Acknowledged WorldSSP king Kenan Sofuoglu notched up his 40th class win at Imola yesterday in a race that was re-started twice, postponed and then finally run mid-afternoon.

Crashes and oil spills meant the middleweight class finally got underway after the weekend’s second Superbike race and was shortened to an 11-lap sprint but Sofuoglu made it count, crossing the line with a half-second advantage over series leader Lucas Mathias.

“My f40thWorldSSP race win was not easy especially as the many red flags gave us a hard time. Finally for the race I had no new rear tyres left to use. But I told myself ‘no excuses, no complaints’ just go for the win,” said the Turk.

“I worked very hard to stay at the front with a good pace. I am especially happy for the team because it is an Italian round and therefore a home round for them. I am also very happy for Kawasaki because this was a good result.”