Newsletter

The official race report service of Kawasaki Racing Team.

29 September 2018

Deroue On Pole For Final Round Thriller

On the weekend that the WorldSSP300 Championship will be decided the battle for final grid positions proved intense and dramatic. Scott Deroue (Motoport Kawasaki) secured his first Superpole of the season and the best possible starting place as he aims to overhaul Ana Carrasco (DS Junior Team Kawasaki) in the points table on Sunday.

Robert Schotman (Motoport Kawasaki) placed second in Superpole 2, with Portimao pole man Tom Edwards (Nutec - Benjan Kawasaki) in third place. Mika Perez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) and Dorren Loureiro (DS Junior Team Kawasaki) completed a strong Kawasaki Ninja 400 top five in the second Superpole session.
 
Carrasco, the series leader since the third round in Imola, did not qualify for Superpole 2 after free practice and ended up 25th on the grid in readiness for Sunday’s 12-lap title decider.
 
The two riders with the best chance of winning the title on Sunday are Carrasco and Deroue, with their contrasting fortunes in qualifying making the expectation of a climactic race on Sunday all the more intense. Deroue has already experienced a crash, on Friday, but shook off the impact on his feet to move forward on Saturday and take pole.
 
Local rider Enzo De La Vega (GP Project Team Kawasaki) was top local French qualifier, in eighth position on his Ninja 400.
 
In the current championship standings Carrasco leads Deroue by 90 points to 80, with Perez on 72 points and Luca Grunwald on 68. Arithmetically speaking, any one of those four riders could win the championship on Sunday, in a race which is sure to provide a close and tense climax to an incredibly close and exciting season.

Scott Deroue, stated: “Yesterday we put in a good day but at the end I had a massive crash and my team worked really hard to prepare the bike again. I was a bit nervous for this Superpole 2 session because I had some pain in my feet, but when I am racing it is OK. Thanks to my team-mate Robert for giving me a tow for the first few laps to get back into my rhythm. I took the pole by a very close margin. I am happy with the pace, with how the team works and I think we are more than ready for tomorrow.”
 
Robert Schotman, stated: “I am really happy to be on the front row because I had a pretty serious injury in Imola and lost thee months of racing. I worked hard to recover and be back again. In Portimao it was my first race back and already I got quite close to the podium. In this last weekend I want to actually make the podium. To get onto the front row on Saturday is the best way to do it.”
 
Tom Edwards, stated: “Two front row starts in a row really gives me confidence for the race and for finishing off the season strongly. I am hoping for a good race tomorrow so we can kind of put my name up there, and next year start off strong as well.”
 
                                        #NinjaSpirit