MV Agusta rider Jules Cluzel recovered Championship ground and got back to the top of the timesheets in Imola, after a tricky race in Aragon paired with a difficult weekend in Assen. The Frenchman, who spent the off-season recovering from a terrible crash at the Circuito de Jerez in 2015, is back to his best and closing in on the Championship lead.

After key rival Kenan Sofuoglu set the pace throughout practice, Cluzel put in a stunning lap in the final minutes of WorldSSP Tissot-Superpole 2 to take pole by two tenths from the Turk, and led the early stages of the race before the restart. After a few problems the team are still working on, the MV Agusta rider then recovered in the shortened 11-lap sprint to take P2 after a penultimate that lap saw him take a lot out of Sofuoglu’s lead, although the reigning Champion was just a little too far up the road to be caught. Another podium, a big haul of points and pace comparable to the defending title holder proved a successful weekend for Frenchman Cluzel, who now looks ahead to the next Round in Sepang after getting back into the top 3 in the points standings.

“I’m very happy because the second place is definitely a good result in such a difficult race,” said Cluzel. “I could have won but I had some problems early in the race and I still haven’t figured out what happened. When I passed Jacobsen I tried to get close even to Kenan but it was too late because there were only two laps to go. We did a really good job here at Imola, and I cannot wait to be back on track for the next Race in Malaysia.”

Sepang International Circuit hosts the next WorldSSP race, with the paddock heading back to Asia for another clash of the Supersport titans as the frontrunners begin to emerge.