Cortese carries form to lead in Brno

Full WSS FP1 results from Brno

Sandro Cortese has picked up from his victory last time out at Donington Park by topping the first free practice session at Brno for Kallio Racing Yamaha ahead of rival Jules Cluzel.

After the top two tussled for victory at the British round, the pair continued their fight for top spot in FP1 at the Czech Republic circuit with each rider trading fastest lap times as the track continued to dry off from early morning rain.

Cortese secured the headlines with a 2m 03.553s, just over one-tenth of a second up on Cluzel, while MV Agusta’s Ayrton Badovini made a late charge up the order to break the all-Yamaha domination to take third place.

Defending World Supersport champion Lucas Mahias kept in contention for GRT Yamaha, along with teammate Federico Caricasulo in close contention just behind him in fifth, while Raffaele De Rosa had a slower start to the race weekend in sixth place.

Thomas Gradinger continued to improve on the NRT Yamaha in seventh place, ahead of Randy Krummenacher on the Bardahl Evan Bros Yamaha, as Kawasaki pair Anthony West and Sheridan Morais rounded out the top 10.

Kyle Smith narrowly missed out in 11^th, having switched from Team Lorini Honda to CIA Landlords Insurance Honda since his home round, with new teammate Andrew Irwin in 12^th place.