Having qualified a strong fifth in the Superpole, Sofuoğlu initially dropped back to sixth, before a red flag for an incident behind saw the Turkish youngster get a second chance to improve. On the restart, Sofuoğlu made up two places on the opening lap to sit third, briefly dropping to fourth before regaining the position, which he held until the end of the shortened six-lap race.
After narrowly missing out on the top 30 needed to automatically qualify for the races in free practice, Yamaha MS Racing WorldSSP300 Supported Team’s Ton Kawakami dominated the Last Chance Race to earn his spot on the Race 1 grid. The Brazilian made no mistake and avoided the chaos, climbing 19 positions on his way to 10th.
Teammate Unai Orradre endured a difficult Friday but scraped through into the main races after finishing sixth in the Last Chance Race. Starting from the back row, the 16-year-old Spaniard scythed his way through the traffic to finish 20th.
Elsewhere, Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha’s Alvaro Diaz was enjoying one of his best weekends to date, qualifying a strong 12th in the Superpole. The Spanish rider unfortunately had an alternator issue prior to the start and did not participate in the opening race.
Yamaha MS Racing’s Alan Kroh failed to make it through the Last Chance Race, where he finished 11th, and will sadly take no further part in the French round.
For full Race 1 results, click here.
