Bahattin Sofuoglu out of Portuguese WorldSSP after Superpole red flag

Bahattin Sofuoglu, the MV Agusta World Supersport rider, has been declared unfit for this weekend’s Portuguese Round at Portimao.

Sofuoglu, who came into this weekend ninth in the standings, suffered a crash at turn nine during Superpole in Portugal. Clinging onto the bike after the fall, Sofuoglu hit the gravel trap still in contact with his bike. A trip to the medical centre followed, where he was diagnosed with concussion, and then a consequent trip to hospital where he will undergo further assessments.

As a result of the concussion, the Turkish rider has been declared unfit for this weekend’s Portuguese World Supersport race, meaning the MV Agusta factory team’s only representative will be Marcel Schrotter, who completed his third Moto2 Grand Prix of the year last weekend in Silverstone having spent the summer replacing the injured Deniz Oncu at the Red Bull KTM Ajo team.

While Sofuoglu was being assessed, the session — which had been red flagged while the #54 and his bike were retrieved from the gravel trap — resumed, and was eventually topped by championship leader Adrian Huertas, the Spaniard taking pole by 0.240 seconds over his main championship rival Yari Montella.

The two Ducati riders will be joined on the front row of the grid for WorldSSP Race 1 by Ten Kate Yamaha’s Stefano Manzi, who was 0.739 seconds back in third place. Federico Caricasulo, Jorge Navarro, and Can Oncu will make up the second row.