Sofuoglu clinches fifth WorldSSP championship at Jerez.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) won race two at Jerez in a similar fashion to his victory on Saturday, while also taking out the overall Pirelli Best Lap Award.
The Welshman won his fourth double of the season in southern Spain with almost six seconds separating him from fellow podium finishers and Kawasaki Racing Team duo Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes.
Davies had an incredible start storming straight through to fourth by the first corner, but it was Sykes who led with Rea close behind in second. By the end of the first lap, the Ducati rider had already shot to the front and began to build his lead.
The Kawasakis then battled it out for the remainder of the race together, with Rea trying to hunt down his second world title. The lead swapped and changed between the championship contenders, but the reigning champion couldn’t shake off Sykes to take the crown, which he still leads by 48 points.
By the end of the race, fourth-placed Nicky Hayden (Honda World Superbike Team) had caught up to the KRT duo to fight it out for the podium, but he narrowly missed out as Sykes took third behind his teammate Rea in second.
As a result, the 2016 Championship could not be won at the Gaerne Spanish Round and the Northern Irishman will need to wait until the last round at Qatar to be crowned champion.
Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) had a solid ride in Race 2, improving from Saturday to come home in fifth ahead of Honda World Superbike Team’s Michael van der Mark in sixth, who celebrated his 50th WorldSBK race start.
Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) finished in seventh ahead of Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) who was the first Spaniard home in eighth.
Torres battled with fellow Spaniard Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) earlier on in the race to break into the top ten. Unfortunately for Fores, his race ended early after technical issues forced him to retire.
Anthony West (Pedercini Racing) ended Sunday in ninth while Lorenzo Savadori (Ioda Racing Team) rounded out the top ten. Roman Ramos (Team GOELEVEN) came home in P11 with Josh Brookes (Milwaukee BMW) crossing the line in 12th.
Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) finished in 13th, which was a solid effort considering he struggled with his recovering shoulder throughout the weekend. Althea BMW Racing Team’s Markus Reiterberger finished in P14, with Gianluca Vizziello (Grillini Racing Team) picking up a point in 15th.
Kenan Sofuoglu won the race at Jerez and was crowned the 2016 FIM Supersport World Champion just five laps in on Sunday at Jerez, after his Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Teammate Randy Krummenacher crashed out of contention for the title.
Incredibly it is the first time a WorldSSP rider has won back-to-back titles since Sébastien Charpentier did it in 2005 and 2006. Sofuoglu is also now the only rider in history to win the WorldSSP title five times.
The Turkish rider defended the tough challenge by Kallio Racing Team’s Niki Tuuli and CIA Landlord Insurance Honda’s Kyle Smith, who tried everything they could to beat the Kawasaki Rider at his own game.
The season finale of the STK1000 Cup was already set to be a thriller with the season’s protagonists fighting a close battle all year.
Raffaele De Rosa (Althea BMW Racing Team) gave a solid performance in Sunday’s race to finish in the top five to be crowned the winner of the 2016 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup.