The drama throughout the 19-lap FIM Supersport World Championship was relentless at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit in Race 1 for the Pirelli Indonesian Round as Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) claimed victory in a rain-impacted opening race. The rain started to fall just before the race started before getting harder in the opening stages, with riders who opted to stay out on slick tyres benefitting as the rain eased after a short period.

RAIN THREATENS TO PLAY A MAJOR PART…

The rain started to fall in the opening four laps of the race, with the race lead being held by numerous riders looked to take control of the race. At around the halfway stage, De Rosa was able to break away at the front of the field in search of his maiden victory, with the Italian rider claiming his first WorldSSP victory at the 89^th time of asking.

De Rosa withstood pressure from 2021 Champion Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) in the final two laps of the race as he held on to claim Kawasaki’s 45^th WorldSSP win and end a streak of 21 Yamaha victories stretching back to Estoril 2020, when Lucas Mahias claimed victory. De Rosa’s victory means he becomes the third-oldest rider to claim their maiden WorldSSP victory, at 34 years, 7 months and 26 days old. He is also the first Italian to win on a Kawasaki in WorldSSP.

Federico Caricasulo (VFT Racing) claimed the first podium for VFT Racing in his debut race for the team, his third of the 2021 season. He had led the race in the opening stages, including on the first lap as he overtook Aegerter at Turn 10, but fell back to third as Aegerter found some late-race pace. Podiums for Aegerter and Caricasulo mean Yamaha have now claimed 50 podiums in the 2021 season.

CLUZEL FIGHTS BACK

French rider Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) came into the Indonesian Round as the form rider, with three wins in the last four races, but had to battle his way back from 13^th place to claim fourth place, missing out on a podium by half-a-second against his former teammate. Another rider who had their turn leading the race was Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team), but the Moto2™-bound rider fell down to fifth place. Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) was sixth despite losing time as the rain fell with a huge moment exiting the final corner, but he was able to respond to claim a top-six finish. The results for Odendaal mean he will finish the Championship in second place while Gonzalez is guaranteed third place in the standings.

Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was seventh, but like most of the riders ahead of him, had his time battling for the lead of the race before he claimed seventh place, just two tenths away from Odendaal. 2019 Champion Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing) started the weekend strongly after topping Friday practice and also showed strong pace in the first half of the race, before eventually claiming eighth place, half-a-second clear of Estonia’s Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing). Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) rounded out the top ten, nine seconds away from Soomer.

TAKING HOME POINTS

Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) claimed his best result since a mid-season switch to WorldSSP with 11^th place, while Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) extended his points-scoring run to 20 races with 12^th. Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) was 13^th after starting from 20^th on the grid, ahead of Andres Gonzalez (VFT Racing) and Daniel Valle (Yamaha MS Racing) who rounded out the points-paying position. Jeffrey Buis (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti) was the last of the classified riders in 16^th.

TO NOTE…

Vertti Takala (Kallio Racing) was the first rider to retire from the race after he had a Lap 8 crash at the final corner, the left-hander of Turn 17. Although he was able to re-join the race following the crash, the Finnish rider brought his bike back to the pit lane a lap later. Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) retired from the race after he had a technical issue on Lap 12 of 19, while the two riders who pitted for intermediate tyres when the rain fell, home hero Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) and Christoffer Bergman (Wojick Racing Team), also were not classified.

The top six following WorldSSP Race 1, full results here:

1. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura)

2. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +0.105s

3. Federico Caricasulo (VFT Racing) +3.108s

4. Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) +3.671s

5. Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGO Team) +4.312s

6. Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) +6.054s

Fastest lap: Dominique Aegerter (Yamaha): 1’36.894s (New Lap Record)

WorldSSP will be back on track at 09:25 Local Time (GMT+8) on Sunday with Warm-Up, watch all the action using the WorldSBK VideoPass!