After a season of ups and downs for Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti), the Finnish rider was able to end the 2021 FIM Supersport World Championship on a high as he secured his best result of the season with second place in Race 2 at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit. The Pirelli Indonesian Round wrapped up Tuuli’s WorldSSP return with the Finnish rider finishing 11^th in the standings.

Tuuli claimed sixth place in the Tissot Superpole session for both WorldSSP races in Indonesia but retired from Race 1 after completing 11 of the 19 laps. Race 2 was a different story for the one-time race winner, as he battled with the lead group throughout the 19-lap race. Despite being fourth as he rounded the final corner on the last lap, Tuuli was able to take advantage of battling between Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) and Federico Caricasulo (VFT Racing) to claim second place; his best result of the 2021 campaign.

Looking back on his podium, Tuuli said: “I’m so happy. At the start of the year, I thought I could be strong this season. After I hit Cluzel, everything went wrong. I struggled until today with my body, my back. I cannot really train. It was so difficult. I made mistakes; the team made mistakes. We had technical problems, a lot.

“After Race 1, I didn’t even know what I can do. I was so unlucky sometimes. I thought I will push as much as possible. If I crash, it doesn’t matter I crashed so many times already this year. The plan was just to push. Maybe I destroyed the tyre because I’m leaning quite a lot because I don’t have as much top speed. In the end, I’m so happy.”

Tuuli’s future in WorldSSP is currently unknown but the Finnish rider will be out testing for MV Agusta at Jerez this week as preparations for the 2022 season ramp up immediately after the conclusion of the 2021 season, with MV Agusta testing out an 800cc machine for 2022.

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