Sofuoglu’s early push from fourth place on the grid got him clear of some tough battles going on behind in the early stages. He continued pushing hard up front until he was passed at half race distance and he had to fight to keep his eventual podium place against a determined Rolfo.
In taking third place Kenan ended his Malaysian raceday sixth in the championship, with 54 points after three finishes from the six rounds run so far.
Rolfo had started from fifth place on the grid and after an intense battle he was third in the latter stages, until the last two laps when Sofuoglu passed him to take third. Fourth was Roby’s best result of 2014 and puts him eighth in the championship.
Patrick Jacobsen (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) was the third best Kawasaki rider at Sepang and finished eighth in a combative race. He is now ninth in the overall rankings.
An unlucky day for Florian Marino (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) meant he crashed out of contention for a top ten finish after taking a tough qualifying start in 11th place. He is still the highest ranked Kawasaki rider in the points, third overall.
Roberto Tamburini (San Carlo Puccetti Racing Kawasaki) who had been hit from behind by another rider on lap 11, was unable to finish and is now tenth in the rankings.
Christian Gamarino (Kawasaki Team Go Eleven) was almost inside the top ten but 11th place at Sepang placed him 15th in the standings. Alessandro Nocco (San Carlo Puccetti Racing Kawasaki) and Tony Covena (Kawasaki Ponyexpres Intermoto) were both in the points at Sepang, with Nocco 13th and Covena 15th.
The Misano Circuit in Italy will provide the backdrop for the WSS riders compete again in round seven of the championship, between 20 and 22 June.
“Kenan Sofuoglu: “I did not have the pace to keep my lead and when van der Mark and Cluzel passed me, they could use a throttle a lot more. When I tried this the back end started to slide too much. I did not have the pace for most of the weekend at Sepang but in warm-up we found a set-up that allowed us to turn into the corners and set a fast lap time. I am not surprised a couple of other riders got away in the race. I was prepared to fight for the win but they were too fast. I tried my best I think. We did not have enough time to set-up the bike so that is our issue at the moment. The main thing is that we are back on the podium and if we can improve a bit more I think we can win races. Of course the team has to work hard again and big thanks to them because they really worked hard again all weekend here. Racing is a big package, it is not just about the rider or the mechanics, it has to be everything together.”