Mirko Gennai (MTM Kawasaki) secured the best starting spot among the many Ninja 400 rider on show, in third place. Championship contender Inigo Iglesias Bravo (Füsport - RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki) placed fourth in Superpole, and thus started fourth on the Race One grid.
Going into this round teenage sensation Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) was the championship leader but after taking eighth place on the starting grid for the opener his luck was to take a downturn as he fell on lap one of what was a wet race. The 31-strong field had all opted for full wet tyres at the start of the 11-lap contest, thinking the track would not dry out enough to use slicks.
The top Saturday finisher for Kawasaki was Kevin Sabatucci (Team Flembbo-PL Performances Kawasaki) in sixth place, after he had overcome the charge of Iglesias Bravo in the final sector of the race.
With Iglesias Bravo finally seventh, the next Kawasaki points finisher was Daniel Mogeda (Team 109 Kawasaki) in 11th - but only after an amazing ride through the field. Proven race winner Mogeda was unlucky to get caught behind Veneman’s crash and he had to come to a complete stop to avoid his fellow Kawasaki rider, getting started again at the very end of the field.
Local French rider Samuel di Sora (Füsport - RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki) managed to complete his double long lap penalty and yet still finish inside the points paying positions, in 13th. He was the final Kawasaki points finisher in the opening race.
Veneman got going again after his fall to secure an ultimately agonising 16th place, missing out on a championship point by just one position. Gennai crashed out on lap two and no scored.
The second race started in dry conditions on Sunday, but the first attempted running of the race ended after a non-Kawasaki rider had a technical issue that caused a highside crash for him and a large oil spillage on the track surface.
After a substantial clean up protocol was completed a quick restart was called to keep the final day on schedule. A seven lap race, for full points, was announced and the riders lined up for battle for the final time.
The action was particularly frenetic given that there were only seven laps for the riders to make their overtakes in. Some were too enthusiastic and crashed by themselves. In the case of three non-Kawasaki riders on the final lap - they collided and crashed while exiting the final corner - but were still officially regarded as finishers as they crossed the line and were awarded points.
The top Kawasaki finisher in the second race itself was Mirko Gennai, in second place, but he was later punished with a three second penalty by the race organisers for causing the crash and no score of fellow Kawasaki rider (and still championship challenger) Iglesias Bravo.
Gennai denied that there had been any contact between him and Iglesias Bravo but his penalty means that he was finally classified way down in 14th place. The reason for such a lowly position is that the top 14 riders had finished within three seconds of each other. With race winner Jeffrey Buis in the lead by 0.5 seconds, however, that made Gennai a disappointed 14th. He scored two championship points.
The top Kawasaki finisher in Race Two was Veneman, in fourth position. The next best finisher in green was Jose Manuel Osuna Saez (Deza - Box77 Racing Kawasaki) who took seventh position.
Sabatucci was 13th. Gennai was the final Kawasaki points scorer in what was a difficult and often dramatic final French race - on track and in the Jury Room afterwards.
In the championship rankings Veneman is no longer the leader, but sits second overall behind Aldi Mahendra. The Indonesian rider has 164 points, Veneman has 152, Iglesias Bravo 138 and Buis 111. Gennai has 101 points and is sixth overall.
Kawasaki didn’t get to win Manufacturers’ title at this event, but there are two final rounds in Spain still to come for all the riders, manufacturers and teams to give their best in the pursuit of ultimate glory. Kawasaki still leads the manufacturers’ standings, by 55 points over Yamaha.
In the Teams Championship MTM Kawasaki leads Team BR Corse Yamaha by 14 points.
The next round - the penultimate one in this exciting season - will take place at Motorland Aragon between 27-29 September.
Rider Comments
Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki), stated: “The first race was very difficult in the rain and as I had never ridden here in the wet before, it was even more difficult for me. The second race was OK, and before the red flag I could come up to the front easily. After the red flag and the restart I had some struggles, especially on the long straight. I had to brake very well into the T5 hairpin. On the last lap some riders were crazy and they just hit my front tyre everywhere. After the penalties for some other riders I was fourth, so I still didn’t lose that much in the championship. Now, it’s on to Aragon.”
Mirko Gennai (MTM Kawasaki), stated: “The Race on Sunday was good and I was ready to battle for the podium. I started in 11th place and I had a good pace. I had a good feeling both with the bike and this circuit, and it was easy to overtake the riders in front of me. I finished second in the race, with one crazy last lap, but Race Direction penalised me for one short contact that there wasn’t. I am so sorry for Inigo but I did not touch him. I got a penalty for nothing. I can do nothing.”
Jose Manuel Osuna Saez (Deza - Box77 Racing Kawasaki), stated: “The weekend was difficult because in the first free practice session they penalised me with a double long lap. In the first race the weather was also not perfect so I crashed on the warm-up lap and I started from pitlane. But on Sunday it was a good race. Another very difficult one, because the front group was very big. I am happy with the result because we finished the race inside the first group, battling with the best.”
Daniel Mogeda (Team 109 Kawasaki), stated: “The first race was difficult because in the first lap Veneman crashed in front of me and I needed to completely stop. I came from last position to finish in P11. I felt I deserved a little more but this is racing and these things can happen.”
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