit yesterday.
The Swiss rider was fighting for the world title against Bardahl Evan Bros Yamaha teammate Federico Cariscaulo and GMT94 Yamaha’s Jules Cluzel in a tense title-decider. In the end, Krummenacher did just enough to become the champion for the first time.
Cluzel, who needed to win in Qatar to stand any chance of winning the the title, finished second behind race winner Lucas Mahias, the Puccetti Kawasaki rider taking his second win of the year. Caricasulo was fourth, but with Krummenacher coming fifth, it wasn’t enough for the Italian to clinch the crown.
Krummenacher picked up four race wins and four further podium finishes on the way en route to his title as he ended six points clear of Caricasulo and 13 points ahead of Cluzel.
“This feeling is so great,” said an elated Krummenacher. “I’ve been working for 24 years to achieve this goal. It is such a big thing that I still quite can’t realise it. I am thankful to all the people who have supported me, to my family that stayed behind me even on the bad days, they pushed me to win. Thank you!,” he added.
In a captivating race, Mahias made it a third consecutive win at Losail. Cluzel and Corentin Perolari had hit the front, making lightning starts from third and fourth on the grid respectively. Krummenacher hit third place, while Federico Caricasulo was only fifth, the top two in the Championship split by Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing). At the end of Lap 1, Isaac Vinales (Kallio Racing) completed the top six. Clearly feeling the pressure of the title-defining race, both Caricasulo and Krummenacher made early mistakes to drop down the order as Cluzel was chased by Mahias.
On Lap 7, Caricasulo set the fastest lap of the race, while Vinales made a mess of Turn 1 and went wide from fourth. With the front four battling, Caricasulo and Krummenacher were edging nearer, making for a six-rider battle in prospect. At Turn 1 on Lap 8, Vinales pinched third from Perolari, while Mahias captured first place from Cluzel at Turn 4. Come the end of the lap, Mahias had pulled out a 0.3s advantage, while the top six were covered by just under 2.5s. Meanwhile, Qatar’s Saeed al-Sulaiti racing for QMMF Racing Team Yamaha finished in 17th place.
QATAR WORLDSSP: RACE RESULTS
1. Lucas Mahias (FRA) Puccetti Kawasaki Racing 15 laps
2. Jules Cluzel (FRA) GMT94 Yamaha +0.868s
3. Isaac Vinales (ESP) Kallio Racing Yamaha +3.332s
4. Federico Caricasulo (ITA) Bardahl Evan Bros Yamaha +8.033s
5. Randy Krummenacher (SWI) Bardahl Evan Bros Yamaha +8.430s
6. Corentin Perolari (FRA) GMT94 Yamaha +8.482s
7. Raffele De Rosa (ITA) MV Agusta Reparto Corse +9.527s
8. Hikari Okubo (JPN) Puccetti Kawasaki Racing +9.670s
9. Kyle Smith (GBR) Pedercini Racing Kawasaki +11.533s
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