Newly crowned Double FIM Supersport World Champion Dominique Aegerter battled through the pack to claim victory in a scorching second WorldSSP race of the weekend, claiming 25 points in a shortened race two.
After securing a second Supersport World Championship on Saturday, Ten Kate Racing’s Dominique Aegerter took his first WorldSSP victory in Indonesia on Sunday, returning to the top step in a red-flagged race two.
Starting from third on the grid, the Swiss rider made a strong launch but quickly found himself beaten up and dropped through the pack. Running in ninth on lap three, the 32-year-old got his head down and began his rise through the field. Gaining two places when Lorenzo Baldassarri tagged Nicolo Bulega’s Ducati into turn 16, Aegerter quickly sped to the back of the podium group and flew to a new lap record, setting a sensational 1:35.775 despite track temperatures rising to an unprecedented 66 degrees.
Running in sixth place, the World Champion continued to pick off his rivals ahead and charged through to the lead of the race by the eighth lap as a battle with Niki Tuuli ignited.
Eventually confirming his position at the front of the race, Aegerter pushed on, withstanding the building pressure from behind, but the race was brought to an early end on lap 13 giving Aegerter his 16th victory of the season.
It was a difficult second race of the weekend for Lorenzo Baldassarri who, after a crash in race one was looking to bounce back on Sunday.
A strong start for the Italian saw him make up a couple of positions in the opening lap, but a mistake when running behind Bulega in 6th saw the Evan Bros rider slip back to 11th. The former Moto2 rider pushed on and eventually secured ninth place with Jules Cluzel close behind in tenth.
Andy Verdoia picked up two points for 14th with Simon Jesperson taking the final point in 15th ahead of Glenn van Straalen.
Leonardo Taccini led Marcel Brenner and MS Racing duo Unai Orradre and Ondrej Vostatek, with Peter Sebestyen, who was an early entry to the pits, re-joining the race and finishing in 22nd.
Victory for the World Champion sees him leap 103 points clear of Baldassarri in the 2022 standings while Ten Kate Racing secured victory in the team’s standings, sitting 106 points ahead of the Evan Bros.WorldSSP Yamaha Team.
The FIM Supersport World Championship will take a short break as they travel to Australia for the final round of the season taking place on the 18-20th November.
Dominique Aegerter – Ten Kate Racing, 4th & 1st | Championship: 1st
“Conditions was very hot for race two, 66c track temperature and the humidity was so high! After winning the championship yesterday there was less pressure on us, so I wanted to go out there, push hard and fight for the victory. It wasn’t an easy win because the conditions were tough. It’s very difficult to overtake here with the dust on the asphalt and I was pushed so far back at the start, but we tried something different with the set up in the morning which made things easier and let me go full gas to achieve the win. It was a shame not to do the full distance, but still, a 16th win of the season for me and the Ten Kate Racing team.
“We’ll now enjoy the championship win, have a party with the team and aim to end the season strong in Phillip Island next weekend.”
