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WSS, Misano, SAN MARINO, 15 Juni 2017

Misano Calls For Sofuoglu And Ryde

The second home round of the 2017 WorldSSP championship for the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team sees official riders Kenan Sofuoglu and Kyle Ryde head to the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli this weekend for round seven of the 12-round series.

After scoring race wins in the three most recent WorldSSP races five time champion Kenan Sofuoglu is on a roll that he hopes can continue throughout the entire Misano race weekend, which begins of Friday June 16th and ends with raceday on Sunday 18th June.
 
For Sofuoglu’s young team-mate Kyle Ryde, at the opposite end of the racing spectrum from Kenan in terms of overall experience, Misano is a circuit he has raced at before. He now looks to record his first podium of the 2017 season at one of his Italian team’s local circuits.
 
After Kenan’s most recent success at Donington Park he approaches Misano with no less than 41 career race wins in WorldSSP and a firm intention to go for another before the start of the long summer break in race action. He has won at Misano two times before; once back in 2012 and again last year.
 
Sofuoglu is now second in the championship standings, 30 points from the lead and closing in fast, despite missing the early rounds of the season through injury. Ryde is seventh overall, second of the Kawasaki riders in the series, with a best individual race finish so far of fourth in the season-opening Phillip Island race.
 
With no WorldSSP event scheduled for the Laguna Seca WorldSBK weekend in the USA in early July there will be a summer break comprising eight free weekends before action resumes at the Lausitzring in Germany, with raceday on Sunday 20th August.
 
Kenan Sofuoglu, stated: “In the past Misano was sometimes a difficult track for us but after we changed to WP suspension last season we won the race there. We have won the last three races this season and now we will try again to go for the win. Hopefully if I can win in Misano it will give me strong power through the long summer break. The bike settings should be good as we won the race last year so now I am just waiting to get started this weekend.”
 
Kyle Ryde, stated: “I am really looking forward to getting started at Misano. I always have a great bike setup because I am working in the same garage as Kenan, so I just need to get on my bike and do the job I know I can do. I think the bike set-up will be similar to Imola where I felt really comfortable, so hopefully we can fly through to SP2 after Friday and get the job done.”
 
Michael Canducci (3570 Puccetti Racing FMI Kawasaki) is 14th in the overall rankings at the half-season point, and third ranked of the Kawasaki riders in the points table so far. He will not be able to ride at Misano after suffering a training injury and will be replaced at this round by Axel Bassani.
 
Kazuki Watanabe (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) sits 18th, Nacho Calero (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) 22nd, part-time ESS rider Rob Hartog (Team Hartog Jenik Against Cancer Kawasaki) is 23rd and Lachlan Epis (Response RE Racing Kawasaki) 24th. Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) is placed 29th and Gino Rea (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) 30th.