Can Öncü narrowly missed out on victory in Race 2 of the FIM Supersport World Championship at Autodrom Most on Sunday, crossing the line in second place just 0.056 seconds behind the winner.
Öncü (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) made a strong start from the second row of the grid to immediately join the battle at the front. A decisive move from third to first at Turn 1 on lap three underlined the Turkish rider’s intent.
What began as a six-rider fight for the lead gradually reduced in numbers as some riders dropped back and others crashed out, including championship leader Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing), whose race ended abruptly when he was taken out by another rider on lap seven, bringing his six-race podium streak to a close.
In the closing stages, the fight for victory came down to Öncü and Race 1 winner Valentin Debise, with the pair trading positions lap after lap. Öncü led onto the final lap, but it was not enough to secure the win, as he crossed the line just behind his rival to claim a third consecutive second-place finish.
Indonesia’s Aldi Satya Mahendra (AS BLU CRU Racing) capitalised on late-race incidents to secure fourth place, marking a career-best result in fully dry conditions.
It proved to be a challenging race for the GMT94 Yamaha squad. Early race leader Lucas Mahias crashed out of podium contention in the closing stages, while team-mate Roberto Garcia, who had also shown front-running pace, also retired after a mid-race fall.
Filippo Farioli (VFT Racing) capped off a strong weekend with ninth place, while Yuki Okamoto scored his first points of the season with a career-best 13th-place finish aboard the second Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing R9.
Arenas’ Race 2 retirement saw his championship lead reduced to 19 points after five rounds, while Öncü was one of the weekend’s biggest gainers, moving from sixth to fourth in the standings and closing to within 38 points of his fellow R9 rider.
The season resumes in two weeks’ time at Motorland Aragon, Spain.
FULL RACE 2 RESULTS
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 5
Can Öncü (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) – Race 2: 2nd
“First of all I want to say I am very happy, because in the first couple of races this year we were a bit lost but over the last couple of rounds we have had some very good races and great results, so a huge thanks to the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate team for giving me a great bike and for this improvement. It is nice to be back on the podium again, as it feels like we are back now. I am proud of how we fixed our early season difficulties, and OK, I am of course disappointed not to win today, but we got important points and have to be happy as we closed the gap to the championship lead.”
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