Ten Kate Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team’s Dominique Aegerter extended his FIM Supersport World Championship winning streak to three, after taking victory in both races at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, giving him the championship lead, as Yamaha riders dominated the podium places.
After storming to his first WorldSSP pole position in only his third Superpole appearance, Aegerter took a commanding victory in Saturday’s race, in which he led every lap. On Sunday, the Swiss rider dropped to second at the start and was running third until debris following a crash brought out the red flag.
On the restart, the former Moto2 rider battled amongst the top six, and had moved back into the podium places with three laps to go, having dropped to fifth earlier in the race. On the penultimate lap, the Ten Kate Yamaha rider moved into second and chased down leader Steven Odendaal. Although he was unable to pass, he was promoted to victory after the Evan Bros Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team rider was handed a three-second penalty for track limits.
On both occasions Aegerter finished ahead of bLU cRU graduate Luca Bernardi, with the 19-year-old taking his third consecutive podium finish in Sunday’s race.
Having hung on to take fourth in the opening race, GMT94 Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team’s Jules Cluzel battled among the podium places once again in Race 2. He was second prior to the red flag, and took the lead on the restart, but was unable to hold the position and eventually finished third, just 0.926s off the eventual race-winner.
ParkinGO Yamaha’s Manuel Gonzalez had set the pace on Friday and enjoyed his best qualifying session of the season in third. The Spanish youngster was fifth in the opening race after a battle with Cluzel, and was on a charge in Race 2. Over the final few laps he had moved up to second and was hounding Odendaal for victory, but went wide on the penultimate lap at Turn 13 and dropped back to fifth, which became fourth following the penalty ahead.
After improving from sixth on the grid to finish third in the opener, Odendaal led much of Sunday’s race after the restart and crossed the line just ahead of Aegerter, before a three-second penalty for track limits meant he dropped to fifth after the chequered flag.
GMT94 Yamaha’s Federico Caricasulo fell out of the race on Saturday, but was able to score a top 10 finish with ninth in Sunday’s race, ahead of Kallio Racing Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team’s Hannes Soomer, who had also fallen in the opener.
Ten Kate Yamaha’s Galang Hendra Pratama took his second double points finish of the season, matching his Race 1 result at Misano with a 13th-place finish on Sunday, both from 25th on the grid.
Elsewhere, Kallio Racing Yamaha’s Vertti Takala fell in Race 2, having finished a strong 14th on Saturday, while Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team’s Maria Herrera recorded DNFs in both races.
Dominique Aegerter: P1 & P1
Ten Kate Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team
“A great job from my side, but also from Ten Kate Yamaha. The Yamaha R6 was really fast and I could fight at the front. Today was more difficult than yesterday, because I dropped back a little bit. On the restart I was battling between fourth and sixth, then in the final few laps I knew I had to push. Some riders are quick on the straight, some on the brakes, so it was difficult to overtake. I only found out about the penalty ahead after I returned to the pit lane, so I was really happy when the team told me I had won. We couldn’t celebrate much last night but tonight I’m sure we will. Thanks also to all of the Swiss fans who made it here, I saw the flags and it’s really appreciated.”
Luca Bernardi: P2 & P2
“Today was very difficult for me with the heat. I didn’t have the best start but was able to recover and take a top three finish. I want to thank everyone for their support, it’s been great to get three podiums in a row. Race by race I try to keep pushing and we will see what comes in the next races.”
Jules Cluzel: P4 & P3
GMT94 Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team
“I’m not completely satisfied here because I’ve won at Misano previously but we didn’t quite have the pace this weekend. There’s some areas we still need to improve, we have issues with grip, but I’m still happy to collect some points for the championship. I’m now looking ahead to the next race at Assen, where we’ve been strong in the past, so we will see how it goes there.”