Any FIM Supersport World Championship rustiness for Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) after missing the Catalunya Round was soon shaken off as he claimed victory in the sole WorldSSP race for the Motul Spanish Round, finishing almost ten seconds clear of his rivals at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto while Yamaha wrapped up the Manufacturers’ Championship for the fifth consecutive campaign.

AEGERTER GETS THE HOLESHOT

As the lights went out, Championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) got the jump from second on the grid to take the lead of the race while Italian debutant Stefano Manzi (GMT94 Yamaha) made progress off the line as he moved into the top five for his first WorldSSP start. From there, he was unchallenged for race victory went on to win by over ten seconds, with his winning enough to wrap up the Manufacturers’ Championship for Yamaha for the fifth time in a row. Aegerter joins Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) as the only two riders who have taken ten victories in a single WorldSSP campaign, while he now has 12 podiums and sits just one behind Kenan Sofuoglu for the all-time record.

Aegerter was able to break away from the chasing pack by posting a lap record of 1’45.525s on the second lap before lowering it to 1’42.329s a few laps later, extending his lead to Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) by over a second by the third lap. The win for Aegerter means he extends his Championship lead to 62 points over title rival Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team), with the South African rider finishing eighth; Odendaal making a mistake on Lap 2 at Turn 13 and dropping down the order.

The battle for the podium raged on throughout the 17-lap encounter with Oettl being hounded by Spanish sensation Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) chasing the German down throughout the race. Gonzalez was unable to make his move in the first half of the race which allowed finish rider Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) to close in, applying the pressure to Gonzalez as he chased another podium finish. Tuuli made the move at Turn 13 on Lap 9 to move into third and soon set his sights on Oettl after the battle with Gonzalez allowed the German to break away. Oettl claimed second place ahead of Tuuli in third place, with Gonzalez unable to respond and finished fourth; Oettl’s podium the 150^th podium placement for Kawasaki in WorldSSP.

COMPLETING THE TOP TEN

Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing) battled back from a poor start and falling down to tenth to finish in fifth place after resisting a response from Turkish star Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) with Öncü claiming sixth place after another strong showing for the 18-year-old. Italian rider Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) claimed seventh place.

The battle for eighth was a three-way affair between Odendaal, Manzi and Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing) with each rider having their moments of leading the race. Krummenacher crashed out at Turn 6 as he looked to pass Mazni, taking him out of the race, with Odendaal finishing in eighth and Manzi ninth. Manzi’s teammate, Jules Cluzel, rounded out the top ten.

SCORING POINTS

Marcel Brenner (VFT Racing) scored more points as his impressive form continued with 11^th place, ahead of Estonian Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) as his recovery from injury continued with 12^th place. Hungarian rider Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) was 13^th as he added to his points total ahead of Federico Fuligni (VFT Racing) and Christoffer Bergman (Wojcik Racing Team) rounding out the top five and securing points in Jerez.

David Sanchis Martinez (WRP Wepol Racing) was around eight seconds back from a top 15 finish as he finished in 16^th, with Kevin Manfredi (Altogo Racing Team) taking 17^th place as the highest placed WorldSSP Challenge rider as he finished just three tenths clear of rival Maria Herrera (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing). Leonardo Taccini (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) claimed 19^th place ahead of Stephane Frossard (Moto Team Jura Vitesse) in 20^th after he had a back-of-the-grid start for a tyre pressure infringement on the grid. Ondrej Vostatek (IXS-YART Yamaha) finished in 22^nd with Shogo Kawasaki (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti) the last of the classified runners in 22^nd.

TO NOTE

Following the tragic events of Saturday in Jerez, Michel Fabrizio (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti and Marc Alcoba (Yamaha MS Racing) decided not to take part in the WorldSSP race. Australian Billy van Eerde (IXS-YART Yamaha) was declared unfit ahead of the race with a right shoulder contusion and functional impairment.

Croatian Martin Vugrinec (Ferquest- Unior Racing Team) was the first retirement of the race after he had an opening lap crash at Turn 6, while rookie Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) retired after a technical issue early in the race. Finnish rider Vertti Takala (Kallio Racing) had a crash at Turn 11 on Lap 4 which forced him out of the race. Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) had a high-speed crash at Turn 12 on the seventh lap of the race which put him out of the race as his return to the Championship continued. Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) crashed at Turn 6 on Lap 10 of the 17-lap encounter. Luigi Montella (Chiodo Moto Racing) had two during the race, at Turn 12 first and then Turn 2, eventually retiring from the race.

The top six following the WorldSSP race, full results here:

1. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha)

2. Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +9.609s

3. Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) +10.251s

4. Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGO Team) +11.861s

5. Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing) +13.153s

6. Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +14.592s

Fastest Lap: Dominique Aegerter (Yamaha): 1’42.329 New Lap Record

1. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) 327

2. Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) 265

3. Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) 217

4. Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGO Team) 216

5. Luca Bernardi (CM Racing) 161

6. Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) 146

Next up for WorldSSP is Portimao! Follow all the action from Portugal using the WorldSBK VideoPass!