Oncu leads the way in closely matched WorldSSP Free Practice at Jerez, Huertas 13th
Turkish rider pips Caricasulo by just 0.02 seconds in the morning session
The FIM Supersport World Championship took to the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto on Friday morning under dry, sunny conditions, and it was #61 rider Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) who claimed the top spot ahead of Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) and Championship contender Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) in third.
Oncu set the fastest lap time of the session with 1’42.469s, closely followed by the Italian #64, whilst Manzi’s best effort around the Spanish track was two seconds behind the leading men. Dutchman Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) took fourth position in the Free Practice session, whilst Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) #23 rider Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) claimed fifth and sixth overall. An impressive outing on his Triumph bike saw John McPhee (Triumph Street Triple RS 765) put in the seventh quickest lap time, ahead of Thomas Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph) in eighth.
Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) and teammate to McPhee, Lorenzo Baldassarri (WRP by SKM-Triumph) rounded off the top 10 finishers. Title leader Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) will be eager to improve on his performance in the afternoon Tissot Superpole session, as he finished down in thirteenth place.
The top six from WorldSSP Free Practice, full results here:
1. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) 1’42.469s
2. Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) +0.025s
3. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) +0.207s
4. Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +0.347s
5. Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) +0.406s
6. Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +0.417
Don’t miss the WorldSSP Tissot Superpole session at 16:00 Local Time (UTC+1) using the WorldSBK VideoPass