Platz 21 für Andreas Kofler in Portimao
Im ersten WM-Rennen als Fixstarter gut zurechtgefunden


For the first time, the Yamaha R9 of the Upper Austrian outfit Motorsport Kofler was on the starting grid for the Supersport World Championship race in Portimao on Saturday, and rider Andreas Kofler finished the race in 21st place. He missed out on points by about eleven seconds at the end of the 17 laps at his debut as a regular starter in the World Championship.
“I finished where I expected myself. In the first race, we aimed for a gap to the winner, and I was below that. That’s alright,” said the 21-year-old, who won the International German Motorcycle Road Racing Championship (IDM) in the Supersport class for the past two years.
In the south of the Iberian Peninsula, a new world opened up for him with his participation in the World Championship, one in which he is already finding his feet, even though many changes await him compared to recent years: “The races are longer than in the IDM, and I can definitely feel that. I've been very used to the IDM format for the last five years.”
On Friday, he showed his strength in the first free practice session, finishing in 17th place. He finished Superpole in 21st, but in the first race on Saturday, he started in 23rd place due to a penalty he received in the warm-up. From there, he fought his way forward with a good start and remained in a group battling for ninth place for two-thirds of the race.
In the final third, he couldn't keep up, losing a few seconds to the group ahead, but defended his 21st place finish. “There’s still room for improvement, but Portimao is also one of the toughest tracks on the calendar and one I haven’t raced on in a long time. And you can see how important experience is here from the podium finishes,” said Kofler, referring to the highly experienced Supersport riders like Valentin Debise and Lucas Mahias, who finished first and third in the first race. Another race is scheduled for the young Austrian in Portimao on Sunday.










