The FIM Supersport World Championship title was decided in Race 1 at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit in a dramatic opening race of the Pirelli Indonesian Round. Dominque Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was crowned Champion for the second time as he finished in fourth place, while title rival Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) crashed out in the opening stages of the race. The race was won by Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) who ended a five-year win drought in style, while also giving the ‘next generation’ WorldSSP machines their second win of this season.

#DoubleDomi: Aegerter becomes back-to-back Champion

The title was up for grabs in Race 1 in Indonesia and it was duly decided during the race as Aegerter finished in fourth place, which was enough to secure the title. His Championship rival, Baldassarri, crashed out of the race on Lap 3 after a highside at Turn 1 which meant Aegerter had to finish in the top 13 to ensure he claimed the title and became only the third back-to-back Champion in WorldSSP, after Sebastien Charpentier in 2005 and 2006 and Kenan Sofuoglu in 2015 and 2016. It caps a memorable season for Aegerter, who also won the MotoE™ World Cup this season.

BACK ON THE STEP: Tuuli returns to winning ways

The race win was taken by Tuuli after a thrilling battle with Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) throughout the race. The pair both got good starts when the lights went out although fell behind Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) who got a great start from fifth place on the grid. The pair were able to re-pass Caricasulo in the early stages and pulled away from the Italian, with the race win decided by an error apiece from Tuuli and Oncu. Tuuli was leading but ran wide on Lap 12 at Turn 3 which allowed Oncu through, but Oncu lost time when he made a mistake on Lap 14 as he ran wide through the Turn 7 run-off, dropping more than a second behind Tuuli.

Another mistake from Oncu a few laps later allowed Caricasulo to move into second place and the pair battled it out, but neither were able to close in on Tuuli as the Finnish rider took his first win since Magny-Cours in 2017; ending a five-year drought of victories in WorldSSP. It is his second WorldSSP win and his ninth podium, while the win also ended MV Agusta’s five-year drought which was at Phillip Island in 2017 as the Italian manufacturer claimed their tenth win. Caricasulo was able to hold on to second place to take his 26^th podium in the Championship, with Oncu third to take his ninth podium.

AEGERTER CHAMPION WITH FOUTH: a fight to the line…

2022 Champion Aegerter finished in fourth place after making up places in the closing stages of the race. He first battled with Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) as he made the move at Turn 16 on Lap 16 before he chased down Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing). The pair battled hard right until the line with Aegerter wrapping up the Championship with fourth place; just 0.008s ahead of Montella. Montella himself had a four-second gap to Bulega as he took sixth place.

ROUNDING OUT THE TOP TEN: hard battles throughout

It was a dramatic day for the Dynavolt Triumph team with Stefano Manzo taking seventh place after he was given a Long Lap Penalty for irresponsible riding following an opening lap collision with teammate Hannes Soomer. Soomer was the first retirement of the race and Manzi’s Long Lap Penalty meant he dropped out of the podium places, finishing in seventh place. He battled back to finish ahead of Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) and Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura WorldSSP) in eighth and ninth respectively. Rookie Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) rounded out the top ten, three seconds down on De Rosa.

HEADING INTO SUNDAY WITH POINTS: finishing in the top 15

Tom Booth-Amos (Motozoo Racing by Puccetti) claimed 11^th place and his best WorldSSP result to date, missing out on a top ten by just over four seconds. He was two seconds clear of Andy Verdoia GMT94 Yamaha) in 12^th place, who had a gap of more than a second to Peter Sebestyen (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) in 13^th place. Oli Bayliss (BARNI Spark Racing Team) had been running in the top ten in the early stages of the race but dropped down to 14^th at the end of the race, finishing ahead of Leonardo Taccini (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) who took the final point in Race 1.

HOUSEKEEPING: to note from Race 1

Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) suffered crash, also on the opening lap, at Turn 11 while Simon Jespersen (Kallio Racing) crashed at the same corner on the opening lap. Baldassarri was the third retirement of the race following his turn 1 crash, while Luca Bernardi’s (CM Racing) return to WorldSSP continues to be difficult as he brought his bike into the pitlane with a technical issue in the closing stages of the race.

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

1. Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse)

2. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) +3.528

3. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +4.226s

4. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +6.029s

5. Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +6.037s

6. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +10.034s

Championship standings

1. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) 437 points

2. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) 352

3. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) 232

4. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it. Racing WorldSSP Team) 200

5. Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph) 187

6. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) 152

Congratulate Aegerter on his title success using the hashtag #DoubleDomi and watch Race 2 on Sunday using the WorldSBK VideoPass!