Friday

A positive start for Oncu at the Jerez WorldSSP round

The twelfth and final round of the Supersport World Championship got underway today at the Circuit de Jerez Angel Nieto in Spain. Competing for Kawasaki Puccetti Racing, Can Oncu continues to work hard to return to full fitness following injury at Assen and a lengthy absence from the track.

The morning’s first practice session was essentially a non-event due to the precarious track conditions, the surfaced partly wet following rain overnight.

Fortunately, the Andalusian track had dried in time for the afternoon’s FP2, allowing Oncu to make the most of the session and place an exceptional sixth, thanks to a best time of 1’44”232.

Circuito Angel Nieto – Jerez – Spain
Supersport World Championship
Combined free practice results: 1) Bulega (Ducati) – 2) Montella (Ducati) – 3) Manzi Yamaha) – 4) Schroetter (MV Agusta) – Debise (Yamaha) – 6) Oncu (Kawasaki)

Can Oncu: “Our final race weekend of 2023 has got off to a great start. I immediately felt comfortable on the bike and although we had to do without the morning’s session, we found a good setup that allowed me to finish sixth. I hope to improve further tomorrow and do well in both Superpole and Race 1. Thanks to the team as they’ve really helped me again today.”

Rabat sets to work aboard the factory KRT Ninja at Jerez

The first day of practice making up the twelfth and final WorldSBK round was initially conditioned by complicated track conditions. With the surface half wet following overnight rain, Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Tito Rabat preferred not to take any risks and so the work to adapt to the factory KRT Ninja, made available to Manuel Puccetti’s team, could only begin in the afternoon.

The Spanish rider worked hard with his technical staff during FP2 to adapt his new bike to his riding style, but also begin to exploit all the features of the factory bike.

With a time of 1’42”982, Rabat rounded out the second session in twentieth place, and will be back out tomorrow for the Superpole, following by the first WorldSBK race of this Andalusian weekend.

Circuito Angel Nieto – Jerez – Spain
Superbike World Championship
Combined free practice results: 1) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 2) Gardner (Yamaha) – 3) Bautista (Ducati) – 4) Rinaldi (Ducati) – 5) Aegerter (Yamaha) …… 20) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Tito Rabat: “Unfortunately, we could only complete one practice session today. I made a cautious start because I saw some crashes and realised that the track still wasn’t in the ideal condition. I gradually started to build confidence with the track and work on my new bike, and the feeling was immediately good. We have another practice tomorrow morning and I hope the track allows us to complete the work we have planned. The bike has great potential, but we still have a lot to do; we’ll try to do our best, as always, in both Superpole and the race. Thanks to my team for doing such a good job again today.”

Saturday

Another positive WorldSSP race for Oncu, eleventh at Jerez

Conditions were cool and sunny at the Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto in Spain today as the twelfth and final round of the WorldSSP continued. The weekend started well for Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Can Oncu, who set the sixth fastest time (1’44”232) in Friday’s practices, looking comfortable with both his Ninja and the Andalusian track.

The young Turk was back on track this morning for Superpole, a session that established the grid positions for the last two races of the season. Despite improving on his best of yesterday by more than a second (1’43”218), Can finished in twelfth place, which meant a fourth row start for Race 1, which ran over a distance of 17 laps.

The Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider made a good start as the race got underway and was lying in around tenth position. Despite the fact he is not yet back in top shape, he was able to maintain a very strong pace and cross the line eleventh. An excellent result that confirms the rider’s continual progress and repays his determination.

Tomorrow will see Can Oncu compete in the final race of the 2023 WorldSSP championship.

Circuito Angel Nieto – Jerez de la Frontera – Spain
Supersport World Championship

Superpole: 1) Bulega (Ducati) – 2) Cariocasulo (Ducati) – 3) Schroetter (MV Agusta) – 4) Manzi (Yamaha) – 5) Montella (Ducati) – 6) Huertas (Kawasaki) ………12) Oncu (Kawasaki)

Race1 – 1) Bulega (Ducati) – 2) Manzi (Yamaha) – 3) Caricasulo (Ducati) – 4) Navarro (Yamaha) – 5) Debise (Yamaha) – 6) Huertas (Kawasaki) ………..11) Oncu (Kawasaki)

Can Oncu: “My feeling in the race wasn’t too bad. Actually the bike was perfect but we are still working hard to improve my arm. I am very happy because we made a big step, but we still have to improve the arm ahead of next season. Once that’s fixed, I don’t think we’ll have so many problems anymore. I know I am fast, and we can see this in the first laps of the race.”

Rabat just misses the top ten in WorldSBK race one at Jerez

The twelfth and final round of the 2023 WorldSBK championship continued today at the Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto in Spain.

This weekend, Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Tito Rabat is competing with a factory Ninja KRT, a bike with which he began to build confidence already yesterday. The Spaniard was only able to complete one practice session though due to wet track conditions following overnight rain.

In this morning’s FP3, Rabat improved considerably on his best time of yesterday and finished sixteenth with a time of 1’41”415. The Superpole came soon after, a session that established grid positions for the subsequent first race. Lowering his time by more than a second, Tito set a best of 1’40”227 to place seventeenth. This result meant that he lined up on the sixth row of the grid for Race 1. Rabat made pretty a good start to the race, his strong pace allowing him to make several passes. Avoiding mistakes, the Spaniard climbed as far as eleventh, finishing just a second from the top ten. An excellent result that proves just how quickly the Spaniard was able to adapt to his new bike, as well as confirming the competitiveness of the factory Ninja KRT. Manuel Puccetti’s team thanks Kawasaki Europe and KRT for their valuable support.

Tomorrow Rabat will return to the track for the Superpole Race and Race 2, the last race of the 2023 WorldSBK season.

Circuito Angel Nieto – Jerez de la Frontera – Spain
Superbike World Championship

Superpole: 1) Bautista (Ducati) – 2) Aegerter (Yamaha) – 3) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 4) Rea (Kawasaki) – 5) Gardner (Yamaha) – 6) Oettl (Ducati) .………. 17) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Race 1: 1) Bautista (Ducati) – 2) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 3) Locatelli (Yamaha) – 4) Rea (Kawasaki) – 5) Petrucci (Ducati) – 6) Oettl (Ducati) ………..11) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Tito Rabat: “I didn’t make the fastest start but as the race went on, my confidence with the bike grew and I got into a good rhythm, to the point that I was one of the fastest on track. I needed this race to better understand my Ninja. If we’d had two practices yesterday instead of just one, I’d probably have done even better in today’s races. We’ll try again in tomorrow’s races; I’m feeling confident.”

Sunday

Can Oncu finishes third in WorldSSP race at Jerez

The twelfth and final WorldSSP round of the 2023 season has concluded today at the Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto in Spain. Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Can Oncu has continued with his physical rehabilitation this weekend, placing twelfth in yesterday’s Superpole session and eleventh in Race 1.

Today the young Turk was back out for the final race of 2023, which got underway in the late morning and was scheduled to run over 17 laps. Oncu made a good start, which allowed him to work his way up through the field. He would probably have continued to do so if the race hadn’t been brought to a half after a crash for another rider caused damage to an air fence. The race was restarted but reduced to seven laps, with Oncu making a very fast start and able to maintain a strong pace. In the space of very few laps, the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider moved up into third place. Gritting his teeth considering that he is not yet fully fit, the Turk was able to hold his position all the way to the line to score a podium finish. A fantastic result that repays Can for all the sacrifices he has made to return to racing and Kawasaki Puccetti Racing for having always supported him the best it could.

Circuito Angel Nieto – Jerez de la Frontera – Spain
Supersport World Championship

Race 2 – 1) Bulega (Ducati) – 2) Manzi (Yamaha) – 3) Oncu (Kawasaki) – 4) Huertas (Kawasaki) – 5) Caricasulo (Ducati) – 6) Debise (Yamaha)

Can Oncu: “My arm is not 100% but I can do this job and I am very happy to take a podium here. I have so many thanks to say. Kenan Sofuoglu pushes me hard and Manuel Puccetti pushes me hard. Even sometimes when I feel like I will give up Kenan says to me that I can do much better. I think this podium is the result of this. I knew that finishing P10, P12 is not my place, but I was thinking that I could not do more. They told me I could. I listened to a story from early in Kenan’s career and all night I was thinking about it. I am so happy to be back on the podium after such a long time. I will work hard in the winter to make myself stronger. Naturally, I thank everyone at Kawasaki Puccetti Racing for what they have done for me this season.”

Another WorldSBK points finish for Rabat at Jerez

Kawasaki Puccetti Racing has completed the final day of racing making up the last round of the WorldSBK season at Jerez de la Frontera in Spain.

Tito Rabat, who is riding a factory Ninja KRT during this final event, concluded Saturday’s Superpole in seventeenth place before scoring an excellent eleventh place finish in Race 1. Today the Spaniard was back out for the Superpole Race and Race 2.

The sprint race got underway this morning in cloudy conditions and on a dry track but was brought to a halt on a lap two when a rider broke his engine and left oil on track. The race was soon restarted, though reduced to just eight laps, with Rabat ultimately crossing the line in fifteenth place.

Tito made a strong start to Race 2 and was able to maintain a consistent pace, moving up the field as far as fourteenth, which meant he scored a further two championship points.

Circuito Angel Nieto – Jerez de la Frontera – Spain
Superbike World Championship

Superpole Race: 1) Bautista (Ducati) – 2) Aegerter (Yamaha) – 3) Rea (Kawasaki) – 4) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 5) Locatelli (Yamaha) – 6) Gardner (Yamaha) …….. 15) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Race 2: 1) Bautista (Ducati) – 2) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 3) Aegerter (Yamaha) – 4) Gardner (Yamaha) – 5) Petrucci (Ducati) – 6) Rinaldi (Ducati) …….. 14) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Tito Rabat: “Two positive races. In the Superpole Race, with only a few laps available, it was hard to find the right pace. I made a good start to Race 2, but then came across a rider who slowed me down and caused me to lose contact with the group in front. I’m pleased anyway because we were consistently fast, made up positions, and battled all race long, also against factory riders. We’ve significantly reduced the gap to the frontrunners here at Jerez and that’s really important. Thanks to the entire team for all their support.”